Here's the new face of the Ottomans.
The youngest member of the Ottoman Dynasty, then 2-month old Prince Ziya (pictured in 2006) with his mother Princess Ayşe Osmanoğlu, the great granddaughter of Sultan Murat V, and a mother of five.
And here are some more pictures of the Ottoman Family Reunion in Istanbul during 2006 for the kickoff of the TV documentary highlighting Ottomans in Exile.
But amid all this pomp and circumstance of the Ottomans, here is a recent account equating the fall of Constantinople (Istanbul) to the fall of the twin towers.
'Facing Islam,' WORLD Magazine, December 13, 2008, Vol. 23, No. 25, by Marvin Olasky:
"In 1453 much of Europe mourned. When the news of Constantinople's fall reached Venice ... Christian leaders in 1453 immediately began debating how they should respond. Spanish bishop John of Segovia argued that it was futile to confront Islam militarily: He argued that Muslims were good at holy wars and Christians were not. John also said he could not recommend the sending of missionaries, since Muslims would not allow them. The only alternative was for Christian and Muslim leaders to meet and see if what they agreed on was greater than their differences."
"The shock of 9/11 was similar in many ways to the shock of Constantinople's fall. Many people prayed more, especially at first. Many with a biblical perspective emphasized the importance of knowing the differences between Christianity and Islam. Others emphasized the need for a military response, which came quickly, and still others the need for stronger Christian faith. But some argued ... that we should deemphasize the differences between Christianity and Islam."
"A thoughtful former GOP congressman, Mark Siljander, came out this fall with a new book, A Deadly Misunderstanding: A Congressman's Quest to Bridge the Muslim-Christian Divide (HarperOne)."
"Siljander is under indictment for working with a Muslim organization that had attempted to disguise its misuse of taxpayer money that the government had provided for humanitarian purposes.' Siljander's side of the story is radically different."
Nevertheless, he argues rightly that ecumenical talk by the religious left in the United States has not built spiritual bridges to Islam. He notes that military action by itself merely blows up material bridges. His proposal: Sow the seeds that can yield 'an organic movement within Islam that can work in the Muslim context [and] strengthen moderates rather than militants.'"
"Siljander says those seeds are present in the Quran, which 90 times cites a name that both Christians and Muslims revere—Isa, which is Arabic for Jesus."
"Is there a lesson in this for our own days, when pundits predict that Europe will become Eurabia and the best a weakening America can hope for is peace in our time?"
