Chwalebna panno, błogosławiona Filipino, która pogardziłaś bogactwami tego świata, a obrałaś sobie życie pokutne i umartwione, uproś nam u Boga tę łaskę, aby uciechy światowe nie zaćmiły naszego umysłu i nie zepsuły serca ze szkodą naszego zbawienia. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen
Eternal God and creator of all things, and thou O Mahomet his sacred and divine prophet. We beseech thee let us not dread the Christians, who are so mean and silly to rely on a crucified god. By the power of thy right hand, so strengthen ours that we may surround this foolish people, on every side, and utterly destroy them. At length fulfill our prayers and put these miscreants into our hands, that we may establish thy throne for ever in Mecca, and sacrifice all those enemies of our most holy religion at thy tomb. Blow us with thy mighty breath like swarms of flies into their quarters, and let the eyes of these infidels bedazelled with the lustre of our moon. Consume them with thy fiery darts, and blind them with the dust which they themselves have raised. Destroy them all in thine anger. Break all their bones in pieces, and consume the flesh and blood of those who defile thy sacrifice, and hang the sacred light of circumcision on their cross. Wash them with showers of many waters, who are so stupid to worship gods they know not: and make their Christ a son to that God who ne’re begot him. Hasten therefore their destruction we humbly entreat thee, and blot out their name and religion, which they glory so much in, from off the face of the earth, that they may be no more, who condemn and mock at thy law. Amen. “
From a letter from the King of Poland, John III Sobieski to his Queen following his victory against the Turks at Vienna in which he inserted many particulars including the “Prayer of the Turks against the Christians”. (London: 1683).
Cited in: The Struggles for Poland by Neal Ascherson, excerpts of the First American Edition, Random House Inc., New York 1988
During the Partitions of Poland and through World War I, a common motto for Poles in exile was Za wolność Waszą i Naszą (“For freedom: yours and ours”).
The phrase was adopted by these Poles as they fought for freedom on behalf of their adopted countries. Poles fought in various independence movements all over the world, including the American Revolution. Check out the article For Your Freedom and Ours by Arthur Chrenkoff at the Polish Legion of American Veterans website.
Having this as background makes you wonder what we are fighting for in Afghanistan and other such places. To wit:
Christian Convert Vanishes After Release
On Monday, hundreds of clerics, students and others chanting “Death to Christians!” marched through the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif to protest the court decision Sunday to dismiss the case. Several Muslim clerics threatened to incite Afghans to kill Rahman if he is freed, saying that he is clearly guilty of apostasy and deserves to die.
“Abdul Rahman must be killed. Islam demands it,” said senior Cleric Faiez Mohammed, from the nearby northern city of Kunduz. “The Christian foreigners occupying Afghanistan are attacking our religion.”
If you’d like a real oxymoron, take a look at this World War Two poster by Norman Rockwell:
