The Story of the Crusades: An Open Confrontation Between Islam & Christianity

 

The Story of the Crusades: An Open Confrontation Between Islam & Christianity

The rapid development of Islam raised the concerns of European rulers, especially the Pope and European kingdoms, who felt rivaled and threatened by Islamic expansion. As a result, the Islamic movement began to get a big reaction from European Christian figures. They consolidated to fight against the Islamic agenda by using religious sentiments, the culmination of which was the outbreak of the 'Crusades' which lasted for about two centuries, 11 AD / 5 H to 13 AD / 7 H.

Politically, Islam succeeded in overthrowing the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) empire which had close ties to Western Rome. This Byzantine collapse was also a blow to Western Rome. Religiously, residents in Byzantine territories such as Syria, Palestine, Jordan, and Egypt were previously Christians who were later converted to Islam. More than that, the Christian holy places in Palestine are under Islamic rule. This condition caused a heavy loss for the West.

The Crusades ( The Crusades ) were a series of wars that lasted for about two centuries and raged in waves, which were waged by Christian-Europeans against Muslim territories. The causes of the Crusades were very complex. includes religious, social, political, and economic motives which are all intertwined. The religious factor is indeed activated to generate a thorough spirit and willingness to sacrifice. However, religion was not the only factor fueling the crusades.

Keep in mind that Jerusalem is one of the most sacred places not only by Muslims and Jews, but also by Christians. Pilgrims, especially Christians and Jews come from all over the world. While the holy areas of Jerusalem and Palestine have been under Islamic rule for centuries, this openness has continued.

The complexity of the factors that triggered the crusade , for example, was seen in the 10th and 11th centuries AD precisely when there was a political division that befell the great Abbasid dynasty in Baghdad. This was accompanied by news of the bad reputation of an Islamic ruler, the sixth Caliph of the Fatimid dynasty, Al-Hakim, which was heard as far as the Pope and the kingdoms of Europe. For example, the persecution of Christians living in dynastic territories that stretched as far as Syria and Palestine and the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem in 1009-1010 AD.

Al-Hakim's actions are considered as one of the triggers for the increasing desire of European Christians to launch the First Crusade and save what they consider to be Christian holy places that are under threat.

The religious sentiment that triggered the presence of the crusaders was first ignited by Pope Urban II through his sermon on 17 November 1095 at the Council of Clermont which was attended by churchmen and European kings. In his sermon, the Pope called on Christians to set out to liberate the holy city of Jerusalem from Muslim oppression. The Pope promised penance for those who died in the holy war or for those who managed to take control of the holy city of Jerusalem.

Apart from religious factors, the Crusades were also triggered by political factors. As a crucial figure who is the leader of all Christian sects, both in the West and in the East, the Pope has ambitions to unite all churches. At that time the church was divided into the Western church and the Eastern church. The polarization occurred after the Roman Conference in 869 AD and the Constantinople Conference in 879 AD. The two churches differed in their understanding of the concept of the holy spirit. The Pope tried to subdue the Eastern orthodox church, but the conflict of understanding between the Western church and the Eastern Church under the Byzantine empire hindered the Pope's intentions.

Then, the golden opportunity came for the Pope when there was a request for help from the Byzantines to deal with the pressure of the Seljuq Turks. This golden opportunity was used to portray the Pope as the sole leader for all Christians in the struggle against the Muslims. Byzantine power in Syria (Sham) and Asia Minor at that time was increasingly pressured by the expansion of the Turkic Seljuq dynasty. At its peak, in 1071 AD, the Turkic Seljuq dynasty succeeded in defeating the Byzantine forces in a decisive battle at Manzikert.

At that time, the Byzantine empire requested military assistance from Western Europe, including from the Pope who had considerable power. In 1090 CE, the Byzantine Emperor Alexius Commenus again appealed to Europe after he heard of the Seljuq pressure on Near Eastern Christians along with the violence of the Fatimid rulers. Under the pretext of saving Byzantium and taking over the holy land in Palestine from Islam, he at the same time wanted to realize his ambition to unite the Eastern church and the Western church.

Economic factors also played a role in encouraging the Crusades. When Europe launched a propaganda crusades, the countries in Europe were facing an economic crisis. Evidence of economic decline at that time, among others, first , the circulation of gold currency. Second , there is a drastic decline in the activities of merchants. Third , the cessation of the circulation of commodities from the East such as spices and silk. Fourth , currency circulation is reduced to a minimum level. Fifth, the position of the cities that fell sharply and turned into a kind of stronghold. Thus, the victory in the Crusades was hoped to be able to restore the economy in Europe by controlling strategic trade routes in the East, especially in the Mediterranean Sea, which at that time was controlled by Islam.

The explanation above is a glimpse of the background and the triggering factors of the crusade. It can be seen how the pattern of interaction between Islam and Christianity changed as it expanded to a wider area. This is because the expansion of the territory is directly proportional to the resistance of the conquered people. The feeling of 'rivalry' coupled with the caliph al-Hakim's treatment of Christian groups in the East, formed the image of Islam as a significant threat. Economic and social motives are also effective triggers, or are actually intertwined with religious motives. However, history has its own dynamics. Our job is to learn as much as possible from the stories of the past.