Pope Urban II is best known for
initiating the first crusade in 1095. He got the message from Byzant that Muslims
had taken over the Holy Land. Urban gave a speech to the citizens of Rome, were
he convinced them that the Muslims were threatening the Christian civilization,
and possessed weapons of mass destruction. Urban’s speech was very effective.
He got strong support for sending a Christian army to defeat the Muslims, and
win back Jerusalem.
President George W is best known for
initiating the last crusade in 2001, the crusade against terror. Later, he tried to convince us that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. He hoped for the
entire world to support his actions against terror.
That's fine. Just one little detail, George W: If
you want the Muslim part of the world to support you, it isn’t very wise to use
the word “crusade”. Didn’t your advisors warn you?
What were the weapons of mass destruction in 1095? And that is quite the parallel, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteJust like Iraq, the Muslims didn't have weapons of mass destruction, but just like George W, Urban needed to exaggerate the threats to get support for his crusade >:)
DeleteAww, nuts. I was hoping for something like medieval catapults or a plague. You got me. There were no weapons! Duh.
DeleteAww, nuts. I was hoping for something like medieval catapults or a plague. You got me. There were no weapons! Duh.
DeleteMaybe the "weapons of mass destruction" that Urban feared was just the size of the Muslim army like the Knights templars facing Saladin's army ... but this was hundred years later.
DeleteThe word crusade should be used carefully, especially nowadays.
ReplyDeleteYes, in particular if you want to obtain goodwill in the Muslim world. Quite surprising that President Bush and his advisors didn't choose their words more carfully
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