Moslems and Crusaders—Study Aids

These pages summarize much of the material needed to study for the Moslems and Crusaders review questions. Most are derived from a variety of histories, saint dictionaries, and other public domain sources. For this unit we found it useful to group topics that occurred over many centuries into a single unit in order to emphasize the common theme of Islam vs. Christian conflict.

The following books each have chapters that cover the history of Islam, before, during, and after the time period considered by the Moslems and Crusaders unit (636 to 1500 A.D.). Recommended reading assignments on topics of interest are indicated.

Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam and the Crusades by Robert Spencer
The bestselling Politically Incorrect Guide series provides an unvarnished, unapologetic overview of controversial topics every American should understand. The Politically Incorrect Guide to Jihad pulls apart the dark world of radical Islam, exposing the inner-workings and motivations of the most violent menace of the 21st century.

Reading Recommendation: part II: The Crusades, Chaps 10-14, pp 119-180

God's Battalions: The Case for the Crusades by Rodney Stark
This book puts to rest the misguided notion that the Crusades were an unprovoked attack on Muslims by Christians. In fact, the Islamic world had been violently expanding into Christian territories for centuries and if the Crusades had not been launched, all of Europe would have been at risk. Furthermore, this book is invaluable for dispelling the belief that the West was wholly backwards prior to its contact with the Islamic world during the Crusades. The knowledge of the Islamic world was cultivated largely by Christians living in their territories who did not convert to Islam after being conquered. Also, Western Europe had made considerable advancements in science and technology since the fall of the Roman Empire. Had that not been the case, the Crusaders surely would not have been able to conquer Jerusalem on their very first attempt.

Islam at the Gates by Diane Moczar
Historian Diane Moczar pulls back the curtain on one of the most important acts in the drama of Muslim aggression against the West: the 500-year-long siege of Europe by the Ottoman Turks. Tracing the rise of the Turkish people from wandering Asian tribe to mighty pan-continental empire, Islam at the Gates chronicles the heroes and villains, the battles and atrocities, the tragic errors and timely miracles, that marked the Ottomans incursions from Europe s borders to the very heart of Christendom; and then, by the grace of God, their eventual repulsion and final defeat.

Reading Recommendation: Prologue, pp 3-22