If you were asked to explain what the Crusades were could you give a clear response? The Crusades are the most misunderstood, maligned and falsified historical story ever told. If you’re a product of a U.S. University or any other school system you’ve probably been told that the Crusades were a Christian atrocity committed against the Muslims and that is why they hate us today. Since this is a huge subject I will try to be brief in what I discuss. First, I want to clarify what the Crusades were in fact, second I want to provide some documentation and examples of what really happened. Finally, I will make an objective assessment of the Crusades as well. As Sergeant Friday of Dragnet fame would say: “Just the facts ma’am.”
If you listen to the popular culture of today you hear that the Crusades were a Christian holocaust against the Muslims and we, as Christians, should not only be ashamed, we should apologize. In fact Pope John Paul II in the year 2000 did apologize to Muslims for the Crusades. Muslims, in turn, say that their hatred of the West is due, in part, to the Crusades. Former President Bill Clinton, when he spoke after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York City made this statement: “Those of us who come from various European lineages are not blameless” vis-à-vis the Crusades as a crime against Islam. He then summarized a medieval account about all the blood that was shed when Godfrey Bouillon and his forces in the First Crusade, conquered Jerusalem in 1099.[i] This is representative of what our culture today believes about the Crusades. Most people have bought into the lie. The truth is that the Crusades were not unprovoked, as you will see here.
First, the Crusades were not a Christian holocaust or genocide against the Muslims, it was quite the opposite. Let’s start from the beginning. After the death of Muhammad in 632 AD, the Muslims began a military conquest that started in modern day Saudi Arabia. In what became known as his farewell address, Muhammad told his followers: “I was ordered to fight all men until they say, “There is no god but Allah.”[ii] The Muslims aim was to conquer the entire world and make everyone convert to Islam. They proceeded to conquer militarily all of the Middle East, Asia Minor, modern day Turkey, and large parts of Europe, including Sicily, Southern Italy, Cyprus, Sardinia, Corsica, Crete and Spain. North African, also fell to the Muslim onslaught. All of these conquered areas were Christian territory.
When the Muslims conquered Jerusalem, they desecrated all Christian shrines and murdered all the Christians and Jews that they found there. Many were brutally butchered like animals. The holiest site in Jerusalem, the Temple, was desecrated and replaced with the Muslim Dome of the Rock, still standing today, to symbolize that Islam had succeeded Judaism and Christianity; the dome was built between 685 to 691 AD.
The Crusaders had some military successes but all were short lived. The Muslims, in turn, showed no mercy. In 1266, in a battle in Egypt, the Crusaders were forced to surrender. They negotiated surrender to the Muslim commander named Baibars. Baibars agreed to allow the Crusaders to leave unharmed if they turned over the fort they occupied. The Crusaders agreed, opened the gates and let the Muslims in. The Muslims, in turn, failed to keep their promise, seized all the Crusaders and beheaded all of them. In 1268, this same Baibars, conquered Jaffa, in modern day Israel, and butchered all the inhabitants.
The Christian Byzantine Empire which was surrounded by the hostile Muslim Turks, appealed to the Europeans for help since the Turks had conquered a large part of their empire. The Europeans were becoming very alarmed. On November 27, 1095, Pope Urban II, in the French City of Clermont, in front of a large crowd, gave an impassioned speech that moved the large crowd. He called for the First Crusade, in large part due to the Muslim conquest and the slaughter of all the Christians, but also because of reports that Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem were being murdered along the way. Rodney Stark, in his book God’s Battalions, lists some Muslim atrocities of Christian pilgrims: Early in the eighth century, seventy Christian pilgrims were murdered. Shortly thereafter 60 pilgrims were crucified in Jerusalem. In 796 Muslims burned to death twenty monks in front of the Monastery of Mar Saba. In 809 multiple attacks occurred in many churches, convents and monasteries in and around Jerusalem, many were raped and murdered.[iii]
By the late 11th Century, the Christians of Europe were well aware of all that Christendom had lost, as well as the atrocities committed against their brothers and sisters. They had seen the Holy Land conquered and their fellow Christians murdered, crucified and annihilated like street dogs. They had seen the land of the New Testament, modern day Turkey, conquered. Most Byzantine Christians were forced to flee their homes and country, knowing that the Muslims would persecute or kill them outright. Today, the population of Turkey, the land of the New Testament and the Seven Churches is 99.8% Muslim. The few remaining Christians live under severe oppression and religious persecution.
Warfare during the period of Muhammad and the Middle Ages, was exceptionally brutal. They had no Geneva Convention that we have today where we prescribe rules for treating combatants and prisoners. In this period, for example, if a besieged city failed to surrender upon request and the attacking forces were successful in overrunning it, they would slaughter everyone they found in the city as an example to others. Everyone would be killed, men, women and children. Not one person or animal would be left standing. The Muslims used this tool to deadly effectiveness wherever they conquered. After all inhabitants were killed, the city would be burned and razed to the ground. Today, Muslims complain that we have prisoners of war in Guantanamo, Cuba where they’re treated like honored guests at a five star hotel. President Obama ordered it closed so that the world would like us better and they would stop attacking us.
It is no secret that Muslim governments practice religious persecutions against Christians. These persecutions go on today unabated. In an article in the “Weekly Standard” February 1, 2010 issue, entitled “Bare Ruined Choirs,” it describes the persecution going on in the island of Cyprus. In 1974 Turkey attacked Cyprus and still occupies half of the island today. During this time Turkey has destroyed many Christian churches: “Some of the recent destruction, such as the bulldozing of St. Catherine Church in Gerani in the summer of 2008, and cannibalizing for buildings in the nearby village of Trikomo. Incidentally, the razing of St. Catherine is not an isolated case: In the past five years 15 churches have been leveled.”
The Crusades were private armies recruited by nobles, knights and individuals. Most Crusaders were French, and a smaller percentage were German. The French were commonly referred to as Franks. King Richard the Lion Hearted of England led the Third Crusade from 1188 to 1192. King Richard was a brilliant military commander and he had the best success against the Muslims, due in large part to the exceptional discipline of his troops and his leadership ability. King Louis of France, who later was made a saint, St. Louis, led two Crusades from 1249 to 1252. In all there were eight Crusades from 1095 to the beginning of the fourteenth century, around 1305 AD. The Crusaders were motivated by piety – they wanted to reclaim the Holy Land from the infidels. Crusaders had to raise their own funds. Most sold all they had to go on the Crusades. Most Crusaders never made it back home. In the First Crusade, it was estimated that 130,000 departed. Only 15,000 survived to return home. About half of the casualties were due to health, disease or the stress of the trip, the other half died in battle.
I want to make it clear here that I am not approving of the Crusades or what they did, on the contrary, the Crusades were a bitter disappointment and a monumental disaster of epic proportions. Every one of the eight Crusades committed atrocities, not only against Muslims, but also against their own Christian brothers and sisters and Jews. The Crusades were a very sad chapter in human history. What they did cannot be excused. So what did they do? Right from the beginning, as some Crusaders left Europe, they committed atrocities that were totally uncalled for or necessary.
The Crusaders that left Europe made it a point to meet in Constantinople so they could martial their forces before heading towards Jerusalem. From the start, they committed unspeakable atrocities against Jews and other Christians. For example, in the First Crusade, led by Peter the Hermit, as they left Germany along the Rhine Valley the Crusaders attacked and slaughtered the Jewish populations of Speyer. In another German city of Worms, the Bishop tried to protect the Jews, the Crusaders broke down the walls of the Bishop’s compound and murdered about 500 Jews. This was repeated again in Cologne and in Metz.[iv]
In the modern city of Split, former Yugoslavia, this Christian city was attacked and plundered with many Christians murdered like dogs. Constantinople itself, the jewel of Christendom of their day was attacked and plundered by Crusaders of the fourth Crusade. The City was burned to the ground and robbed of most of its treasure. The list goes on and on.
Conclusion
The Crusades were a total disaster in any human term, but they are not what Muslims say they were or why they hate us today. They are not what our popular culture tells us today. The Crusades, even though a complete and total failure, were started with good intentions due to the fact that they had lost so much Christian territory and so many fellow Christians to the Muslim sword. It is fine to give an opinion on the Crusades, but first we must be informed with the truth. Good intentions are not enough. They must be followed with good works. We cannot say that about the Crusades. We cannot deny the truth.
Recommended Reading and References
1. Stark, Rodney, God’s Battalions, The Case for the Crusades, Harper One, 2009
2. Madden, Thomas F., The New Concise History of the Crusades, Rowan & Littlefield Publishers Inc. 2005.
3. Brownworth, Lars, Lost to the West, Crown Publishers, 2009
4. Pod cast by Lars Brownworth on the history of the Byzantine Empire called 12 Byzantine Rulers can be downloaded on iTunes or at: http://www.losttothewest.com/ Although this deals with Byzantine Empire it also covers some great information of the Crusades. This 17-part pod cast is terrific. Brownworth is a master storyteller.
5. Why You Are Wrong About the Crusades, by Lars Brownworth is a short article on his “Lost to the West” web site mentioned earlier.
6. Ibrahim, Raymond, Sword and Scimitar, 14 Centuries of war between Islam and the West, Da Capo Press, 2018. This book lists all the famous battles and goes into detail of all the atrocities. Highly recommended.
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