"Rome will become an advanced post for the Islamic conquests, which will spread though Europe in its entirety, and then will turn to the two Americas, even Eastern Europe. Very soon, Allah willing, Rome will be conquered, just like Constantinople was, as was prophesized by our prophet Muhammad." -- Yunis al-Astal, a Muslim cleric and Hamas parliamentarian.

Yesterday was the 555th anniversary of the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks.

In recent years…the West has rejected…the…idea of empire building, at least through martial means. [S]o thorough has this rejection been that many Americans and Europeans can no longer imagine anyone continuing to harbor such ambitions.

On that basis, they…assume that violence and terrorism -- from the attacks of 9/11/01 to the missiles raining on Israel to the suicide-bombings in the marketplaces of Iraq -- must be a response to oppression or occupation or some other "legitimate grievance." History suggests otherwise. So…do the leaders of the various modern militant Islamist movements.—Cliff May

H/T: Prof. David Koyzis