The Crusades

Comments

• peterfarrington

  November 2010

  I am not sure that the COC can have a position on history.
  
  My own opinion is that the crusades, like most historical events, were a mix of various agendas and motivations. One of those motivations was to liberate the Holy Land from the Islamic invaders. To that extent it was a war of liberation. If the Islamic armies had not invaded all of the Middle East, North Africa, Spain and Eastern Europe then there would have been no need for a crusade of any sort.
  
  Of course the crusades were not morally neutral, and were mixed up with politics, greed, the desire for power etc. But you are entirely correct, and I agree with you, that if the Islamic armies had not been resisted then we would all be under the Muslim yoke now. We need to remember that the Muslim armies conquered Spain in 711 AD, reached as far as Tours in 732 AD, they sacked Rome in 846 AD. From the beginning they had intended the violent and forcible conquest of Europe. In the 17th century Muslim pirates were still taking white slaves from the British mainland. It is thought that 1,250,000 Europeans were enslaved by Muslims, and of course they continued enslaving Armenian children into the 20th century.
  
  The crusades were, to a great extent, a response to centuries of invasion, and to the shame which was felt in seeing the Holy Places in Muslim hands. They were also to some extent a response to the urgent requests for military help from the embattled Christian East. There were negative elements as well of course.
  
  Father Peter
• marta

  June 2014

  I need your help.
  I'm from Poland and  I write about the Crusaders, I need the information;
  were the Crusaders exactly in the Hanging Church in Cairo (St. Virgin Mary's Church) ?
  Where could I find this information? It is very important for me.