The Crusades as a Religious Endeavor - Essay Example

The Crusades (1095-1291) as a Religious Endeavor: The Evolution of Motivating Factors How can the Crusades be categorised as religious when the reasons behind them are a combination of factors, perhaps the least of which is religion How do the Crusades relate to present-day problems in the Middle East, the continuing conflict among Christians, Jews and Palestinians over Bethlehem and other Israeli-Palestine sites, the zeal of the jihad in their effort to make believers of everyone with little concern for human life, even their own Are there answers to be found as to what constitutes a religious war, and should the term 'religious war' be considered an oxymoron Concept of the Crusades 1095-1291 The military expeditions, known as the Crusades, launched between 1095 and 1291 were initially undertaken in an effort to recover control of Asia Minor by regaining and retaining the 'Holy Land" (Palestine) from the Muslims. Church unity was being decimated in this area, and appeals made to Pope Gregory VII were passed on to Pope Urban II ("Crusades in the Levant", 2000). Islam not only posed the threat of a rival religion, they also posed the threat of a rival culture (Rosenthal, 2005). Cultural and political influence must therefore be considered necessary additions to religion as factors in the ensuing power struggle. A thousand years after the Crusades, little has changed, with Christianity, Islam and Judaism vying for control throughout, not just the area of the Byzantine Empire, but the world. Again, culture and politics must be considered as well as religion. In the name of democracy, President George W. Bush considers the war in Iraq a quest for freedom, but a large contingent in the Middle East are followers of Islam, and in this respect consider the effort by Western nations to change their culture and religion in the name of democracy to be unacceptable. Great Britain's Tony Blair has remained committed to Bush's actions in Iraq, but the people of Great Britain are more realistic than the Americans as to the economic, political and cultural aspects involved in the Iraqi War. Perhaps, by studying the results of the Crusades, its effect on different populations might be an indicator of the importance of world cultural studies. A study of the Crusades might offer a different viewpoint of the present wars in which religion happens to play a major role. Pope Urban II as a Catalyst Pope Urban II has been credited with initiating the Crusades. He was elected as Pope in 1088 but did not take the papal throne until six years later, having been in exile on the Island of St. Bartholomew. Political issues kept the Byzantine Empire in a state of flux, and Urban was faced with many difficulties. The timing of his ascension, however, was in his favor. Not only was he a truly religious person with a focus on sharing Christianity throughout the world, he was also charismatic, and when he broached the idea of a Crusade against the enemies of the Christian faith at a council meeting in Clermont in 1095, it turned out to be a matter of good timing and use of imagination on his part. He strongly appealed to the general public, and the Crusades became a major undertaking, encompassing several countries (Butler, 2003). Appeals were sent out all through Europe urging people to take the cross. It must be noted, however, that one benefit of the Pope's appeal was to offset the propensity for violence within the Byzantine Empire__with individuals acting from personal and political motives__and the desire for economic expansion (Sloan, 2000). The Crusades gave society a common goal, and after a life of exile, upheaval and poverty, Pope Urban II finally was able to carry out his providence. The so-called "People's Crusade" was successful initially, but success was followed by failure, and a new crusade was begin in 1100, the second of eight formal crusades, and this army too was destroyed in 1101. For almost two hundred years, the Crusades affected a broad geographical and cultural area which carries through into the present day. The war in Iraq, which began in 2003 after the 9-11 bombing of the World Trade Center, has so far been a continuing conflict that shows no signs of ending. Certainly, Israel and Jerusalem have not been able to come to any lasting agreement. Bethlehem is venerated by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus while other sites in Israel-Palestine are sacred to Islam and to Judaism. If there is a benefit from these conflicts, it would be the need for public knowledge about cultures and religions little known before 9/11. Religious Compromise Is there such a thing as religious compromise When analysing the reasons behind religious conflict, there are, according to Wolffe (2005), two areas involved: interactions between major religious traditions and the strong belief that each reflects one belief for all; and the relationships between sub-groupings and tendencies within the tradition itself. It is no wonder that Western nations embracing Christianity find themselves in conflict with Eastern nations embracing Islam. In both these religions, there is no compromise. You either believe or you are lost. In both belief systems, the people are believers in the eternal destiny of the souls and feel responsible for saving people from themselves and the judgement of a higher power. The conflict is irreconcilable, whether it is one person trying to convince another or one nation trying to convince another. It must be noted that over the years following the Crusades, no permanent conquests of the Holy Land were ever made, and nothing has stopped the advance of Islam. Part of the issue with the Muslims is the meaning of jihad and how it relates to Muslims and to Islam. The word 'jihad' refers to an inner struggle to be a better person. This, in itself, is parallel to 'Christianity' which also refers to an inner struggle to be a better person. The armed struggle being fought in defense of a specific belief, in this case Islam, is also called jihad, and the parallel here is of course the Crusades, an armed struggle fought both in defense of a belief__Islam, and in enthusiasm for a belief__Christianity, with underlying economic concerns. The present battles being fought in the Middle East have their parallels in the Crusades with both defense of a belief and economic concerns. Certainly the oil fields and their effect on the economy cannot be ignored. But there is a difference between the way the people see a conflict and the way it is seen by the political factions and governments. One inevitable result of any struggle that involves a whole nation or belief system is the unity that occurs among the people when they feel they are being threatened. This was one result of the First Crusades, and it has been the case in the present acts of violence against different nations. How Effective is Terrorism Another area in which the Crusades play an important part is terrorism. The term has come to relate to the present, but in fact it goes back as far as the Crusades and even earlier. A zealot will use whatever means necessary to achieve a goal, and during the Crusades, terror was used to kill religious enemies. The concept of Suicide Martyrdom, dying in the service of God while killing the enemy goes back before the Crusades, and was considered a divine duty which would be rewarded in the afterlife. Anarchists, named so at the end of the 19th century while trying to overthrow the Russian Czar, introduced the observation that terrorism could have a communicative effect, could let others know why an act was being committed. This concept has carried through to the present day, with terrorists claiming responsibility for violent acts. In recent years, "fundamentalist" religion has been connected to international terrorism with suicide bombings, kidnappings, and hostage-taking, all intended to bring attention to a specific area of belief. Worldwide terrorism has become a tool to change behavior, but it is no more successful than the effort made during the Crusades to challenge other traditions and spread Christianity. With geopolitical struggles and inter-ethnic rivalries so much a part of the present unrest, how can any effort that relies on violence be considered religious On the other hand, with the jihad as an armed force performing violence "in the name of Allah", and with the countries involved in fighting against the jihad trying to change their belief system through democracy, how can the conflict not be called religious. Religion becomes one important factor among many in both the Crusades and the so-called Holy Wars of the jihad. How Do the Crusades Relate to World Conflict The Crusades are said to be a failed effort, but there is much to be learned from the overall effect of these so-called "religious wars." Just as the war in Iraq created a public interest in learning more about Muslim culture as well as geographical knowledge about the areas in which the war was being fought, the Crusades, which continued for almost 200 years and required the physical presence of Christians in cultural settings they previously knew nothing about, managed to educate the public over time. This occurred in such a way that Christians and Muslims necessarily interacted over generations, and many people gained positive understanding of different cultures and beliefs. After all, history shows that other societies have experienced religious diversity without overt conflict. As Wolffe (2004) notes, conflict is not an inevitable result of religious diversity. The final conclusion here is that religion must be considered a factor in any war, just as culture is a factor because culture and religion are a combination of each other. War affects cultures, and changes happen. It must be hoped that the War in Iraq will not continue for 200 years, but looking at war in the past century makes clear the lack of knowledge that exists between Eastern and Western cultures, from Japan to Korea to Viet Nam, to the Middle East. Understanding is perhaps the key. References Butler, R. Urban (2003). "Pope Bl. Urban II," Catholic Encyclopedia on CD, retrieved 3-6-2006, from http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15210a.htm "Casualties in the conflict in Iraq" (2006). Estimates retrieved 3-8-2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_invasion_of_Iraq#Political_and_diplomatic_aspects "Crusades" (2004). LoveToKnow 1911 Online Encyclopedia. 2003, 2004, retrieved 3-6-2006, from http://91.1911encyclopedia.org/C/CR/CRUSADES.htm Sloan, John (updated 2000). "The Crusades of the Levant (1097-1291)" Xenophone Group, retrieved 3-8-2006, from http://www.xenophongroup.com/montjoie/crusade2.htm Wolffe, John, ed. (2004). Religion in History: Conflict, Conversion and Coexistence. Manchester University Press, retrieved 3-7-2006, from http://books.google.com/booksie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0719071070&id=VtcCZn_v9SQC&vq=Religion+in+History+Conflict,+Conversion&dq=Religion+in+History+Conflict,+Conversion&psp=wp&lpg=PA6&pg=PA5&sig=kKZZMAeNLGGnJT0OCg2FNwI1DWM Read More