1
00:00:02,200 --> 00:00:04,559
"An accursed race,

2
00:00:04,560 --> 00:00:10,559
"a race absolutely alien to God,
has invaded the land of Christians."

3
00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:14,839
These were the words,

4
00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:18,839
recorded by eyewitnesses,
that Pope Urban II used

5
00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:21,199
to describe Muslims.

6
00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:25,199
They launched one of the bloodiest
wars in the history of Christianity.

7
00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:28,159
The Crusades.

8
00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:34,159
Their task was to end the rule
of Islam over the holy places.

9
00:00:34,480 --> 00:00:38,479
In the West, the Crusades
are a chapter of Christian history

10
00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:41,439
that has little impact
on our lives today.

11
00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:43,359
But what few people realise

12
00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:46,439
is that today's
Islamist suicide bombers

13
00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:50,439
believe they are still
fighting the Crusaders.

14
00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:01,519
I believe that people in the West
urgently need to understand

15
00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:05,879
why the Crusades still matter
to people in the Middle East.

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00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:09,879
Reporting from this region,
I was repeatedly struck

17
00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:12,719
by how people
see the politics of today

18
00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:14,599
through the prism of the Crusades.

19
00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:18,239
What is it about this period
in history 1,000 years ago

20
00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:21,319
that so defines the divisions
between East and West,

21
00:01:21,320 --> 00:01:24,559
and between two of the world's
greatest religions,

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00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:27,559
Islam and Christianity?

23
00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:46,439
In September 2001,

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00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:50,439
the West's relationship with the
Muslim world was changed forever.

25
00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:52,559
In the wake of 9/11,

26
00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:56,359
the US government launched
what it called a new kind of war

27
00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:58,519
against a new kind of threat.

28
00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:02,519
But one seemingly casual reference
from the American President

29
00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:06,599
led many Muslims to believe that
history was about to repeat itself.

30
00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:09,199
This is a new kind of evil

31
00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:13,199
and we understand, and the American
people are beginning to understand,

32
00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:16,159
that this crusade...

33
00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:18,839
This war on terrorism

34
00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:20,399
is gonna take a while.

35
00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:22,679
But I can assure the American people,

36
00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:27,679
it is time for us to win the first
war of the 21st century decisively.

37
00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:30,919
I was in the Middle East at the time

38
00:02:30,920 --> 00:02:33,919
and remember
the instantaneous disbelief

39
00:02:33,920 --> 00:02:37,919
caused by his use
of that one word, "crusade".

40
00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:42,799
For many of my fellow Muslims,
it sounded like George Bush

41
00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:47,799
was relaunching Christianity's
holy wars of over 900 years ago.

42
00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:52,559
It was a gift to terror groups
like al-Qaeda.

43
00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:55,039
Bush, you thought you would be

44
00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:56,519
remembered by history

45
00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:58,999
as the president who waged a series

46
00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:02,079
of successful Crusades
against the Muslims.

47
00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:05,519
Instead, you will go down in history,

48
00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:07,119
not only as the president

49
00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:09,159
who embroiled his nation

50
00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:14,159
in a series of unwinnable and bloody
conflicts in the Islamic world,

51
00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:18,279
but as the president who set
the United States off on its...

52
00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:21,399
What President Bush
didn't understand

53
00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:25,399
is what the word crusade
really means.

54
00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:30,039
The concept first emerged
in the late 11th century,

55
00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:32,039
a time when Europe
and the Middle East

56
00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:34,079
were divided
between two rival faiths,

57
00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:38,079
Islam and Christianity.

58
00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:43,599
Central to both religions
was the holy city of Jerusalem,

59
00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:46,279
the site of Jesus Christ's
resurrection

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00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:50,279
and the prophet Muhammad's
ascent into heaven.

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00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:58,079
Muslims had ruled the holy city
for over 400 years,

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00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:02,179
when in 1095, Pope Urban II,

63
00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:06,599
called for the conquest of Jerusalem
in the name of Christ.

64
00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:09,679
They destroy the altars,
after having defiled them

65
00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:11,679
with their uncleanness.

66
00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:16,179
They circumcise the Christians,
and the blood of the circumcision

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00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:19,279
they either spread upon the altars

68
00:04:19,280 --> 00:04:21,199
or pour into the vases

69
00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:24,399
of the baptismal font.

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00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:27,759
Urban's speech resonated
throughout Europe

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00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:31,759
and led to a new form
of Christian holy war.

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00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:40,759
This church was built
by the Knights Templar,

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00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:42,079
an order of holy warriors

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00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:46,079
founded during the Crusades.

75
00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:51,719
As Jesus Christ taught his followers
to turn the other cheek,

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00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:55,799
I've always wondered how the Church
could condone violence in any form?

77
00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,519
The answer lies with the fifth
century theologian St Augustine

78
00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:05,519
and his Christian
theory of "just war".

79
00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:10,999
He takes the idea of the individual
having a right intent,

80
00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:14,159
that you don't fight wars for fun,

81
00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:15,599
for sadism, for greed.

82
00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:17,359
They're defensive essentially.

83
00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:19,639
And the purpose must be
either defensive

84
00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:21,999
or the restitution of rights.

85
00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:25,439
In a perfect world there would
be no war, in the actual world,

86
00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:27,039
in a sinful world, there is war

87
00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:30,639
and certain wars fought for
certain reasons can be justified.

88
00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:34,939
But this does not make the actual
fighting itself holy or legitimate.

89
00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:37,559
It remains sinful.

90
00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:39,919
By the late 11th century,

91
00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:42,999
the Church had developed
a new form of holy war.

92
00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:46,999
A war that could be free from sin.

93
00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:49,679
Holy war is different
from a just war.

94
00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:54,679
Holy war is a religious act
that is commanded by God

95
00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:57,519
and the Crusades
were initially holy wars.

96
00:05:57,520 --> 00:05:59,159
The peace of a troubled world

97
00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:02,599
and the hopes of an oppressed people
now depend on you.

98
00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:06,519
These tyrannical states do not care
for the sanctity of human life.

99
00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:10,039
The terrorists delight
in destroying it.

100
00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:13,759
The extraordinary thing for me
is that when you read the whole idea

101
00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:16,759
of "just war" in Christian thought,

102
00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:19,879
it's absolutely the same things
that I've read

103
00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:22,679
when looking at the words
of Western politicians

104
00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:26,279
talking aboutpre-emptive war
and even humanitarian intervention.

105
00:06:26,280 --> 00:06:27,879
It's very similar, isn't it?

106
00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:31,799
It's more than similar. It's actually
identical, except without religion.

107
00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:33,479
One of the legacies of the Crusades

108
00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:37,479
is to put "just war" theory at the
heart of international relations.

109
00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:41,679
It's interesting that the rhetoric
of Tony Blair for the Iraq war

110
00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:44,479
was solely based
on "just war" theory,

111
00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:48,279
which is why lawyers crawled
all over it and said it was rubbish.

112
00:06:48,280 --> 00:06:53,279
Whereas George Bush, his rhetoric
is much more akin to a holy war.

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00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:55,839
War on terror.

114
00:06:55,840 --> 00:06:58,839
An absolutist duty.

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00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:10,839
In the West, the word crusade

116
00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:14,839
is used to describe
a noble and just cause.

117
00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:17,639
But if Western politicians

118
00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:21,559
were more aware of historical events
in this French town,

119
00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:25,299
I doubt they'd ever
use the word again.

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00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:30,399
In November 1095, the Pope
was on a preaching tour of Europe.

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00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:35,999
Hundreds of Christians gathered here
to listen to what he had to say.

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00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:39,679
I'm in the midst

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00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:42,199
of the Christmas fair,
right in the heart

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00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:44,719
of the town of Clermont Ferrand

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00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:46,119
in the middle of France.

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00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:49,559
People are enjoying themselves,
and they're probably oblivious

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00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:51,919
to the fact that the man
depicted in that statue

128
00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:55,599
Pope Urban, made a radical speech,

129
00:07:55,600 --> 00:08:00,599
which would launch a Holy War in the
name of Christianity against Islam.

130
00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:01,959
It is a war

131
00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:05,959
whose effects we are still
living with to this day.

132
00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:11,839
At Clermont, the Pope commanded
the knights of Europe

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00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:15,319
to capture what he believed
were rightfully Christian cities,

134
00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:19,319
and kill any Muslim
that stood in their way.

135
00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:22,479
"Holy men do not possess
those cities.

136
00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:24,479
"Nay, base and bastard Turks

137
00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:28,479
"hold sway over our brothers."

138
00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:31,679
Did Urban intend this
as specifically

139
00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:35,679
a war against Muslims
for Christianity?

140
00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:39,799
I think definitely so, yes.
That was Urban's original intention.

141
00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:41,239
That there was a Muslim threat

142
00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:43,919
posed to the outskirts
of Christendom

143
00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:46,959
and he wanted people to go
and counter that threat.

144
00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:48,959
He talked about attacks on pilgrims

145
00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:52,439
who were trying to reach
the Holy Sepulchre.

146
00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:55,359
For example, some of them would
have their heels cut open

147
00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:58,679
or others were used
for target practice for arrows.

148
00:08:58,680 --> 00:09:00,199
These were the things

149
00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,039
that he was deliberately
talking about in his speech

150
00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:07,039
to kind of get people angry enough
to go on Crusade.

151
00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:10,519
"Take the road
to the Holy Sepulchre.

152
00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:15,519
"Rescue that land from a dreadful
race and rule over it yourselves."

153
00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:23,039
People don't really understand how
damaging and violent it truly was.

154
00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:25,799
It was a holy war.

155
00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:29,679
The fanaticism that we would
associate with fundamentalists today

156
00:09:29,680 --> 00:09:32,519
could very well be applied
to the Crusaders

157
00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:33,999
on the First Crusade,

158
00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:37,999
who responded to Urban's message
in a very literal sense.

159
00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:50,959
Following Urban's speech,
tens of thousands of Christians

160
00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:54,959
signed up to what became known
as the First Crusade.

161
00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:59,799
They set off to the Holy Land
from every corner of Europe.

162
00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:04,099
Knights and peasants side by side,
many bringing their entire families.

163
00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:09,639
One of the first crusaders
came from the town of Le Puy,

164
00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:11,799
in Southern France.

165
00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:14,479
His named was Raymond of Aiguilles,

166
00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:18,479
a priest who took services
at the Church of St Michael.

167
00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:21,879
He was typical
of the Christian warrior class

168
00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:25,079
Urban was appealing to.

169
00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:30,079
What was France like back then?
What kind of society was it?

170
00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:33,559
France wasn't a country
in any sense that we recognise.

171
00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:36,119
It was a mosaic of petty lordships.

172
00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:38,959
Lordships which fought
with one another constantly.

173
00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:42,719
Although it's a very violent
society, it's a society which has

174
00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:46,719
a very profound belief
in Christianity.

175
00:10:47,560 --> 00:10:51,559
For centuries, Western Christendom
had been plagued by local wars

176
00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:54,199
in which Christians
killed other Christians.

177
00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:57,799
In launching the First Crusade,

178
00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:00,039
Urban convinced
the knights of Europe

179
00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:01,479
to stop fighting each other

180
00:11:01,480 --> 00:11:04,999
and turn their attentions
towards a common enemy.

181
00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:08,239
Urban had a very powerful sense,
I think,

182
00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:11,919
of the Muslim threat to Europe,
and it was a very real threat.

183
00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:17,919
Therefore, his crusade can only
be seen in terms of rolling back

184
00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:22,719
the tide of Islam which he knew
had swept across the Mediterranean

185
00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:25,599
many centuries before.

186
00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:27,079
The message which he gives

187
00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:31,079
to the French aristocracy
is salvation through slaughter.

188
00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:34,599
They were aware of their sins.

189
00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:36,999
They knew that
when they faced their Maker,

190
00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:39,239
they had many, many sins
to make good for.

191
00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:45,239
Urban offers them salvation, a path
to salvation, through slaughter.

192
00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:48,839
By doing what they did every day,
as it were,

193
00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:50,959
killing, maiming, murdering,

194
00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:54,959
they could actually find
eternal life.

195
00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:02,319
For us in the 21st century,

196
00:12:02,320 --> 00:12:06,319
this is one of the places where we
get most close to the Crusades,

197
00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:09,399
because the man who wrote
the history of the Crusades

198
00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:13,399
was actually the priest
who served this altar.

199
00:12:13,680 --> 00:12:14,879
In this very church?

200
00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:17,639
In this very church.

201
00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:20,199
Raymond of Aiguilles
was one of many chroniclers

202
00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:24,199
who left behind detailed
eyewitness accounts of the Crusade.

203
00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:27,079
They were chronicling God's work.

204
00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:29,559
They were continuing,
in a sense, the Bible.

205
00:12:29,560 --> 00:12:31,759
The Bible story is a history

206
00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:35,759
and they were telling another
history of God's deeds on Earth.

207
00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:39,199
Many of the chronicles bear witness

208
00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:42,879
to the religious fervour
of these Western Christians.

209
00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:47,179
"Behold, we journey a long way
to seek the idolatrous shrine

210
00:12:47,560 --> 00:12:51,079
"and take vengeance
upon the Muslims."

211
00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:55,079
Today, it's shocking to think
that such language was once used

212
00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:57,799
by committed Christians.

213
00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:00,879
But the desire to drive infidels
from the holy places

214
00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:03,239
is still with us today.

215
00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:06,039
We shall continue
to strike back hard.

216
00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:08,159
This year, next year,

217
00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:09,919
the year after that, and so on,

218
00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:12,919
until the last Crusader goes home,

219
00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:17,119
whether waving a white flag
or lying in a flag-covered casket.

220
00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:19,399
For the Western world,

221
00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:23,359
it is Islam today that is associated
with religious fanaticism

222
00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:25,479
and the whole idea of holy war.

223
00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:30,079
But 900 years ago, it was completely
the other way round.

224
00:13:30,280 --> 00:13:33,719
It was the Christian Crusaders
who were the holy warriors,

225
00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:36,639
who were determined,
by war or whatever it took,

226
00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:39,519
to recapture Jerusalem
from the Muslims.

227
00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:42,879
It would be what they did
in Christianity's name

228
00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:47,179
that would leave an indelible mark
on the Islamic world forever.

229
00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:58,839
We live in an era
when Islamist terrorists

230
00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:02,839
carry out indiscriminate
acts of violence around the world.

231
00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:05,999
Their main target is the West,

232
00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:10,999
whose governments Osama Bin Laden
refers to as "Crusaders".

233
00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:24,799
I think Al Qaeda
describes Westerners as Crusaders

234
00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:27,479
because of events 900 years ago,

235
00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:30,759
when a defining characteristic
of western Christianity

236
00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:34,679
was religious fanaticism.

237
00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:36,919
In 1096, the crusaders

238
00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:40,919
began arriving at the first
battleground in their holy war.

239
00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:43,959
They had travelled across Europe,

240
00:14:43,960 --> 00:14:47,959
to take back Jerusalem and defend
the Christian empire of Byzantium

241
00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:51,399
against the Muslims of Asia Minor.

242
00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:54,879
The Crusaders expected
the people of Constantinople

243
00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:57,879
to greet them with open arms.

244
00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:02,519
But when they arrived
at the walls of the city,

245
00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:06,519
they struck terror
into its Christian population.

246
00:15:07,280 --> 00:15:10,039
In the summer of 1096
the first Crusaders

247
00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:12,679
arrived at the walls
of Constantinople,

248
00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:16,679
and the emperor's daughter, Anna
Komnene, was so amazed at the sight

249
00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:20,199
that she described them
as looking like tributaries

250
00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:22,599
joining a river from all directions.

251
00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:25,999
"They screamed towards us,"
she wrote, "in full force."

252
00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:28,119
And it must have been
a shocking sight

253
00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:30,519
because this is not
what the Emperor Alexios

254
00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:34,199
and the rest of the inhabitants
of Constantinople were expecting.

255
00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:38,119
They were expecting a small,
disciplined force of mercenaries.

256
00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:42,119
Instead, what they got was this
huge, teeming mass of holy warriors

257
00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:46,599
from western Europe, many of whom
had brought their entire families.

258
00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:54,139
In the 11th century,
Constantinople was the capital
of a Christian empire

259
00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:58,039
that had once stretched
from Greece to Egypt.

260
00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:02,039
The jewel in Byzantium's crown
was the Hagia Sophia.

261
00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:08,119
It was then the biggest church
in the Christian world.

262
00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:20,479
This is one of the great buildings
of the world,

263
00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:23,439
and for a medieval Crusader,
there's no comparable building

264
00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:25,479
in western Christendom.

265
00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:29,479
Rather than seeing them as allies,
the Byzantines thought the Crusaders

266
00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:34,639
were a dangerous mob
intent on plundering their empire.

267
00:16:35,120 --> 00:16:37,679
They think a Holy War
is just a cover story.

268
00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:41,359
They think it's a cover story
to take the riches of Constantinople.

269
00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:44,199
And the fact you've got people
in the crusading army

270
00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:48,199
who've attacked Byzantine territory
before makes it all seem
a bit more suspicious to them.

271
00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:51,319
What's more, Emperor Alexios

272
00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:55,319
found the idea of Holy War
profoundly un-Christian.

273
00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:58,719
The idea of fighting for religion
does not work for the Greeks.

274
00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:02,039
The Holy War that takes place
in their mindset

275
00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:04,999
is monks fighting the Devil
in the cloister.

276
00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:08,999
To fight for a spiritual reward
in the world just doesn't work.

277
00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:13,959
This difference in attitude
is an important one

278
00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:17,959
because it shows how this new form
of Christian Holy War

279
00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:22,199
was invented by western Christians.

280
00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:24,119
That's why today many Muslims

281
00:17:24,120 --> 00:17:28,119
associate crusading not with
Christianity, but with the West

282
00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:31,679
and its so-called
imperialist governments.

283
00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:34,879
Many people think that
all Christianity

284
00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:38,879
was united behind the first
Crusades, and to be honest
that's what I thought.

285
00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:41,279
But the truth is very different.

286
00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:43,639
There was a lot of division
and tension,

287
00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:46,799
particularly on this issue
of Holy War.

288
00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:49,959
And whilst Alexios was willing
to help the Crusaders

289
00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:52,599
when it served his purposes,
the truth is

290
00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:56,359
when it came to the ultimate goal
of the capture of Jerusalem,

291
00:17:56,360 --> 00:17:59,519
the Crusaders were on their own.

292
00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:03,279
From Constantinople, the Crusaders
marched into Asia Minor

293
00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:07,279
and won two early victories
against the Muslim Turks,

294
00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:09,319
at Nicaea and Dorylaeum.

295
00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:13,319
Historical accounts of the battles
made me think of "shock and awe".

296
00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:19,479
The chronicles are filled
with horrific atrocities
committed by both sides.

297
00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:23,239
One Islamic chronicler wrote,

298
00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:26,439
"The crusaders
cut the Turkish army to pieces.

299
00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:30,279
"They killed, pillaged,
and took many prisoners.

300
00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:33,599
"When this event,
so shameful for Islam, became known,

301
00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:36,659
"there was real panic."

302
00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:40,959
When the Crusaders reached
what was then northern Syria,

303
00:18:41,120 --> 00:18:45,119
they faced the first real test
of their faith in Holy War.

304
00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:01,879
In October, 1097,
the Crusaders arrived at Antioch,

305
00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:06,519
one of the holiest cities
on their journey to Jerusalem.

306
00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:12,159
TRANSLATION:
When the Crusaders came here
they set up camp in this area,

307
00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:15,759
and, of course, they realized that
it would be difficult to overcome

308
00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:19,439
thehigh and magnificent
fortifications.

309
00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:21,359
When the siege of Antioch began,

310
00:19:21,360 --> 00:19:24,839
some Crusaders had been on the march
for almost two years

311
00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:27,679
and were 1,500 miles from home.

312
00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:30,559
TRANSLATION:
They were suffering so much hardship

313
00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:34,079
that they thought God was punishing
them. So, in spite of the fact

314
00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:36,799
that they were
at the point of starvation,

315
00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:39,199
they decided to fast.

316
00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:42,999
Imagine,
they decided to start fasting.

317
00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:47,999
The Crusaders at this point
began to hold prayers, they fasted,

318
00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:50,599
they had religious processions,

319
00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:54,359
all of it geared to reinvigorate
their sense of mission

320
00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:58,259
and the sanctity of their mission.

321
00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:02,159
Nine months into the siege,
in June 1098,

322
00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:05,239
the Crusaders' prayers
were finally answered.

323
00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:09,119
A traitor from Antioch's population
offered to help break the siege.

324
00:20:09,120 --> 00:20:13,119
He was an Armenian Muslim
named Firuz.

325
00:20:14,120 --> 00:20:16,879
TRANSLATION:
Here we are at St George's Gate.

326
00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:21,179
It was here that Firuz suspended
a rope ladder for the Crusaders.

327
00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:25,879
The Crusaders used it
to climb up onto the ramparts.

328
00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:30,039
They first captured
that bastion over there
and then opened the gate below.

329
00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:34,259
The people inside were shocked.

330
00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:39,719
Firuz effectively single-handedly
changed the course of history,

331
00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:42,639
that were it not for
the fact of his actions,

332
00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:46,939
the Crusaders would effectively
still be on the outskirts
of the city, starving,

333
00:20:47,360 --> 00:20:51,239
many of them still losing heart,
and it basically would have failed,

334
00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:54,299
and history would not have been
the same.

335
00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:58,999
What followed was the first
major massacre of the Crusades.

336
00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:03,479
Hundreds, perhaps thousands
of Muslims were butchered here.

337
00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:06,999
From now on,
this kind of wholesale slaughter

338
00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:11,199
would be the calling card
of Crusaders in many of the cities
they conquered.

339
00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:17,799
It's very easy to think of
the Crusaders only as holy warriors,

340
00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:20,759
but they saw themselves
as much more.

341
00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:23,799
In fact, in their own eyes
they were also pilgrims,

342
00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:27,759
on their way to liberate Jerusalem
in Jesus Christ's name.

343
00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:31,759
And that's why, whilst they were
slaughtering people here in Antioch

344
00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:34,799
and leaving the dead bodies
littering the city,

345
00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:40,799
they still described themselves
as being "in imitatio Christi" -
in imitation of Christ.

346
00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:48,399
Just like today's terrorists,

347
00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:51,239
who murder innocents
in the name of Allah,

348
00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:55,239
the Crusaders believed that Jesus
condoned their massacres.

349
00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:20,139
In June 1099,
10,000 Muslims looked on in awe

350
00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:24,439
as the Crusaders arrived
at the walls of Jerusalem.

351
00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:28,439
This city is still
at the heart of the struggle
for control of the holy land,

352
00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:33,239
and 900 years ago it was
the Crusaders' ultimate prize.

353
00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:36,679
Some of the Crusader descriptions
of the battle

354
00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:41,179
show the kind of fanatical devotion
one now associates with Al Qaeda.

355
00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:47,479
"One could see marvellous works.

356
00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:50,599
"Some of the pagans
were mercifully beheaded.

357
00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:53,559
"Others, tortured for a long time,

358
00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:57,239
"were burned to death
in searing flames."

359
00:22:57,240 --> 00:23:01,239
To understand the Crusades
we must understand first of all

360
00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:04,759
that this is a spiritual enterprise.

361
00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:07,439
It was a brilliant move
of the Pope

362
00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:11,399
to offer those sinners who are
knights, who are fighting people,

363
00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:15,239
a penance
which was their greatest passion,

364
00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:17,359
which is to kill other people,

365
00:23:17,360 --> 00:23:22,359
that is, killing, fighting
as a kind of penance.

366
00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:24,559
As a spiritual act, cleansing act.

367
00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:27,039
Yes, yes, cleansing act, yes,

368
00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:31,139
and cleansing Jerusalem
of pollution by the Saracens,

369
00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:35,119
as they called the Muslims.

370
00:23:35,120 --> 00:23:38,879
After just one month,
the Crusaders conquered the city

371
00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:42,879
and began cleansing it
of so-called "Muslim pollution".

372
00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:47,799
It was one of the bloodiest
massacres of the Middle Ages.

373
00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:52,599
What kind of things
did the Crusaders do?

374
00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:58,599
Well, here is an eye-witness,
Raymond of Aguilers.

375
00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:03,079
"Some Saracens" - Muslims -
"whose fate was easier,

376
00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:06,079
"merely had their heads cut off.

377
00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:10,179
"The Christians gave over
their whole hearts to murder

378
00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:14,599
"so that not one suckling,
little male child or female,

379
00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:17,319
"not even an infant of one year,

380
00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:21,319
"would escape alive
the hand of the murderer."

381
00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:24,999
Perhaps unsurprisingly,
many Muslim historians

382
00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:28,479
have grossly exaggerated
the extent of the massacre.

383
00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:30,639
But what is extraordinary

384
00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:33,839
is that the Crusader chroniclers
did the same.

385
00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:36,559
Early Christian chroniclers

386
00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:41,559
speaks of 10,000 Saracens, Muslims,
killed.

387
00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:46,879
But very recently
a new Muslim source came to light,

388
00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:52,079
and he says that 3,000
were killed in Al-Aqsa.

389
00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:54,839
But let's remember that on 9/11,

390
00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:58,119
in New York,
in a population of millions,

391
00:24:58,120 --> 00:25:00,439
there were less than 3,000 dead,

392
00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:03,359
and still we remember this
with horror.

393
00:25:03,360 --> 00:25:06,079
If you take this figure of 3,000,

394
00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:08,879
this was not done by machine guns
and grenades,

395
00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:12,759
this was done by people
with swords and axes.

396
00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:16,199
I mean, it was butchering people,
literally, like animals.

397
00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:18,559
Exactly.
They do it out of conviction

398
00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:22,559
that this slaughter
is divinely ordained,

399
00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:26,079
that it pleases God,
and this is why,

400
00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:30,079
at the very end of the massacre
and the pillage,

401
00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:34,159
all of them turned to
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

402
00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:38,879
and as our sources say, "When the
killing and the plunder were over,

403
00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:43,159
"all came rejoicing and weeping
from excess of gladness

404
00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:47,879
"to worship at the Sepulchre
of our Saviour, Jesus."

405
00:25:51,120 --> 00:25:55,119
I wonder, what would Jesus,
who preached peace and love to all,

406
00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:58,319
have made of the fact
that Jerusalem

407
00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:02,319
was once stained with the blood
of Muslims, murdered in His name?

408
00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:07,479
SINGING

409
00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:10,359
During the Middle Ages,

410
00:26:10,360 --> 00:26:13,639
it was commonplace
for both Christians and Muslims

411
00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:15,879
to commit violence in God's name.

412
00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:19,199
But what was unique
about the Christian Crusaders

413
00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:23,199
is that they saw their Holy War
as an act of Christian devotion,

414
00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:27,219
every bit as important as prayer.

415
00:26:33,120 --> 00:26:36,679
For the Crusaders, this,
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,

416
00:26:36,680 --> 00:26:39,999
was the prize, and as soon as
they walked in they prayed,

417
00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:42,799
even though they were
absolutely drenched in blood

418
00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:44,679
from the slaughter in Jerusalem.

419
00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:48,979
for them there was no contradiction
between slaughter and holiness,

420
00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:54,079
because the act of killing infidels
in itself was an act of purification

421
00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:58,199
that would allow them
to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

422
00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:06,119
The Crusaders
had endured countless hardships

423
00:27:06,120 --> 00:27:08,799
as they fought their way
to Jerusalem.

424
00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:12,799
Nearly three quarters of those who
set out had perished along the way.

425
00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:14,839
And it's shocking to think

426
00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:18,199
that it was all
for the sake of this tiny tomb,

427
00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:22,199
the traditional site
of Christ's resurrection.

428
00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:38,319
For people in the West, the Crusader
occupation of the Holy Land

429
00:27:39,360 --> 00:27:43,359
is an event that took place
900 years ago.

430
00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:48,319
But for many Muslims, it's something
that's still happening today.

431
00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:52,519
TRANSLATION:
The Crusader wars are returning
to this very same land,

432
00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:56,519
if not from Europe,
now from America.

433
00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:13,319
In the West, the Crusades
are events in the distant past

434
00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:16,559
which have little bearing
on our everyday lives.

435
00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:20,559
But in the Middle East,
it's very different.

436
00:28:21,120 --> 00:28:24,519
Take the town of Ma'arrat al-Numan.

437
00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:27,319
For many locals,
the Crusader massacre that

438
00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:32,319
took place here over 900 years ago
may as well have happened yesterday.

439
00:28:35,360 --> 00:28:37,599
(TRANSLATION) Long ago
our grandparents

440
00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:39,599
told the story to our parents.

441
00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:43,599
Our parents told the story to us
and now we are telling you.

442
00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:48,039
There was a group who came
from the West, from Rome.

443
00:28:48,040 --> 00:28:51,639
They formed an army of thousands.

444
00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:57,519
They opened the citadel gates.

445
00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:01,519
They entered and massacred everyone.

446
00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:07,999
This is amazing
because this is, essentially,

447
00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:10,679
a diwan or a guesthouse,

448
00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:15,179
a sortof cafe where people
come in to hear poems and stories

449
00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:19,639
retelling what happened in this town

450
00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:21,839
and in Syria at the time
of the Crusades.

451
00:29:21,840 --> 00:29:25,119
And I think it's just
a measure of how much

452
00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:29,119
that part of history still
lives and matters to people.

453
00:29:29,280 --> 00:29:34,079
The people I met in Ma'arra now
see all Western involvement

454
00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:37,699
in the Middle East through
the prismof what happened here.

455
00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:43,519
(TRANSLATION) They wore the cross
under the pretext

456
00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:47,039
that they are Christians supporting
their fellow Christians here.

457
00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:51,039
But in reality,
they wanted the country's wealth.

458
00:29:51,760 --> 00:29:54,999
(TRANSLATION) History is now
repeating itself in Iraq.

459
00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:58,119
America went there in the
name of progress, freedom

460
00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:01,039
and to remove an oppressive regime.

461
00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:05,039
Now they're actually killing
its sons and taking its wealth.

462
00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:12,599
I met up with Ahmad Ghareeb,
the director of the local museum.

463
00:30:12,960 --> 00:30:14,639
He took me to Ma'arra's citadel,

464
00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:18,639
the historical site
of the Crusader massacre.

465
00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:24,319
(TRANSLATION) The Crusaders
opened people's stomachs,

466
00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:27,679
to see if they'd
swallowed any precious jewels.

467
00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:30,679
They also killed children.

468
00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:36,179
Oh, my goodness. Let me just
translate that cos that's amazing.

469
00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:39,199
He told in quite,
you know, graphic detail

470
00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:41,199
what actually happened in the siege.

471
00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:45,199
They started, with the children,
to put them on a spike,

472
00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:49,879
and actually cooked
the children and ate them.

473
00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:54,699
So they were cannibals,
I mean, they ate people.

474
00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:05,759
Every war is filled with accounts
based on myth and propaganda,

475
00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:08,439
in our age and in past centuries,

476
00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:11,679
and I suspect that most people
will find it hard to believe

477
00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:15,119
that the Crusaders
committed acts of cannibalism.

478
00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:19,119
But these acts
were actually recorded
by the Crusaders themselves.

479
00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:24,159
"In Ma'arra, our troops
boiled pagan adults in cooking pots,

480
00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:29,199
they impaled children on spits
and devoured them grilled."

481
00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:34,719
The Crusaders were not the first
to carry out acts of cannibalism

482
00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:39,159
in the history of warfare,
nor would they be the last.

483
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:43,999
Although these atrocities
were probably a result
of acute starvation,

484
00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:48,479
people here see themas acts
of Christian fanaticism.

485
00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:57,879
Today, Crusader castles remain

486
00:31:57,880 --> 00:32:00,639
an important feature
of the Middle East landscape,

487
00:32:00,640 --> 00:32:03,839
enduring reminders
of this bloody period of conflict

488
00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:07,039
between East and West.

489
00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:11,039
The most spectacular is Krak
des Chevaliers in northern Syria.

490
00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:16,519
(TRANSLATION) A vast space
like this was fairly standard

491
00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:19,399
for a castle
containing so many knights.

492
00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:21,359
However, Krak des Chevaliers

493
00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:25,359
is still by far the biggest
Crusader castle in Syria.

494
00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:31,739
After the capture of Jerusalem,
the Crusaders divided the Holy Land

495
00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:34,079
into so-called Crusader states,

496
00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:37,799
each withits own
Western nobleman as ruler.

497
00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:41,799
They might have come to "cleanse"
the holy land of "Muslim pollution",

498
00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:46,239
but the Crusaders soon adopted
a more pragmatic approach.

499
00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:49,119
Those first Crusaders
who settled here,

500
00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:53,119
how did they react with the
local population, with the Muslims?

501
00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:59,559
(TRANSLATION) They were looked upon
with enmity in the beginning.

502
00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:02,759
Then later on they
established friendly relations.

503
00:33:02,760 --> 00:33:06,759
The Muslim knight Osama bin Munqiz
wrote of his many friendships with

504
00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:10,919
foreign knights, of visiting
their homes and eating their food.

505
00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:15,479
Many in the Middle East
have now forgotten

506
00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:18,359
that Muslims and Crusaders
signed peace accords

507
00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:21,799
and were happyto trade with
one another throughout the period,

508
00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:24,959
but everyone remembers
how the native Muslim population

509
00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:28,959
eventually turned against
the Crusader settlers.

510
00:33:29,160 --> 00:33:34,159
(TRANSLATION) They could not forget
that this land was a Muslim land.

511
00:33:34,960 --> 00:33:38,679
Men of religion wrote
books on holy war and about

512
00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:42,679
the religious significance of cities
like Damascus and Jerusalem.

513
00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:46,119
All of this led to the creation
of a general atmosphere

514
00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:50,119
that was saturated and charged
with the spirit of holy war.

515
00:33:51,280 --> 00:33:56,279
This spirit of resistance is what
resonates most among many Muslims

516
00:33:56,800 --> 00:34:00,299
when they look at the current
state of the Middle East.

517
00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:05,279
(TRANSLATION) Nowadays, the Crusades
mean nothing to Westerners,

518
00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:08,119
they're just events
which took place in the past.

519
00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:10,399
But for Muslims, it's very different.

520
00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:14,399
The past is returning,
but from a different direction.

521
00:34:14,440 --> 00:34:18,119
Now the Crusader wars are coming
back to this very same land,

522
00:34:18,120 --> 00:34:22,119
if not from Europe, now from America.

523
00:34:24,360 --> 00:34:27,879
Arabs and Muslims today feel
they must do the same with

524
00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:31,879
the new Crusaders as their ancestors
did to repel the earlier Crusaders.

525
00:34:35,240 --> 00:34:39,239
This belief among many Muslims
that today's Western governments and

526
00:34:39,760 --> 00:34:44,159
the Crusaders are one and the same
is what Al Qaeda tries to exploit.

527
00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:07,039
Islam's fightback
against the Crusaders

528
00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:11,039
began here in northern Syria.

529
00:35:12,440 --> 00:35:16,439
By the middle of the 12th century,
Aleppo's magnificent citadel

530
00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:20,759
was the power base of the largest
Muslim lordship in the Middle East.

531
00:35:21,680 --> 00:35:23,679
It was ruled over by

532
00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:27,679
Islam's first true holy warrior
for centuries, Nur al-Din.

533
00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:33,079
(TRANSLATION) The leaders here
had been more interested

534
00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:35,239
in fighting each other for power

535
00:35:35,240 --> 00:35:39,239
than in fighting the invaders
who were coming from Europe.

536
00:35:43,720 --> 00:35:47,719
Nur al-Din was different
from the others.

537
00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:49,959
He was abstemious in life.

538
00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:53,799
He lived simply and sensed
the importance of holy war

539
00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:57,759
to liberate the region.

540
00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:02,159
The success that Nur al-Din had
was in re-invigorating

541
00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:05,439
this concept of jihad, of struggle,

542
00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:07,919
which is what
the word jihad actually means,

543
00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:10,799
and the reason is
that he convinced Muslims

544
00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:14,399
to come around a unified campaign
to drive the Crusaders out,

545
00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:18,399
saying that the Crusaders
were fighting a holy war against us

546
00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:21,199
to capture and hold Jerusalem,

547
00:36:21,200 --> 00:36:24,919
and the way that we are going
to drive these Crusaders out

548
00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:29,919
is by also launching our own holy
warin defence of Islam and Muslims.

549
00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:34,719
One of those inspired
by Nural-Din's leadership

550
00:36:34,720 --> 00:36:38,199
was a young Kurd
named Salah al-Din Ayubi.

551
00:36:38,200 --> 00:36:41,499
In the West,
he is better known as Saladin.

552
00:36:42,320 --> 00:36:45,839
(TRANSLATION) Saladin was
Nur al-Din's minister in Egypt,

553
00:36:45,840 --> 00:36:49,839
but later becamethe most powerful
personality in the Middle East

554
00:36:50,120 --> 00:36:53,619
and heestablished
a state in his own name.

555
00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:58,119
He then went on to launch
the great war to reclaim Jerusalem.

556
00:36:59,720 --> 00:37:01,999
But it was events
in the 20th century

557
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:04,839
that transformed Saladin
into a cult figure,

558
00:37:04,840 --> 00:37:07,239
and his war against the Crusaders

559
00:37:07,240 --> 00:37:11,239
is now seen as Islam's
greatest victory against the West.

560
00:37:12,880 --> 00:37:17,879
He was the last success in Islam of
liberating a piece of land by force.

561
00:37:29,200 --> 00:37:33,199
In recent decades, attitudes among
many Muslims towards the Crusades

562
00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:36,519
have centered around Saladin,
the holy warrior

563
00:37:36,520 --> 00:37:39,319
who brought Christian rule
over Jerusalem to an end.

564
00:37:39,320 --> 00:37:43,079
Popular perceptions of Saladin
have been influenced

565
00:37:43,080 --> 00:37:47,079
not so much by history as by modern
conflicts in the Middle East.

566
00:37:48,040 --> 00:37:53,039
I think Salahuddin was a symbol
for liberation from occupation,

567
00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:56,359
regardless of whether people
know all the facts

568
00:37:56,360 --> 00:37:59,199
about Salahadin or not,
I am sure not.

569
00:37:59,200 --> 00:38:01,319
Most of his stories are a myth.

570
00:38:01,320 --> 00:38:05,119
But a myth that has basis in history,

571
00:38:05,120 --> 00:38:07,959
a myth that can be used
again and again.

572
00:38:07,960 --> 00:38:12,959
He was the last success in Islam of
liberating a piece of land by force.

573
00:38:13,400 --> 00:38:17,399
Decades of conflict in the Middle
East have transformed Saladin

574
00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:20,199
from a holy warrior
who fought crusaders

575
00:38:20,200 --> 00:38:22,559
into a timeless symbol
of resistance

576
00:38:22,560 --> 00:38:24,879
against Western intervention.

577
00:38:24,880 --> 00:38:27,599
Nearly every 20th century
Arab leader

578
00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:31,239
has compared himself to Saladin,
creating the myth

579
00:38:31,240 --> 00:38:34,999
that they are engaged
in a 900-year war with the West.

580
00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:37,999
And today, Al-Qaeda do the same.

581
00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:52,879
This rebranding of Saladin's story
has inspired countless folk tales,

582
00:38:52,880 --> 00:38:55,319
books and films.

583
00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:58,959
Ghassan Massoud is one of
Syria's most famous actors.

584
00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:02,879
He even appeared in the Hollywood
blockbuster Kingdom Of Heaven,

585
00:39:02,880 --> 00:39:05,659
playing the part of Saladin.

586
00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:10,159
TRANSLATION: Saladin set out to
recapture Jerusalem

587
00:39:10,520 --> 00:39:12,799
because it is an Eastern city

588
00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:15,039
and should be for Eastern people,

589
00:39:15,040 --> 00:39:18,639
not for people from Paris,
London or Germany.

590
00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:23,679
They were Westerners
who had taken the city by force.

591
00:39:24,200 --> 00:39:29,199
Ghassan's views struck me as typical
of the mythology surrounding Saladin

592
00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:33,519
that's part of everyday life
in the Middle East.

593
00:39:35,720 --> 00:39:38,679
TRANSLATION: A lot of the population
in Syria and the Middle East

594
00:39:39,080 --> 00:39:41,439
is Christian
and they have been in this land

595
00:39:41,440 --> 00:39:43,679
for much longer than Muslims,

596
00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:46,879
so it isn't right to use the word
"Crusaders" to describe them

597
00:39:46,880 --> 00:39:50,839
because the cross is as important
a symbol as the Qur'an.

598
00:39:50,840 --> 00:39:54,319
This idea must have been
very clear in Saladin's mind

599
00:39:54,320 --> 00:39:58,319
when he waged his battles
against the Western armies.

600
00:40:12,680 --> 00:40:16,159
In 1187, at the battle of Hattin,
Saladin's army

601
00:40:16,160 --> 00:40:20,159
effectively brought Crusader control
ofthe Holy Land to an end.

602
00:40:24,080 --> 00:40:28,039
Over the next 100 years, one by one,
the Crusader states

603
00:40:28,040 --> 00:40:32,039
were overrun and destroyed.

604
00:40:32,680 --> 00:40:36,479
This victory was followed by
seven centuries of Muslim rule

605
00:40:36,480 --> 00:40:38,679
in the Holy Land.

606
00:40:39,680 --> 00:40:43,399
In the Middle East,
Islam's dominance meant the Crusades

607
00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:47,299
faded from public consciousness.

608
00:40:49,120 --> 00:40:51,359
After the end of the 13th century,

609
00:40:51,360 --> 00:40:54,639
the destruction of the Latin kingdom,
Jerusalem,

610
00:40:54,640 --> 00:40:57,839
you go back to the normal situation
in the Mediterranean,

611
00:40:57,840 --> 00:41:00,959
where Islam is the aggressor,
Islam is the dominant force

612
00:41:00,960 --> 00:41:02,879
right through to the 18th century.

613
00:41:02,880 --> 00:41:06,439
And in those circumstances,
Islamic culture

614
00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:10,439
and society
simply forgets about the Crusade.

615
00:41:12,320 --> 00:41:14,519
For centuries, East and West,

616
00:41:14,520 --> 00:41:18,519
Christians and Muslims, assigned the
Crusades to the annals of history.

617
00:41:19,160 --> 00:41:22,159
But that all changed
when a new set of Western nations

618
00:41:22,160 --> 00:41:25,659
began to dominate the Middle East
once again.

619
00:41:26,280 --> 00:41:30,279
In the 19th century,
you have British rulers in India

620
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:36,199
seeing themselves as Crusaders,
you have French rulers in Syria

621
00:41:36,920 --> 00:41:41,119
and North Africa seeing themselves
as the heirs of the Crusade.

622
00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:44,839
Now this is an entirely false,
romantic idea.

623
00:41:44,840 --> 00:41:48,839
Colonialism is not crusading,
it's radically different.

624
00:41:49,040 --> 00:41:55,039
But I believe that that poisoned
Islamic-Christian relationships.

625
00:41:55,560 --> 00:41:57,319
And particularly
Islamic-Western relationships.

626
00:41:57,320 --> 00:42:01,319
And Islamic-Western relationships,
yes, very badly indeed.

627
00:42:02,840 --> 00:42:07,139
It was European colonialism
that reawakened ancient memories

628
00:42:07,320 --> 00:42:12,319
for many Muslims, casting these
new Western invaders as Crusaders.

629
00:42:15,200 --> 00:42:18,879
In 1917,
the European colonial powers

630
00:42:18,880 --> 00:42:22,759
were fighting the most horrific war
the world had ever seen.

631
00:42:22,760 --> 00:42:26,359
Germany had allied itself
with the Muslim Ottoman empire

632
00:42:26,360 --> 00:42:28,919
which ruled over the Holy Land.

633
00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:32,639
By November, the Ottomans
were on the verge of defeat

634
00:42:32,640 --> 00:42:36,639
and the Western army was once more
at the gates of Jerusalem.

635
00:42:37,280 --> 00:42:40,279
One word was on everybody's lips...

636
00:42:40,280 --> 00:42:43,359
Crusade.

637
00:42:43,360 --> 00:42:48,059
Nearly 100 years ago, at the end of
the First World War, General Allenby

638
00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:51,399
took Jerusalem and he entered
the city through this gate,

639
00:42:51,400 --> 00:42:52,199
the Jaffa Gate.

640
00:42:53,200 --> 00:42:55,479
He was well aware of
just how sensitive

641
00:42:55,480 --> 00:42:58,399
the whole issue of the Crusades was
in the Middle East,

642
00:42:58,600 --> 00:43:00,479
and wanted to persuade the British

643
00:43:00,480 --> 00:43:02,679
not to describe the capture
of Jerusalem

644
00:43:02,680 --> 00:43:06,279
as some kind of new Crusade.
But he failed.

645
00:43:07,280 --> 00:43:10,639
Once again, these references
to the Crusades

646
00:43:10,640 --> 00:43:14,639
simply reinforced the suspisions
in the minds of many Muslims.

647
00:43:16,280 --> 00:43:19,439
Well, from a Palestinian
point of view, it is irrelevant

648
00:43:19,440 --> 00:43:23,839
whether he tried or not to convince
the press in Britain to consider

649
00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:28,199
this occupation of Jerusalem as not
a Crusade or an end of the Crusades.

650
00:43:29,040 --> 00:43:33,139
To the local population, it was an
occupation of foreign Western power.

651
00:43:33,920 --> 00:43:38,919
The British mandate in Palestine
only exacerbated Muslim fears

652
00:43:39,440 --> 00:43:43,439
about the re-emergence of an ancient
struggle between East and West.

653
00:43:44,400 --> 00:43:48,039
Since the 19th century,
thousands of European Jews

654
00:43:48,040 --> 00:43:52,039
had been emigrating to what they
considered their biblical homeland.

655
00:43:52,600 --> 00:43:56,359
As the British supported
a Jewish state in Palestine,

656
00:43:56,360 --> 00:44:00,359
many Muslims took the view that
Western Jews and Western Christians

657
00:44:01,200 --> 00:44:03,919
were united in a new Crusade.

658
00:44:03,920 --> 00:44:07,559
The Jewish settlement of Palestine

659
00:44:07,560 --> 00:44:10,639
since the late 19th century
and nowadays

660
00:44:10,640 --> 00:44:14,639
is very similar to the Crusader way
of controlling their country,

661
00:44:15,040 --> 00:44:18,879
where you have demographic cleansing
from one side,

662
00:44:18,880 --> 00:44:23,879
establishing independent settlements
of one race or of one group.

663
00:44:24,720 --> 00:44:28,919
Therefore, regardless to their aims,
regardless of the backgrounds,

664
00:44:29,360 --> 00:44:32,639
the different backgrounds
between the Crusaders and the Jews,

665
00:44:32,640 --> 00:44:35,639
the end product
is very, very similar.

666
00:44:37,760 --> 00:44:41,399
No matter how controversial
such views may sound,

667
00:44:41,400 --> 00:44:45,299
they are widely held
in the Middle East.

668
00:44:45,400 --> 00:44:49,799
The ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict
just adds to the Crusader myth

669
00:44:50,240 --> 00:44:54,039
which is exploited
by terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda.

670
00:45:15,040 --> 00:45:18,879
I may not believe that the West
is waging a new Crusade,

671
00:45:18,880 --> 00:45:20,999
but millions of Muslims do.

672
00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:24,279
Both East and West
share responsibility for

673
00:45:24,280 --> 00:45:28,279
making the Crusades the divisive and
destructive issue they are today.

674
00:45:30,480 --> 00:45:32,839
The West needs to come to terms
with the fact

675
00:45:32,840 --> 00:45:36,839
that the Crusades were not heroic
episodes in Christianity's past.

676
00:45:37,080 --> 00:45:38,959
They were horrific holy wars

677
00:45:38,960 --> 00:45:42,959
which no Western leader should
ever be seen to identify with.

678
00:45:43,040 --> 00:45:46,439
Using the word "Crusades"
by a Western ruler

679
00:45:46,440 --> 00:45:49,119
with interest in the near East
is worse than crass.

680
00:45:49,120 --> 00:45:50,319
It's almost criminal.

681
00:45:50,320 --> 00:45:54,099
And in the Muslim world,
people have to realise that

682
00:45:54,200 --> 00:45:58,199
today's conflicts are not part of a
900-year war between East and West.

683
00:45:59,200 --> 00:46:03,199
Colonialism is not Crusading,
it's radically different.

684
00:46:03,440 --> 00:46:07,279
But the two became identified,
quite falsely,

685
00:46:07,280 --> 00:46:09,839
in the minds of many Muslim thinkers.

686
00:46:09,840 --> 00:46:13,939
Only a thorough re-evaluation
of what the Crusades really meant

687
00:46:14,680 --> 00:46:18,599
can end the poisonous effect
they now have on the modern world.

688
00:46:18,600 --> 00:46:22,239
I want the West to be aware of
my version, not to accept it,

689
00:46:22,240 --> 00:46:25,519
but to be aware to the sensitivity

690
00:46:25,520 --> 00:46:29,079
of history to my culture
and to my understanding.

691
00:46:29,080 --> 00:46:33,579
This is the maximum that I ask them,
but, the same, I ask my people

692
00:46:33,760 --> 00:46:37,199
to be aware of the Western version
of history.

693
00:46:37,200 --> 00:46:41,099
This is what can we say
about tolerance.

694
00:46:41,400 --> 00:46:45,399
Both sides need to understand
the Crusades for what they were,

695
00:46:46,440 --> 00:46:50,439
and stop blaming the past
for the wrongs of today.

696
00:46:52,160 --> 00:46:55,059
In the Muslim world
we have too much history.

697
00:46:55,560 --> 00:46:57,719
We see everything
that involves the West

698
00:46:57,720 --> 00:47:01,719
and the West's involvement
in the Muslim world as a Crusade,

699
00:47:01,840 --> 00:47:05,139
whether it's to do with democracy
today, or oil,

700
00:47:05,240 --> 00:47:09,239
or in liberating the Holy Land
for Christ a thousand years ago.

701
00:47:09,680 --> 00:47:13,639
It's why Osama Bin Laden
and the other leaders of Al-Qaeda

702
00:47:13,640 --> 00:47:17,639
keep referring to their fights being
with the Crusaders today,

703
00:47:17,840 --> 00:47:21,279
because, for them, the West's
involvement in the Muslim world

704
00:47:21,280 --> 00:47:23,959
is a re-enactment of the Crusades,

705
00:47:23,960 --> 00:47:27,459
and don't underestimate
the power of that appeal.

706
00:47:28,020 --> 00:47:32,619
But yet, in Europe, I'm struck by the
opposite, by the absence of history

707
00:47:32,880 --> 00:47:36,019
and the knowledge of this chapter
of Christian history,

708
00:47:36,120 --> 00:47:39,319
that there was a moment
in the history of Europe,

709
00:47:39,320 --> 00:47:42,559
and Christian Europe,
in which violence

710
00:47:42,560 --> 00:47:46,559
was an essential part
of the Christian faith.

711
00:48:06,440 --> 00:48:10,439
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