What does the fall of Constantinople have to do with anything here? At this point, it was a failing city, disconnected form the rest of Orthodox Christendom and from the Catholic church in the west. The Ottoman conquering of Constantinople give that city a new historical standing and incorporated it into a rather powerful, long-standing force in European politics that was far and away better at sustaining a very multi-confessional empire that Europeans were at that time (at least until the mid-19th century, when Europeans put pressure on the Ottomans to âmodernizeâ into a modern bureaucracy).
Letâs not forget that that capital was also sacked by Christian invaders from the West, as their first stop to âtake backâ the holy landâŚ
The issue is almost always about power and resources, not necessarily religion (though religion can indeed provide a catalyst and justification for violence - itâs just not the only one). Historically non-religious ideologies have been just as violent and brutal as religious ones, and there are plenty of examples of religion being used for liberation (the classical,King led civil rights movement and the work of the Quakers in the US is one example). If we snapped our fingers and all belief in god ended, do you honestly think weâd all of a sudden live in a more peaceful and just world?
To add, oftentimes itâs those in power, using religion to rally support by whipping up religious fervour to enable their power expansions. Failing a belief in a deity, nationalism works just as well.
I once singed my eyebrows and burned a hole in my favorite messenger bag while setting a ping-pong ball on fire. (I had just discovered they were made of nitrocellulose.)
In all seriousness, Iâve never done the Hajj myself. Everything I know is second-hand, but everyone whoâs ever made the pilgrimage basically tells you the same story with variations on the particulars. The crowd I tend to hear about it from are pretty well off, though. So I havenât gotten any of the stories of what itâs like to do if youâre poor.
One fun story a friend told me is that the Saudi religious authorities do enforce Islamic law during the Hajj, and there was a man attempting to cut or shave his hair (on his head.) Men are supposed to shave their heads at a certain point in the process to signify purification and spiritual ârebirthâ but you canât do it too early. So this guy was trying to shave his head in public (because as I said earlier, everyone is doing everything during the Hajj and itâs all pretty much happening all at once) and the religious authorities appeared and wordlessly took his shaving kit from him and walked away, leaving him half-bald and bewildered.
