Islam's War Against the Crusaders

The Crusades continue to exert a fascination as a story of perceived gallantry and battles against impossible odds. Yet what is less often considered is their effect on the Holy Land, and in particular the response of the Muslim world to the invasions of west European Crusaders. By a previously divided Islamic world, they gave an unstoppable impetus towards the declaring of jihad against the West, a holy war against Christendom. They also helped to shape the careers of some important figures, mo