The Crusades, Christianity, and Islam

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Reference, Comparative Religion, History, Medieval
Cover of the book The Crusades, Christianity, and Islam by Jonathan Riley-Smith, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jonathan Riley-Smith ISBN: 9780231517942
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: September 30, 2008
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Jonathan Riley-Smith
ISBN: 9780231517942
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: September 30, 2008
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

The Crusades were penitential war-pilgrimages fought in the Levant and the eastern Mediterranean, as well as in North Africa, Spain, Portugal, Poland, the Baltic region, Hungary, the Balkans, and Western Europe. Beginning in the eleventh century and ending as late as the eighteenth, these holy wars were waged against Muslims and other enemies of the Church, enlisting generations of laymen and laywomen to fight for the sake of Christendom.

Crusading features prominently in today's religio-political hostilities, yet the perceptions of these wars held by Arab nationalists, pan-Islamists, and many in the West have been deeply distorted by the language and imagery of nineteenth-century European imperialism. With this book, Jonathan Riley-Smith returns to the actual story of the Crusades, explaining why and where they were fought and how deeply their narratives and symbolism became embedded in popular Catholic thought and devotional life.

From this history, Riley-Smith traces the legacy of the Crusades into modern times, specifically within the attitudes of European imperialists and colonialists and within the beliefs of twentieth-century Muslims. Europeans fashioned an interpretation of the Crusades from the writings of Walter Scott and a French contemporary, Joseph-François Michaud. Scott portrayed Islamic societies as forward-thinking, while casting Christian crusaders as culturally backward and often morally corrupt. Michaud, in contrast, glorified crusading, and his followers used its imagery to illuminate imperial adventures.

These depictions have had a profound influence on contemporary Western opinion, as well as on Muslim attitudes toward their past and present. Whether regarded as a valid expression of Christianity's divine enterprise or condemned as a weapon of empire, crusading has been a powerful rhetorical tool for centuries. In order to understand the preoccupations of Islamist jihadis and the character of Western discourse on the Middle East, Riley-Smith argues, we must understand how images of crusading were formed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The Crusades were penitential war-pilgrimages fought in the Levant and the eastern Mediterranean, as well as in North Africa, Spain, Portugal, Poland, the Baltic region, Hungary, the Balkans, and Western Europe. Beginning in the eleventh century and ending as late as the eighteenth, these holy wars were waged against Muslims and other enemies of the Church, enlisting generations of laymen and laywomen to fight for the sake of Christendom.

Crusading features prominently in today's religio-political hostilities, yet the perceptions of these wars held by Arab nationalists, pan-Islamists, and many in the West have been deeply distorted by the language and imagery of nineteenth-century European imperialism. With this book, Jonathan Riley-Smith returns to the actual story of the Crusades, explaining why and where they were fought and how deeply their narratives and symbolism became embedded in popular Catholic thought and devotional life.

From this history, Riley-Smith traces the legacy of the Crusades into modern times, specifically within the attitudes of European imperialists and colonialists and within the beliefs of twentieth-century Muslims. Europeans fashioned an interpretation of the Crusades from the writings of Walter Scott and a French contemporary, Joseph-François Michaud. Scott portrayed Islamic societies as forward-thinking, while casting Christian crusaders as culturally backward and often morally corrupt. Michaud, in contrast, glorified crusading, and his followers used its imagery to illuminate imperial adventures.

These depictions have had a profound influence on contemporary Western opinion, as well as on Muslim attitudes toward their past and present. Whether regarded as a valid expression of Christianity's divine enterprise or condemned as a weapon of empire, crusading has been a powerful rhetorical tool for centuries. In order to understand the preoccupations of Islamist jihadis and the character of Western discourse on the Middle East, Riley-Smith argues, we must understand how images of crusading were formed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book Historical Records of the Five Dynasties by Jonathan Riley-Smith
Cover of the book The Best Business Writing 2012 by Jonathan Riley-Smith
Cover of the book Identifying with Nationality by Jonathan Riley-Smith
Cover of the book Taxation in Developing Countries by Jonathan Riley-Smith
Cover of the book The Struggle for Form by Jonathan Riley-Smith
Cover of the book Our Forest, Your Ecosystem, Their Timber by Jonathan Riley-Smith
Cover of the book The Education of John Dewey by Jonathan Riley-Smith
Cover of the book The Columbia Guide to American Indian Literatures of the United States Since 1945 by Jonathan Riley-Smith
Cover of the book "Do You Have a Band?" by Jonathan Riley-Smith
Cover of the book Killing the Moonlight by Jonathan Riley-Smith
Cover of the book Turks, Moors, and Englishmen in the Age of Discovery by Jonathan Riley-Smith
Cover of the book Japan, South Korea, and the United States Nuclear Umbrella by Jonathan Riley-Smith
Cover of the book Nancy Cunard by Jonathan Riley-Smith
Cover of the book Up from Invisibility by Jonathan Riley-Smith
Cover of the book Reworking Race by Jonathan Riley-Smith
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy