In September 2001, shortly after the terrorist attacks on America, President George W. Bush announced his “Crusade” against terrorism - a Crusade that was aimed mainly at Islamic fundamentalists. One Millennium after the first Crusades, that conflict seemed still going on and the connection to that fateful day in September 2001 was drawn easily. The fight had been going on since the first expansion of Islam into the former Christian world.
An everlasting conflict between Christians in the West and Muslims in the East seems so obvious that we take it for self-evident when we perceive our political world. Authors have written and modified it repeatedly. Not long ago, Bernard Lewis wrote his Islam and the West telling us about the history of these cultures as a history of military conflict.
One more famous book takes that approach to take a look at the recent development in world politics and predict its Clash of Civilizations. Huntington shows the post-Cold War world by explaining global politics along cultural lines. One of the most important of these lines is, not surprisingly, the one between the Islamic and the Western Civilizations.
But what if we take a closer look on what appears to be behind the ambiguous history of Crusades and Holy Wars. Are there perhaps more sophisticated explanations. We have to differentiate the motives for the main campaigns in an assumed “continuous conflict.” Therefore we will see over the Crusades, the fierce war at the front between Christendom and Islam under Ottoman rule and finally the modern antagonisms to verify or falsify that theory of a causally determined cultural conflict.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Introduction: The assumed tradition
1. The Ancient Conflicts
1.1. The Crusades: ‘Deus lo vult!’
1.2. The Ottoman Empire and Habsburg: Crescent and Cross
2. The Modern Conflicts
2.1. The Middle East: Defeat of the Ottomans and Inventing the Mandates
2.2. The Muslims and Israel: Androcles against the Lion
Conclusion: Intervention and Demonization
Objectives and Themes
The primary objective of this work is to critically examine the historical validity of the "everlasting conflict" narrative between the Islamic and Western worlds. By analyzing the Crusades, the Ottoman-Habsburg wars, and modern Middle Eastern geopolitics, the paper challenges the theory of a causally determined cultural clash and investigates how modern political interventions have constructed current tensions.
- Deconstruction of the "clash of civilizations" narrative
- Historical analysis of Crusader-Muslim relations and political alliances
- Examination of Ottoman tolerance and the Millet system
- Investigation into the impact of Western imperialism and mandate systems
- Evaluation of the role of Zionism and US foreign policy in modern US-Muslim antagonism
Excerpt from the Book
Introduction: An assumed tradition
In September 2001, shortly after the terrorist attacks on America, President George W. Bush announced his “Crusade” against terrorism - a Crusade that was aimed mainly at Islamic fundamentalists. One Millennium after the first Crusades, that conflict seemed still going on and the connection to that fateful day in September 2001 was drawn easily. The fight had been going on since the first expansion of Islam into the former Christian world.
An everlasting conflict between Christians in the West and Muslims in the East seems so obvious that we take it for self-evident when we perceive our political world. Authors have written and modified it repeatedly. Not long ago, Bernard Lewis wrote his Islam and the West telling us about the history of these cultures as a history of military conflict. Even supporters of the Arab point of view back this idea of the continuous conflict. The conclusion of Amin Maalouf suggests that “there can be no doubt that the schism between these two worlds [the Arab East and the West] dates from the Crusades, deeply felt by the Arabs, even today, as an act of rape.”
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: Introduction: The assumed tradition: This chapter introduces the perception of an "everlasting conflict" between the West and the Islamic world, citing authors like Huntington and Lewis, and sets the stage for the paper's critical inquiry into this narrative.
1. The Ancient Conflicts: This section explores the historical complexities of the Crusades and the Ottoman-Habsburg wars, demonstrating that religious conflict was often secondary to political and territorial pragmatism.
1.1. The Crusades: ‘Deus lo vult!’: The author analyzes the motivation behind the Crusades, arguing that political alliances often crossed religious lines and that the "long memory" of the Crusades is a largely modern, constructed phenomenon.
1.2. The Ottoman Empire and Habsburg: Crescent and Cross: This chapter details the conflict between the Ottomans and European powers, highlighting that despite the rhetoric of religious warfare, pragmatic diplomacy and state interests frequently dictated international relations.
2. The Modern Conflicts: The focus shifts to the 20th century, examining how Western imperialism and the creation of mandates fundamentally destabilized the region and created the roots of modern hostility.
2.1. The Middle East: Defeat of the Ottomans and Inventing the Mandates: This section explains how post-WWI territorial divisions by Western powers ignored local structures, leading to long-term violence and resentment that were political rather than religious in nature.
2.2. The Muslims and Israel: Androcles against the Lion: The author discusses the impact of Zionism and subsequent US support for Israel as a primary driver of contemporary antagonism, framing it as a conflict of competing nationalisms.
Conclusion: Intervention and Demonization: The final chapter summarizes the argument that the "clash of civilizations" is an imagined, politically useful construct, and that contemporary hostility is primarily a product of 20th-century geopolitical interference.
Keywords
Crusades, Islam, Western World, Clash of Civilizations, Ottoman Empire, Middle East, Imperialism, Zionism, Geopolitics, Samuel P. Huntington, Foreign Policy, Cultural Conflict, Nationalism, Mandates, Modern History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core argument of this work?
The work argues that the concept of an "everlasting conflict" between the West and the Islamic world is a modern, constructed myth, and that historical and modern tensions are primarily driven by politics, territorial competition, and imperial interests rather than an inherent cultural or religious clash.
What are the primary thematic fields covered?
The paper covers the history of the Crusades, Ottoman-European relations, 20th-century colonial mandates, the formation of modern Middle Eastern borders, and the geopolitical impact of the state of Israel on US-Muslim relations.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to verify or falsify the theory of a "causally determined cultural conflict" by analyzing historical events and modern politics through a critical, objective lens.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The author uses historical analysis and literature review, comparing primary source perspectives and scholarly interpretations of the Crusades and modern geopolitical developments.
What does the main body address?
It addresses the historical nuances of the Crusades, the political pragmatism of the Ottoman era, the destabilizing effect of Western mandate systems post-WWI, and the shift toward modern nationalist conflicts in the Middle East.
How would you describe the work using keywords?
Central keywords include Middle East, Crusades, Clash of Civilizations, Imperialism, Geopolitics, Nationalism, and the critique of Western foreign policy.
How does the author view the "Crusade" terminology used by modern politicians?
The author considers it an insensitive and historically inaccurate appropriation that fuels modern conflict by reinforcing constructed memories rather than reflecting historical realities.
Why does the author focus on the "Millet system" in the Ottoman Empire?
The author uses the Millet system as an example of historical religious tolerance and administrative complexity that contradicts the stereotype of forced conversion or perpetual religious warfare.
What role does Israel play in the author's analysis of US-Muslim antagonism?
The author identifies US support for Israel as a pivotal modern factor, arguing that it is perceived by the Muslim world as a component of foreign interference and nationalist encroachment, which has become a primary catalyst for hostility toward the US.
- Citar trabajo
- Magister Artium Steve Nowak (Autor), 2010, Imagined Enemies, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/147774
