Lucius W. De Graaff, ‘European Islam – Threat and Challenge for the Reformed Churches in Europe’ (8 March 2007)
European Islam - Threat and Challenge for the Reformed Churches in Europe
Lecture given at the European Conference of the ICRC
Soest (NL) March 6, 2007
Lucius W. De Graaff
The call of the minaret in European history
At various moments in history Islam has tried to gain a foothold in Western Europe. I mention one or two of these moments. In 711 Spain to a large extent came under Islamic authority. From Spain the Muslims made an attempt to move up towards France. In 732 they were stopped in their advance by Charles Martel at Poitiers. Centuries later the Muslims make a new attempt. The Ottomans advance to Central Europe. The battle of Mohács in 1526 has become a household word for the Hungarians. In 1529 the Ottoman armies are lying before Vienna. However, they do not manage to push on. We take long steps through history and arrive at the year 1683. Again the Turkish Muslims are lying before Vienna. And again they do not succeed in pushing on. On the contrary. From that moment onwards Islam is going downhill in Europe. The Ottoman border in Europe is shifted further and further backwards . This development continues in the course of the next two centuries. It is especially Napoleon’s invasion into Egypt in 1798 that made the power of the west felt in the Ottoman empire.
J. W. Maris, ‘The Reformed Tradition in Europe’ (6 March 2007)
Reformed Churches and the unity of the church in a European context
Lecture given at the European Conference of the ICRC
Soest (NL) March 6, 2007
Dr. Johannes W. Maris
A historical perspective on Europe, on being Reformed, and on Church Unity
In order to deal with the different aspects of my subject a clarification seems necessary of the terminology involved. First of all we may not escape the necessity of a historical perspective. When using words like ‘reformed’ and ‘reformed churches’, as well as the indication ‘Europe’, it is impossible to just look around in the 21st century and consider what we see or want to see and experience. We must realize, therefore, that the word ‘reformed’ is related to the 16th century Reforma-tion, and that also in that century the unity of the church was an important topic in ecclesiasti-cal and theological discussion. Even in mentioning the European continent a similar historical context must be taken into account.