Opposite Shores of the Mediterranean

Just think of all the chaos in North Africa. It used to be a part of the Roman Empire. It was the home of St. Augustine, essentially the founder of medieval Christendom. Perhaps il Mar Mediterraneo is not as wide as we think.

Libyan jets have defected to the island of Malta, just a short flight away. That is one of the places I would love to travel to; what a fascinating history they have had. Peruse the article in Wikipedia on that chain of islands and you will be reminded of how close ancient Carthage was to Sicily, Italy, and Europe. What if Hannibal had finally beaten Rome? Would the Christian/Islam split even exist today?

By the way there is an excellent movie, starring Anthony Quinn, called Lion of the Desert. It was the story of Omar Mukhtar, the Libyan hero who fought Italian imperialists before and after Mussolini.

These days, they say that there are more (active and used) mosques in Europe than cathedrals or churches. The numbers of Muslims in Europe is astonishing. I have never thought much about it except to think that Europeans are more foolish in permitting an Islamic invasion than Americans are in permitting a Mexican one.

But I wonder if the political earthquake happening in North Africa and the Middle East is actually a partial result of millions of Muslims moving part time or full time to Europe, and being "infected" with ideas. Then they write home or return home after their work permit expires, and infect the old country with European ideas of democracy and secularism. If this has actually happened, I wonder if anyone expected it to be the outcome of the Islamic invasion of Europe.