Comment Re:The views of a Muslim in NY (Score 1) 1639
The Crusades were, initially, a call to the Christian faithful to rally to the defense of the Holy Land, which had been invaded by Muslims who were spreading the word of Mohammed by the sword. They were also slaughtering Christian pilgrims trying to reach the Holy Land. Imagine if the roles were reversed and the Christians had taken control of Mecca? Pilgrimage was just as important in early Christianity as it remains today in Islam.
The Crusades ushered the concept of the "just" war--one fought for a noble or righteous cause for which God would forgive the sin of killing--into Christian thought. Perhaps this was done for political expedience by the Catholic Church, as some here have insinuated. I disagree. The concept of the "just war" goes back deep into the shared heritage of the three religions, when the Israelites asked for God's help defending the Promised Land.
Granted, the later Crusades ended up being more about the commercial rivalries between Constantanople and the Venice/Genoa conglomerate, but none of the Crusades even pretended to be about spreading Christianity, only about defending or reclaiming the Holy Land.
