The Crusades as a Religious Endeavor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Crusades as a Religious Endeavor - Essay Example Islam not only posed the threat of a rival religion, they also posed the threat of a rival culture (Rosenthal, 2005). Cultural and political influence must therefore be considered necessary additions to religion as factors in the ensuing power struggle. A thousand years after the Crusades, little has changed, with Christianity, Islam and Judaism vying for control throughout, not just the area of the Byzantine Empire, but the world. Again, culture and politics must be considered as well as religion. In the name of democracy, President George W. Bush considers the war in Iraq a quest for freedom, but a large contingent in the Middle East are followers of Islam, and in this respect consider the effort by Western nations to change their culture and religion in the name of democracy to be unacceptable. Great Britain's Tony Blair has remained committed to Bush's actions in Iraq, but the people of Great Britain are more realistic than the Americans as to the economic, political and cultural aspects involved in the Iraqi War. Perhaps, by studying the results of the Crusades, its effect on different populations might be an indicator of the importance of world cultural studies. A study of the Crusades might offer a different viewpoint of the present wars in which religion happens to play a major role. Pope Urban II as a Catalyst Pope Urban II has been credited with initiating the Crusades. He was elected as Pope in 1088 but did not take the papal throne until six years later, having been in exile on the Island of St. Bartholomew. Political issues kept the Byzantine Empire in a state of flux, and Urban was faced with many difficulties. The timing of his ascension, however, was in his favor. Not only was he a truly religious person with a focus on sharing Christianity throughout the world, he was also charismatic, and when he broached the idea of a Crusade against the enemies of the Christian faith at a council meeting in Clermont in 1095, it turned out to be a matter of good timing and use of imagination on his part. He strongly appealed to the general public, and the Crusades became a major undertaking, encompassing several countries (Butler, 2003). Appeals were sent out all through Europe urging people to take the cross. It must be noted, however, that one benefit of the Pope's appeal was to offset the pro pensity for violence within the Byzantine Empire__with individuals acting from personal and political motives__and the desire for economic expansion (Sloan, 2000). The Crusades gave society a common goal, and after a life of exile, upheaval and poverty, Pope Urban II finally was able to carry out his providence. The so-called "People's Crusade" was successful initially, but success was followed by failure, and a new crusade was begin in 1100, the second of eight formal crusades, and this army too was destroyed in 1101. For almost two hundred years, the Crusades affected a broad geographical and cultural area which carries through into the