Islam's War Against the Crusaders

By W B Bartlett

The Crusades continue to exert a fascination in the West as a story of perceived gallantry and battles against impossible odds. Yet what is less often considered is their effect on the Holy Land, and in particular the response of the Muslim world to the invasions of European Crusaders. In this book, W. B. Bartlett, author of four books on the Crusades, looks at these great events from the Muslim point of view. One of the effects was to unite a previously divided Islamic world against a common enemy. In the process, they gave an unstoppable impetus towards the declaring of jihad against the West, a holy war against Christendom. They also helped to shape the careers of some important figures, most notably Saladin, but also other great men like Sultan Baibars and Nur al-Din. The rise of these great leaders is traced in this book, as are the many great battles that were fought by men just as devoted to their cause as the Crusaders were.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The History Press
• Release date: Dec 1, 2008
• ISBN: 9780752496566

Reviews for Islam's War Against the Crusaders

[chris_el-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was looking for a book that had an intelligent discussion of the Crusades from the Islamic perspective and this worked pretty well. The author is clearly a fan of the Muslim side of the Crusades. He was mostly fair about his discussion of wrong doing on each side. Though when discussing when the first Islamic army conquered Jerusalem he praised them a bit much for being very tolerant and not slaughtering everyone like the slaughter that accompanied the Crusaders taking Jerusalem. He failed to mention that all the Jews were expelled from the city by the Muslims and that when they were allowed back in that both Christians and Jews were required to wear special adornments so everyone could tell they were unbelievers much like the Nazis forced the Jews to wear the yellow star of David. Secondly, the common practice was that a city that resisted was usually subject to slaughter. Cities that surrendered were usually spared this as they spared many lives of the attackers by surrendering. When the Crusaders took Jerusalem is was by force and there was no surrender. When the armies representing Islam took Jerusalem the first time and then the final time (as portrayed in the movie Kingdom of Heaven) the city surrendered each time.

The author could have been fairer in his representation of each side but overall this is what I was looking for and the author shows he has done his research and knows what he is talking about.