The Politically Incorrectguide to Islam (and the Crusade51For your bre thr en who live in the eas t are in urg ent nee d of
your help, and you must hasten to give them the aid which has
often been promised them. For, as the most of you have heard,
the Turks and Arabs haveattac ked them and have conqu ered
the territoryof Romania (the Greek empire] as far west as the
shore of the Mediterranean and the Hellespont, which is called
the Arm of St. George. They have occupied more and more of
the lan ds of tho se Chr ist ian s, and haveove rco me the m in
seven battles. They have killed and captured many, and have
destro yed the church es and devasta ted the empire. If you per-
mit them to contin ue thus for awhile with impunit y, the faith-
ful of God will be much more widely attacked by them- On this
accou nt I, or rathe r the Lord, besee ch you as Chris t's heral ds
to publish this everywhere and to persuade all people of what-
ever rank, foot-soldiers and knights. poor and rich, to carry aid
promptly to those Christians and to destroy that vile race from
the lands of our friends.... Moreover, Christ commands it,'Note that the pope says nothi ng about conver sion or conque st. A
callto "destroy that vile race from the lands of our friends" falls harshly
on modern ears; however , it was not an exhortation for mass
exterminat ion.bu t one to re mov e Isl ami c rul e fro m la nds tha t had
bee n Chr ist ia n. Anoth er summar y ofthepope's speec h at 'Clermo nt
repor ts that Urban spoke of an "immi nent peril thre ateni ng you and
all the fait hful whichhas brought us hither."
From the confines of Jerusalem and from the city of Constan-
tin opl e a grie vous rep ort has gone for th and has rep eat edl y
been brought to our ears; namely, that a race from the kingdom
of the Persians, an accursed race. a race wholly alienated from
God, "a gene rati on that set not thei r hear t arig ht and whos e
spirit was not steadfast with God," violently invaded the lands