Though Obama cited ‘terrible deeds in the name of Christ,’ here’s what really happened.
If you want to know why President Obama’s condemnation of the Crusades in a speech at this year’s National Prayer Breakfast dumbfounded historians and infuriated Americans, Victor Davis Hanson has the answers.
He put the Crusades in their proper context in an eight-part video series about “The Western Story,” and they had nothing to do with the “terrible deeds in the name of Christ” that Obama imagined. To the contrary, the Crusades were Western civilization’s direct response to the threat of Islamic conquerors.
Hanson captured the crux of the religious clashes in one episode of the series, which is available at the PJTV Store. The message: “Stop, Islam, this [land] was traditionally part of the Roman Empire and the birth of the Judeo-Christian religion, which is essential to the Roman Empire, and we want it back.”
The video lecture is about more than the Crusades. It provides a long view of Middle Eastern history – from the rise of Islam through the Ottoman Empire and the present day, where Muhammad’s followers are waging jihad once again.
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