¶ … Cross and the Crescent
The main role of Richard Fletcher's The Cross and the Crescent is that it presents a concise history of the relations between Muslims and Christians in a period characterized by histeria and fear in the United States, regarding anything related to Muslims. This history of Muslim-Christian relations comes at the opportune moment, as it explains in a very balanced way the relation that these two different cultures had in time, partly explaining the actual conflict between these two worlds.
While the discussions in the Middle East between Christians and Muslims were peacefull, the same can not be said about the way Muslims were seen in the Christian world. They were always regarded as a potential threat, due to some historical events that pointed in this direction (for example, Constantinopole was constantly under attack).
Not all relations between Muslims and Christians were of a violent nature, as there existed some colaboration between them in history. This colaboration was in the area of commerce that the two developed in the Mediterranean region. This commerce led to a trade in technology (the invention of abacus and the production of paper) that led to a stronger relation between cultures. But this relation of trade was not later developed any further, as the two did not show any interest in eachother's religion.
The relation between Islam and Christianity was not a very close and cooperative one throughout history, as it is not so even today. The historical tour that Fletcher makes ends in the early 16th century, when the Islam world was far more developed and sophisticated than the western Europeans. This is why Muslims did not view Christians as competition. But, as the European civilization developed in a spectacular way, the Muslims were shocked by the effect that this new rising civilization had on them.
Fletcher's book focuses on the attitude that the Muslims had regarding to the Christians and vice-versa more than to purely historical aspects. For example, he pays not so much attention to the historical events of the crusades, but to the effect they had on the Muslim population. The book provides a valuable insight to Islam and to the relations between Islam and Christianity.
The Muslims were seen as barbarians, as they invaded many...
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