The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam and the Crusades

Chapter 11

T H E C R U S A D E S : M Y T H

A N D R E A L I T Y

I t is often said: "The Crusaders marched across Europe to the MiddleEas t.
Onc e there, they pillaged and murdered Mus lim and Jewish men,
women, and children indiscriminately, and forced the survivors
to convert to Christianity. Awash in pools of blood, they established
Europeanproto-colonies intheLevant, inspiring and setting a pattern for
legions of later colonialists. They were the setting for the world's firstmass
killings, and are a blot on the history of the Catholic Church, Europe,and
Western civilization. So horrifying were they that Pope John Paul II
ultimatelyapologized to the Islamic world for the Crusades." Any truth?
No. Virtually every assertion in this paraphrase, though routinely made
numerous "experts," is wrong. PC: Myth: The Crusaders establishedEuropean
colonies in the Middle East Asthe Crusaders made their way east in response
to Pope Urban's call, their principal leaders met with Byzantine emperor
Alexius Corrinenus. Preva iled upon them to agree individua lly, in accord
with Urba n's wishes, that any lands they conquered would revert to the
Byzantineempire, The Crusaders changed their minds about this after the
siege of Antiochin 1098. As the siege dragged on through the winter and
Muslim

Guess what?

• The Crusadeswere
  not early
  rnanifestations of
  European
  colonialism in the
  Middle East.
  O The Crusader mas-
  sacre of Jews arid
  Muslims in Jerusa-
  lem in 1099 was a
  terrible atrocity. butit
  wasnothing unusual
  accor din g to the
  rules of warfare of
  the time,
  0 The Crusades were
  not called in order to
  target Jews as well
  as Muslims.