Amin Maalouf's The Crusades Through Arab Eyes

In Amin Maalouf's (1984) The Crusades Through Arab Eyes, the Lebanese journalist offers an account of the Crusades from the Arab perspective. The Crusades occurred at a time when Arab culture was viewed by the West as sophisticated and advanced, compared to the Franj (Franks or all Westerners) who were unrefined in comparison, amounting to a reversal of modern perspective (Maalouf, 1984, p. xi). Likewise, Maalouf's account demonstrates that the Crusades were a turning point in Arab-Muslim history. To whit, parochialism in the Middle East and the contemporary division between the West and the Middle East are seen by Maalouf as stemming from this lengthy period of hostility between East and West. History is often written by the winners; in essence, Maalouf's account is the story of the Crusades from the losing side, that of the Arab-Muslims.

The Franj came to the Holy Land with the desire to conquer territory and increase their own resources. Al-Afdal became concerned when the Franj marched further south, discovering that the Franj were acting on their own behalf within their own authority. As Maalouf (1984) writes, the Franj were "seeking to establish their own states, refusing to hand Antioch back to the empire...They seemed determined to take Jerusalem by any means" (p. 46). Of course, the Franj were summoned to a Holy War by the pope, who set as their chief goal the recovery of the tomb of Christ. Initially, the goal of the Crusades was to recaptur

Related Essays

Analysis of the Crusades .... Frances Rita Ryan, tr.; Harold S. Fink, ed. Knoxville: University of Tennessee, 1969. Gabrieli, Francesco. .... Maalouf, Amin. The Crusades Through Arab Eyes. .... (8414 34 )

Human Rights in Islamic Nations .... New York: Oxford UP, 1993. Maalouf, Amin. The Crusades Through Arab Eyes. New York: Schocken, 1985. .... Sidahmed, Abdel S., and Anoushiravan Ehteshami. .... (3038 12 )

ISLAM AND HUMAN RIGHTS This research paper disc .... New York: Oxford UP, 1993. Maalouf, Amin. The Crusades Through Arab Eyes. New York: Schocken, 1985. .... Sidahmed, Abdel S., and Anoushiravan Ehteshami. .... (3038 12 )

Category: History - A