Four Myths about the Crusades

Fascinating article over at First Principles. The one that surprised me was myth number 4, that Muslims held a grudge against Christians and Christianity because of the Crusades. The author points out that, prior to World War I, the Muslim world wasn't that bothered by the Crusades because they had the impression that they won those wars. And really, they pretty much did: they still have Asia Minor (Turkey), they still have northern Africa, they still have Iran, they still had Jerusalem until fairly recently (and they didn't lose it to Christians). What they lost is Al-Andalus (Spain). But all of those places were heavily Christian before the Muslims came, saw, and conquered, so the Christian Crusades were essentially a counter-attack against Muslim aggression. Which, incidentally, is addressed in refuting myth number 1, that the Crusades were an unprovoked attack.