The Bulwark Of Christendom: The Turkish Sieges Of Vienna

12th of September 1683 saw Vienna, the imperial city, besieged by the Ottoman Empire, whilst the combined opposing forces of the Holy Roman Empire and Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth fought hard to end this Turkish domination across Western Europe, ending with their success as many view this battle as the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, this can be seen as a battle based upon inter-ethnic co-operation. However, many argue today that Islam isn’t this proclaimed “religion of peace co-existence” (King Salman, 2017), instead it’s built on this framework of wanting to annihilate infidels whilst conquering new lands and “terrorising the conquered populace” (Rustad Hansen, 2016).

In this essay, I will discuss why the teachings of Islam are viewed in such a negative light throughout history and modern day, whilst also discussing violence and its roots. As a Western scholar, I believe it’s important to draw attention to the similarities we as humans share, due to the continuous conflict which exists amongst us due to differing religions. Upon analysis of this painting, I found myself questioning whether humanity had evolved as much as we believe we had since the 17th century, perhaps this is because of the heaped bodies which lay amongst the battle scene, why is it that violence and destruction seem to be the only outcome when opposing beliefs attempt to come to one conclusion or settlement. This is evident from World Wars, to the current state of countries such as Syria, where civilians live each day in fear due to the disagreement between those of greater power, yet they’re not the ones who live amongst the destruction and brutality. In addition to this, the lack of female presence in this painting supports the findings that 9 in 10 murders are committed by males (Siobhan Fenton, 2018), elucidating to the idea that violence has a very large genetic basis, contrary to this one may also suggest that stereotypes are reinforced as a result of this as it suggests a lack of physical strength in females thus portraying them as softer, more fragile characters in comparison to males, however from an Islamic viewpoint one may argue that Allah has not made men and women identical on purpose, thus it would impose an unnatural attempt at creating total equality.

Moreover, the weaponry used by both sides can also be viewed as a representation of the pace they have ‘modernised’, to elaborate on this the Ottoman Empire seem to be using archery as their main form of defence, in comparison to the Holy Roman Empire and Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth who have canons and what many would view as more ‘advanced’ machinery at their power, to such a degree it’s also a reflection of Western Europe and their ability to adapt and in a way ‘keep up’ with the growing ideas and technology within society. The physical positioning of the Holy Roman Empire and Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth being higher than that of the Ottoman’s is also interesting to note as one may read this as representing the upper hand they have due to the size comparison of their army, but also because their religion is dominate, yet the Ottomans are trying to expand and reach towards a higher stand point suggesting there on the rise and attempting to conquer further lands, this alludes to the idea that the minority can expand to the majority if the commitment and beliefs are strongly set. In an ever-growing society where technology is a fundamental part of an individual’s life, it is easy to understand how media and news outlets can pollute an individual about an entire Religion and their morals due to a group and/or one individual belonging to that religions actions, thus one may argue associating conflict and violence with Islam is embedded into us as our attention is only drawn to negative aspects of said religion.

The Manchester Arena Bombing allowed individuals to believe this act was carried out by a “true Muslim” (Qur’an, 609), however this portrayal overlooks the fact that X amount of Muslims were also victims of this hate crime, suggesting the true power held by those who choose what is broadcasted to the nation, similarly this can be seen in the Battle of Vienna as the opposing forces to the Ottoman Empire used their large army to spread word on Islam in an unfavourable manner one may argue as the rise of Islam posed a threat to the Christians as the fall of Vienna would mean Rome falls, consequently meaning the Church falls thus the only way to annihilate the enemy and bring their growth to a halt is to shed blood over beliefs and land. Yet if the religions were flipped and it was Islam attempting to overcome Christianity, society would be quick to label it as an act of terrorism, perhaps because of modern day extremists, particularly ISIS, who use brutal force to conquer cities, people, and homes. I acknowledge the argument that “Sharia law are teachings of terrorism” (Rustad Hansen, 2016) and this idea that annihilation of infidels is justifiable due to them being “subhuman” (Rustad Hansen, 2016) because many extremists uphold these beliefs, however one cannot suggest and overlook the fact that extremists exist in all religions, for example Nazi Germany attempted to create an ‘elite’ mankind, and those who did not fall into the set categories were massacred on the basis they weren’t of any value, thus to pin Islam as being the only religion to contain extremists would be ignorant and invalid, despite how archaic the held beliefs and morals may be viewed as. Interpreting religion should be done so critically as individuals shape and distort aspects of it over time giving fabricated misrepresentations to fit in with the moral code of today, which is perhaps why it’s important to note that “irrespective of religion we are human beings” (Cemil Ayden, 2018), connected through history and in order to overcome injustice, we must rely on shared values rather than individual differences.