[Brian Kopp DPM]

CRUSADES NONSENSE FROM U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT

CRISIS Magazine - e-Letter

April 12, 2002

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Dear Reader,

Well, the media is at it again. Last week, as you probably noticed, U.S. News & World Report ran a cover story on the Crusades, promising to tell "the truth about the epic clash between Christianity and Islam."

(Here it is: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/020408/ideas/8crusades.htm)

Unfortunately, after reading the piece, it was pretty clear that they failed to fulfill that promise.

Coincidentally, the current issue of CRISIS also has a cover story on the Crusades, written by renowned Crusades historian, Dr. Thomas F. Madden. I encourage you to compare the two.

(You can read it here: http://www.crisismagazine.com)

Naturally, after reading the U.S. News & World Report piece, I knew we needed to respond. So we went back to Dr. Madden, and asked him to have at it.

That he did. Here it is...

Sincerely,

Deal W. Hudson

p.s. Please forward this to anyone you think could use the information. Like me, I know you're tired of hearing the media recycle the same nonsense about the Crusades.

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[Brian Kopp DPM]

ping

[Don Myers]

bttt

[Askel5]

Thanks for the heads-up. Gosh I wish Royalist were still around.

[Light Speed]

Sure its full of holes.
Hardly a word about Romes Papal Bulls..concordants..and land seizures..not to mention the overthrow of Non Muslim entites Rome had "Vendetta" with.
The current madness..Americas failed Mid-east policies from 30 years back ,was to imagine that they could control Islam..modify it..enlighten it..give it a softer side via Financial treaty and economic/military enhancement.
Foolish Rome tried the same thing and were nearly run over by the Juggernaught...Outside the gates of Vienna..the Lights finally came on upstairs.
The main reason Islam did not subjugate Europe was logistics..they were streched to far.
Islam despises weakness..it only emboldens them more.

[CaptRon]

This is the second article in the past few days that disses Runciman's history. It wouldn't bother me all that much except that I spent big bucks about 3 months ago to buy all of his books, thinking that he was DA MAN.

[Dumb_Ox]

While it is true that Aristotle came to the West through Arab translations, those were acquired in Spain where Christians and Muslims did interact.

Whoops. I was about to say: "This makes much more sense, especially since one of the great Christian commentators on Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, was influenced by Moses Maimonides, the scholar from Cordoba."

Then to confirm my knowledge of history, I did a brief search. Here's what Encyclopedia Brittanica says:

"Jewish philosopher, jurist, and physician. Born in Córdoba, Spain, he was obliged to practice his faith secretly under Islamic rule. To gain religious freedom he settled in Egypt (1165), where he won fame for his medical skill and became court physician to the sultan Saladin."

So somehow the Spanish expatriate Maimonides exerted enough influence for his works to get from Egypt to Europe.

[etcetera]

"...the killing of defenders who refused to surrender was the accepted standard for both Muslims and Christians in the Middle Ages."

Isn't this what the Israelis have done in the current military push thru the refugee camps? If it sounds so acceptable then, why is it not acceptable now?

[Claud]

BUMP....Excellent post

[history_matters]

Bless you for your posting -- especially the note from Deal Hudson.

By the way, we should remember Karen Armstrong the ex-Catholic, ex-nun, ex-Christian is trying to rewrite the history of everything (including the Crusade) while giving her "august" blessing to the Muslims.

[LaBelleDameSansMerci]

Here's a related post Negationism in India

Is there a pattern here? A tendency? A natural drive by some organism? Or what-have-you?

[denydenydeny]

Indexing.

[Diago]

bump

[denydenydeny]

Indexing.

[SunkenCiv]

just bumping this topic I stumbled across. Thanks Val for sending that Crisis mag article (linked at the following topic) in email a couple of years ago:

The Real History of the Crusades ^
			Posted by RebelDawg On News/Activism ^ 05/29/2002 6:43:31 PM PDT with 46 comments crisismagazine ^ | April 1, 2002 | Thomas F. Madden The Real History of the CrusadesBy Thomas F. MaddenWith the possible exception of Umberto Eco, medieval scholars are not used to getting much media attention. We tend to be a quiet lot (except during the annual bacchanalia we call the International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, Michigan, of all places), poring over musty chronicles and writing dull yet meticulous studies that few will read. Imagine, then, my surprise when within days of the September 11 attacks, the Middle Ages suddenly became relevant.As a Crusade historian, I found the tranquil solitude of the ivory tower shattered by journalists, editors, and...