Islam: conquer Rome after Constantinople

ROME (ChurchMilitant.com) – A distinguished Italian historian is warning that radical Islam’s goal is to conquer Rome now that it has reoccupied the ancient Byzantine basilica of Hagia Sophia.

“The goal of Islam is clear — after Saint Sophia, Saint Peter,” Professor Roberto de Mattei told Church Militant, following Pope Francis’ six word non-condemnation of Turkey’s inflammatory decision to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque.  

On Sunday, after mounting international pressure to condemn the Islamic takeover of Hagia Sophia, Pope Francis said: “I think of Hagia Sophia, and I am very saddened” — a statement that was criticized as “manifesting a studied ambiguity.”

“Pope Francis said he was saddened by the transformation of the Hagia Sophia museum into a mosque, but what else should he have expected from Sultan Erdogan?” asked de Mattei. For years, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been insisting that Turkey enter Europe in order to Islamize it, the Catholic historian emphasized. Erdogan, a radical Muslim, was “developing a ‘neo-Roman’ political strategy throughout the geopolitical belt of the former Soviet Union’s Islamic republics,” de Mattei noted.

“The ultimate goal of the Turkish conquests, according to an ancient tradition, is called ‘the Red Apple’ (Kizil-Elma).  This is the name used to denote the golden globe supported by the statue of the Emperor Constantine in Constantinople. . . After the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, Rome became the ‘Red Apple,’ the ultimate objective of the Muslim Ottomans and the symbol of the triumph of Islam over Christianity. This demand has not weakened over time,” he warned.

Professor de Mattei cited world-renowned Islamic scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars and media celebrity, “who has been hugely influential on large swaths of contemporary Islam through his appearances in the media and on the internet.

Sheikh al-Qaradawi recalled on Dec. 2, 2002 that when the prophet Muhammad was asked which city would be conquered first, Rome or Constantinople, he replied: ‘The city of Hirquid (Constantinople) will be conquered first.’ 

Qaradawi explains: “The city of Hirquid was conquered in 1453 by the young Ottoman emperor of 23 years of age, Mohammed bin Murad, known to history as Mohammed the Conqueror. The other city, Rome, remains and we believe and hope [that she too will be conquered].” 

He adds: “This means that Islam will return to Rome conquering and victorious after having been expelled twice, once from the South, from Andalusia, and a second time from the East when it knocked several times at the gates of Athens.”

According to de Mattei, “The same al-Qaradawi, in a fatwa promulgated on Feb. 27, 2005, declared: ‘Notwithstanding the pessimism among Muslims, in the end Islam will govern and will be the head of the whole world.'” 

“One of the signs of the victory will be that Rome will be conquered, Europe will be occupied, the Christians will be defeated and the Muslims will grow in number and become a force which will control the whole of the European continent,” al-Qaradawi announced.