Document Based Question: Islam, the Crusades, and ISIS/ISIL

Humanities - Marshall
20 Points - Document and Discussion

For our study of the Middle Ages, we will be zeroing in on the expansion of Islam and the resulting
Crusades, and looking to understand todays conflict in the Middle East through our knowledge of
the past. You are to complete this series of document based questions on your own, which ask you to
read a document and answer related questions.

Post this to your DP when youre done, under History.

You will then discuss your responses to these questions in groups of 4, and come up with a claim (as a
group) regarding the recent events in Syria and the Middle East within the context of the Crusades. We
will have an all-class discussion following completion of this worksheet in which you will be asked to
discuss your claims and inferences, based on your responses to these document-based questions and the
concluding questions at the end.

To get you started, we will watch John Greens Crash Course on The Crusades, and you will also be
expected to research the events unfolding in Syria. Ideas for research on current events on Google:
ISIS in Syria, Islamic State, Sunni Islamic State

This worksheet is worth 10 points, and your performance in the discussion is also worth 10 points.

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Pre-reading Questions (answer before proceeding to DBQs):

Is extremism ever justified to spread religious belief and/or exercise retribution for the past?
- People try to justify extremism when they attempt to spread religious belief but it never is really
justified.
- No matter how hard people try, they can not change someones mind, or take control of their
beliefs with extremism.

How might the wars of today, post-9/11, be Holy Wars that mirror the struggles of the middle ages?
- Many wars today are rooted in religious history. For example, the war in Israel and Palestine is,
among other things, regarding who rightfully owns Jerusalem.
- All of the wars that are happening are either a continuation of another conflict, or avenge of the
result of another conflict.



~From 632 onward through the middle ages, Islam continued to spread as a religion
around the Mediterranean, taking instruction from their prophet Muhammed under
newly established caliphates (ruling groups). The Islamic Seljuk Turks, in the 11th
century, began to move into the holiest sites for Jews and Christians (like Jerusalem,
the birthplace of Christ) and claim them for their own. This prompted Pope Urban II,
in 1095, to call for the the first crusade to repel the Turks from the Christian Holy
Lands.~


Document 1- They Bore the Sign of the Cross
Ekkehard of Aura, a German monk and historian, wrote about the reaction of Christians across Western
Europe to the speech given by Pope Urban II:
After Urban had aroused the spirits of all by the promise of forgiveness to those who undertook the
expedition with single-hearted devotion, toward one hundred thousand men were appointed to the
immediate service of God from Aquitaine and Normandy, England, Scotland, Ireland, Brittany, Galicia,
Gascony, France, Flanders, Lorraine, and from other Christian peoples, whose names I no longer retain. It
was truly an army of crusaders, for they bore the sign of the cross on their garments as a reminder that
they should mortify {severely discipline} the flesh, and in the hope that they would in this way triumph
over the enemies of the cross of Christ, as it had once come to pass in the case of the great Constantine.
Thus, through the marvelous and unexampled working of divine dispensation {release}, all these
members of Christ, so different in speech, origin, and nationality, were suddenly brought together as one
body through their love of Christ.
SOURCE: Ekkehards Hierosolymita, a history, 1099

According to Ekkehard, what was the response all over Europe to the speech by Pope Urban II?
- After Pope Urban II proposed the crusade as a way to please God and fight for Him, about
100,000 men from all over Europe devoted their lives to crusade. They wore the sign of the cross
as a symbol of hope, and Christians from all over Europe began coming together to fight for one
cause, no matter their prior backgrounds or nationalities.

What was surprising or amazing about this event?
- What surprised me most about this event was that men from all over Europe responded to Pope
Urban IIs request, despite the fact that they didnt have very much information. They seemed to
be mainly driven by the fact that, according to the Pope, they were fighting for God, but they
didnt have much other motivation. Additionally, even though the men came from all different
countries and walks of life, they were able to fight alongside each other for a common purpose. It
seems that although all these men had different beliefs, the Pope was able to unite them with a
common enemy to give them all something to fight for.

~After the first Crusade, Jerusalem was restored to Christian and Jewish control;
however, Saladin and his faithful Islamist followers vowed to retake control of the
city for Muhammed. All three religions saw Jerusalem as the city given them by
God.~

Document 2 - The Muslim Response
If God blesses us by enabling us to drive His enemies out of Jerusalem, how fortunate and happy we
would be! For Jerusalem has been controlled by the enemy for ninety-one years, during which time God
has received nothing from us here in the way of adoration. At the same time, the zeal {devotion} of the
Muslim rulers to deliver it languished {weakened}. Time passed, and so did many indifferent generations,
while the Franks succeeded in rooting themselves strongly there. Now God has reserved the merit of its
recovery for one house, the house of the sons of Ayyub [Saladins family], in order to unite all hearts in
appreciation of its members.
SOURCE: The Islamic leader Saladins speech urging his people to retake Jerusalem, 1187.

What reasons did Saladin give for retaking Jerusalem?
- Saladins reasons for retaking Jerusalem were that God was enabling them to do so. God wanted
a savior to drive out his enemies (Christians and Jews), which Saladin thought to be himself.
Saldin also said that god should receive this as a present. He thought that god was saving the land
of Jerusalem for them, to reunite hearts in appreciation of his members.

What arguments does he use to inspire his listeners (the Muslim people)?
- The arguments he uses to inspire his listeners are that god wants there adoration, and he wants
somebody to take over Jerusalem, like the Islamic people. He said to them that God has reserved
the merit of its recovery for one house, the house of the sons of Ayyub.

~As you can see from the map above, there were three more crusades emanating
from Europe and attempting to drive out the Turks and Muslims from the Middle
East. Many regard the Crusades as largely a failure, as the Muslim and Turkish rule
was not vanquished in the region. Some scholars point to the Crusades as being part
of what thrust Europe out of Medieval Times and into the Renaissance.
But, now, moving forward to today, we will see that this religious struggle has been
reexamined and perhaps rekindled~

...September 16th, 2001: following the attacks on New York and Washington, George
W. Bush mentions launching a crusade on the Muslim attackers...

Document 3 - Fast-forward to Today
In recent months, the radical fringes within Christianity and Islam seem to have launched a modern-day
crusade, a slander-to-vanquish battle where the mass media appears to have taken over from the sword as
a weapon of choice. In an interview with CBS' 60 Minutes last year, the Rev. Jerry Falwell called the
prophet Mohammed a "terrorist" and "a man of war." Falwell's comments capped a TV season that saw
televangelist Pat Robertson call the prophet a "robber and a brigand" and the Rev. Franklin Graham (son
of the Rev. Billy Graham) denounce Islam as a "very evil and wicked religion."
On the other side, underground cassette tapes of vitriolic Friday sermons delivered by mullahs across the
Muslim world are available from Cairo to Quetta. And from post-9/11 hideouts, al Qaeda continues to
release taped messages promising a fight against the "infidels." "They have taken their rabbis and their
monks for gods beside Allah, and also the Messiah son of Mary," said bin Laden in a audiotape released
last November. He was expanding on an earlier warning issued before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that the
West had "divided the world into two regions one of faith and another of infidelity, from which we
hope God will protect us."
Certainly the choruses of commentaries emerging from several Christian evangelists over the past few
months have been vitriolic and personally targeted at Mohammed, while Muslim extremists have steered
clear of attacking Jesus, since he is also considered a prophet in the Koran.
By all accounts, jihad, or struggle, has been a particularly contentious term, with many Muslims
interpreting it to mean a struggle to defend one's faith and ideals. Some experts say the fundamentalist
interpretation of jihad as the duty of Muslims to fight to rid the Islamic world of a corrupting Western
influence or of autocratic Muslim leaders received a modern shot in the arm when the Egyptian founder
of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al-Banna, used the concept of jihad as a holy war to try ending the
foreign occupation of Muslim lands. The Muslim Brotherhood is widely believed to have spawned the al
Qaeda network. But while the Koran is open to interpretation, el Fadl admits that the intellectual climate
in the Islamic world tends to be inhospitable to dissent. "I do agree that in the contemporary age, dissent
in Islam has become difficult, to say the least," says the UCLA professor, who says he has received
threats over his writings and seen the cancellation of planned publications of Arabic translations of
several of his books.
SOURCE: Leela Jacinto, ABC News, Jan 2014
What are some accusations that Christians and Muslims make toward each other?
- Some of the accusations the Christians are making towards the Muslims are they are calling the
Profit of Mohammed terrorist, a man of war and they are calling it a very evil and wicked
religion. The Christians are actually targeting Mohammed in this small crusade. Some
accusations that the Muslims are making towards the Christians are using Rabbis and monk for
gods instead of their one true god. Along with, saying their fight is with the infidels and that the
Christians are dividing the world into 2 religions, Faith and Infidelity.
What are the differences in interpretation of jihad that the author points out?
- The differences between the interpretation of jihad is that first some interpret that its to defend
ones faith. The second way people interpret it as a duty to get rid of the Islamic world of the
western influences. A third way some interpret the holy war trying to end the foreign occupation
of Muslim lands. Last the author points out a way that some interpret jihad as the Climate of the
Islamic words to be uninhabitable.

Document 4 - ISIS/ISIL reading of the Koran and Jihad
The leader [of ISIS] specifically called for lone-wolf attacks in the United States and France -- two
countries that have been conducting airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq.
The U.S. State Department had no comment to CNN when asked about the message Sunday night.
"Hinder those who want to harm your brothers," the ISIS spokesman said. "The best thing you can do is
to strive to your best and kill any disbeliever, whether he be French, American or from any of their
allies."
Civilians should not be exempt from brutality, he said. "Do not ask for anyone's advice and do not seek
anyone's verdict. Kill the disbeliever whether he is civilian or military, for they have the same ruling.
Both of them are disbelievers. Both of them are considered to be waging war."
"Oh Americans, and oh Europeans, the Islamic State did not initiate a war against you, as your
governments and media try to make you believe," the ISIS spokesman added. "It is you who started the
transgression against us, and thus you deserve blame and you will pay a great price."
He gave specifics on how to attack Westerners: "Rig the roads with explosives for them. Attack their
bases. Raid their homes. Cut off their heads. Do not let them feel secure. Hunt them wherever they may
be. Turn their worldly life into fear and fire. Remove their families from their homes and thereafter blow
up their homes."
Al Qaeda has called for similar attacks in the past. But given ISIS' radical support base, which believes
ISIS leaders are the rightful sovereign leaders of all Muslims worldwide, the ISIS pronouncement carries
more weight.
SOURCE: Josh Levs and Holly Yan, CNN http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/22/world/meast/isis-threatens-
west/

What is ISISs directive to its believers regarding their fight?
- ISISs is telling its believers that they kill, that they fight those who do not believe because the
non believers are already waging war, planning to kill all the believers along with their
beloved ones . ISIS is selling to them that there is no need to ask if this war is right or wrong
because all the disbelievers like the Americans and Europeans have asked for it with their
offenses to the believers. With all of this, ISIS is able to give its believers instruction and know
they are going to follow them like rigging roads with explosives, attacking bases, raiding homes,
cutting of heads, and blowing up homes at all cost.

How does the ISIS spokesman relate the current war to past struggles between the west and Islam?
- The ISIS spokesman relates current war to past struggles between the west and Islam when he
brings about that the west would want to kill the believers brothers because, as he later states, the
west believes they(ISIS) started the war even though, according to the spokesman, the west
started the battle with the everyday offenses towards ISIS, the believers, referring to way back
when.


Document 5 - President Obamas view of Muslims as peaceable
I have made it clear that America will not base our entire foreign policy on reacting to terrorism.
Instead, weve waged a focused campaign against al Qaeda and its associated forces -- taking out their
leaders, denying them the safe havens they rely on. At the same time, we have reaffirmed again and again
that the United States is not and never will be at war with Islam. Islam teaches peace. Muslims the world
over aspire to live with dignity and a sense of justice. And when it comes to America and Islam, there is
no us and them, there is only us -- because millions of Muslim Americans are part of the fabric of our
country.
So we reject any suggestion of a clash of civilizations. Belief in permanent religious war is the misguided
refuge of extremists who cannot build or create anything, and therefore peddle only fanaticism and hate.
And it is no exaggeration to say that humanitys future depends on us uniting against those who would
divide us along the fault lines of tribe or sect, race or religion.
But this is not simply a matter of words. Collectively, we must take concrete steps to address the danger
posed by religiously motivated fanatics, and the trends that fuel their recruitment. Moreover, this
campaign against extremism goes beyond a narrow security challenge. For while weve degraded
methodically core al Qaeda and supported a transition to a sovereign Afghan government, extremist
ideology has shifted to other places -- particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, where a quarter of
young people have no job, where food and water could grow scarce, where corruption is rampant and
sectarian conflicts have become increasingly hard to contain.
No God condones this terror. No grievance justifies these actions. There can be no reasoning -- no
negotiation -- with this brand of evil. The only language understood by killers like this is the language of
force. So the United States of America will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this network of
death.
SOURCE: www.whitehouse.gov

What is Obamas sense of Islam as a religion, in the United States and worldwide?

- Obama sees islam as a religion that is not harmful, and believes that islam teaches peace,
and that the religion aspires to live with dignity and justice, like many other religions,
because millions of Muslim Americans are part of the fabric of the U.S

What is Obamas view of these modern day extremists, and how does he say the west must respond?

- Obama doesnt want to clash with america, and islam because millions of Muslim
Americans are part of the fabric of the U.S. Obama says these modern day extremists are
misguided, and cannot build or create anything. They are only here to destruct. Obama
will not target all of islam. He will simply work with other to destroy the band of
extremists that are creating a network of death for all people.






So, what are your views on the conflict today?
Is the battle that Muslim extremists like ISIL/ISIS wage today a direct result of the teachings of
Muhammad and the early Muslims? Is it justified?

Daniela: I do think that it has something to do with early Muslims, when Muslims thought they belonged
in Jerusalem, and they also thought that the Muslim religion is and will always be superior. But the
teachings of Muhammad were very different than what is happening now.

Loren: Personally I dont believe that the battle with the early Muslims has anything to do with todays
conflict on ISIL or ISIS. Since Jerusalem earned the title of the Birthplace of christ the Muslims
religion will remain the superior if not the only religion in that area. Even if there is the influence of the
teaching of Muhammad I dont think that it's related or justified.

Johana: I can never be sure if ISISs actions are a result of Muhammad's teaching because I am not
completely aware of the religion, but Muhammad did conquer many lands when he reigned as a prophet
and a military leader in order to spread his religion. If this is a result of Muhammad it really wouldnt be
his teachings rather his way of spreading his religion, and that is never justified.

Bonnie: In my opinion, the actions of ISIS are not justified in any way, though the followers may believe
so. Their religion seems to be commanding them to convert by force or kill disbelievers (which is very
extreme). When Muhammad was the leader and was building up his army, he formed groups of people
that followed him and did what he said. Whether or not the actions of ISIS are directly related to
Muhammad, the religion appears to have always had violent approaches to conversion.

Are the wars of today (Afghanistan, Iraq, and now ISIS in Syria and Iraq) another crusade against
Islam? Do you think it will work?

Daniela: I dont think this is a crusade the only people who believes in this crusade are the
extremists, which are very few. The others are just bystanders. Nobody seems to be joining in. They are
really just harming their own people. Making them look bad. Once again.

Loren: There is always a possibility of war. However the wars that could potentially happen today I
wouldnt give them the title of a crusade. Any way to crate a fight between countries and people is done
on purposes to create chaos in the world. I single conflict between two people has a chance to stir a
hornet's nest. I dont think starting a crusade today would still work, in todays world we are just too
advanced in technology and intellect to let another crusade happen.

Johana: Even though they are not specifically announced as crusades I guess they could be, but the
major differences are there not just using religion as a thing to dangle over their followers and people are
taking action to try to get this to stop, maybe for not the right reasons but still helping.

Bonnie: The wars of today are mainly grounded in religious beliefs, such as who Jerusalem belongs to.
Even though they are not specifically called crusades, they are conflicts over religious and political
beliefs resulting in war. Therefore, since all the countries warring in the middle east have some
connection to a religious factor, I believe that they are in some way crusades.

What should the response be to the Islamic States extremist attacks?

Daniela: As a fourteen year old girl, new to the world. I am very scared of the threats the ISIS is sending
us, and I think it is stupid to kill all non believers because that is not how you solve problems. As a
Catholic, I was taught to teach all non believer, and guide them to the light we call jesus, and
Muhammad most likely taught them the same thing. I think this is wrong and sick.

Loren: My response to this conflict is that a war can be created by just two people having an argument.
A simple conversation between two very different people has the chance to stir a hornet's nest. However
is one of those two people has the ability to ignore the others comment then the conflict won't happen. Its
like a river flowing over a stone, the person is strong enough to stay put and let the words go over and
around them. I think that people are lacking compassion and haven't experienced humility to are too full
of their egos.

Johana: I know what I think should be my response to the Islamic States attacks but my response would
only work if it just affected me but that is not how it works, it affects everyone. We know what they are
capable of and we know that they bluff often, my response would be whatever is in the best interest of
everyone.

Bonnie: I think that ISIS is a very dangerous and very real threat, but I dont think that us fighting back
will do any good. Rather, it could start another war that we may not be capable of dealing with. I believe
that the US should respond in a way that is best for all people, here and around the world. Our actions do
not only affect us, and if we respond to ISIS and fight fire with fire, I only wonder if we will be prepared
for the consequences.

Claim:
As a group, we believe that the actions of ISIS are not justified because the Qur'an can be
interpreted so many different ways, that it is impossible to know exactly what Muslims are called to do.
Also, Muhammads religion was built in a time of military struggle, and therefore was founded in
violence. Though he may have wanted peace as a result, there was always some form of violence
involved.
Additionally, our group believes that though the war today is not technically a crusade, it is very
similar in that it is grounded in religion. We think that the conflicts of today against Islam will not work
in settling any peace because if people continue to fight, it will never end. If we truly wish for this war
to be over, people should stop the violence.
We all agree that ISIS is a very dangerous threat, but none of us think that fighting back will
solve the problem. We believe that the US should do what is in everyones best interest so as not to cause
further destruction. We also think that this conflict is somewhat caused by people being unable to admit
their wrongdoing, swallow their pride, and stop the fighting.