Over at Terror Trends Bulletin, a brief but weighty post conveys what to most of us is a forgotten historical footnote (Thanks to Emanuel):
The Historical Significance of November 13th in Islam:
On November 13, 1918 the Allied troops occupied Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire was the Caliphate, the Islamic State of its day.
A little extra background, from the Wikipedia entry, Defeat and Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire:
The Occupation of Constantinople took place in accordance with the Armistice of Mudros [signed on 31 October 1918], ending the Ottoman participation in World War I. The occupation had two stages: the initial occupation took place from 13 November 1918 to 16 March 1920; from 16 March 1920 - Treaty of Sevres.
1918 saw the first time Constantinople had changed hands since the Ottoman Turks conquered the Byzantine capital in 1453. An Allied military administration was set up early in December 1918. Haghia Sophia was converted back into a cathedral by the Allied administration, and the building was returned temporarily to the Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch.
Now, several additional news reports are revealing that the Paris Jihad Attacks were not only carefully orchestrated in Paris, but across Europe, with cells acting in Germany and the UK:
- German police arrest Muslim linked to Paris jihad attacks: had guns, explosives, hand grenades
- London: Gatwick Airport terminal evacuated, police arrest man with grenade in his bag
- As Paris Burned, UK Muslims Told To ‘Struggle’ For Islamic State In Unprecedented Islamist Show Of Force
It seems clear that, whether or not the date was chosen by the jihadis for its link to the Western Allies occupying Constantinople in 1918, it was indeed a carefully planned and executed operation, spanning at least three countries, and marks an ominous turn in Islam's war on the West.
