Modern Historiography

The Relevance of the Crusades

Abstract

Historiography in the modern West, particularly during the last century, has made many contributions to the study of the Crusades whereas Muslim scholars are few and far between. Muslim contributions to this subject generally come from lands that suffered from the event directly or they emanate from pens of Muslims who work in research institutions of the West today. A view that gained converts among Muslims since the birth of Israel, which registered a surge among the intelligentsia of Pakistan when Iraq was attacked, is that military advances of the West are an attempt to achieve the unfinished agenda of the Crusades. However, not much seems to have been written on the subject in the Muslim world. In contrast, European historians have contributed considerably to the subject in recent times. Some of the works have been reconciliatory and some defied the apologetic trend regarding the "modern crusade." The present paper seeks to compare three British works in the light of general trend of scholarship on this subject in the English language.