| | | Dr. William Urban on Islam
“The story we tell about the crusades is that of ambitious nobles and merchants; intolerant Christians who kill innocent Jews, peaceful Arabs, and non-conventional Christians [heretics]; and scheming popes. Most of these villains are half competent fools and knaves who enrich themselves through taxes and trade, excusing their excesses through pious hypocrisy. In these stores the Turks are somehow forgotten, as though they were not a dangerous enemy at that time, or are confused with Arabs, while the Armenians, Byzantines, and other near-Eastern Christians are ignored for lack of time and space to discuss them. What is emphasized most strongly is the moral superiority of "natives," non-Christians, and non-traditional Christians. Secondly, the victimization of culturally superior Moslems by ethnocentric Westerners whose crudeness is equalled only by their love of violence and cunning. Lastly, any questioning of this thesis is dismissed as racism. In short, an aging collection of anti-colonial sentiments has merged with mild political correctness (opposition to violence, scepticism toward Western religious traditions and practices, concern for social issues reflecting race, gender, class, and ethnicity) to dominate current historiography of the Crusades.” |
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