Consider a group of people. This organized conglomerate is obsessed with the Middle East; they revere it as a holy land. In order to protect said land from foreign invaders, these armed military-religious zealots are willing to wage war in the name of their god. Even the sacrosanct leaders of these radicals endorse the violent endeavor. I’m referring to, of course, European Catholics and the Crusades.
From the 11th to the 14th century, the Christian influence in Palestine grew immensely through the means of warfare. The crusaders were structured, ordered, and efficient. Popes, bishops, and priests not only rationalized the mass murder, but they stipulated that it was God’s will and a service to His Church on Earth. The motive for authority figures was to protect Christian pilgrims, weaken Islam, and unit Europe against a common enemy of Muslim “infidels.” …show more content…
Arabs captured Jerusalem in 637 AD, but for centuries there existed a degree of religious tolerance. In 1076, invading Muslim Turks did not exhibit the same acceptance of other belief systems. Pope Urban II lead the council of Clermont, France in 1095, in which Royals and religious leaders concluded that it was time to “go fight the unholy Muslims.” Crusaders marched toward Jerusalem in 1098 and laid siege to the city in 1099. The emir surrendered the Count of Saint Gilles, and eight days after the massacre, Duke Godfrey was elected
From the 11th to the 14th century, the Christian influence in Palestine grew immensely through the means of warfare. The crusaders were structured, ordered, and efficient. Popes, bishops, and priests not only rationalized the mass murder, but they stipulated that it was God’s will and a service to His Church on Earth. The motive for authority figures was to protect Christian pilgrims, weaken Islam, and unit Europe against a common enemy of Muslim “infidels.” …show more content…
Arabs captured Jerusalem in 637 AD, but for centuries there existed a degree of religious tolerance. In 1076, invading Muslim Turks did not exhibit the same acceptance of other belief systems. Pope Urban II lead the council of Clermont, France in 1095, in which Royals and religious leaders concluded that it was time to “go fight the unholy Muslims.” Crusaders marched toward Jerusalem in 1098 and laid siege to the city in 1099. The emir surrendered the Count of Saint Gilles, and eight days after the massacre, Duke Godfrey was elected