Just War and Jihad: How they lead to the Crusades

The names of just war and jihad both had a significant influence in leading to the Crusades, which happened during the 11th through 12th centuries. It was through these two approaches to a peaceful war that would influence the way the Crusades operated. With the very word Crusade itself implies a brave struggle for a righteous cause. This is clearly presented and supported in history as the Crusaders sincerely believed that they were carrying out God's will, however when exploring the various aspects, many of them were characterized as being ignorant and forceful.

The Crusades were a sequence of military operations within the time period of Medieval England, wherein the European Christians were fighting against the Muslims of the Middle East and their objective was to conquer the Holy Lands that the Muslims had previously taken over. The concept of jihad that originated within the Islamic community directly related to the idea of starting these various battles because the word crusade itself means "a war of the cross." This was a perspective held by the Christians that stated that war could be carried out, as they saw it as a duty of carrying out religious causes. A clear resemblance surfaces in that the premise of jihad centers around the thought that war is thought of as right if done in the way of Allah.

In a further explanation of this view, most Muslim scholars who functioned according to this standard saw the world as if it were divided into two houses, the House of Peace (Dar Al-Salaam) and the House of War (Dar Al-Harb). "The lands controlled by Muslims belong to the House of Peace, while those who have not yet submitted to Islam belong to the House of War, until they are utterly subdued."(Caroll 165) The Qur'an explains this approach to non-Muslims very clearly, which is vital in how the Crusades occurred. As stated in section 8:39, "Make war on them until idolatry shall cease and God's religion shall reign supreme." It is according to this that we should give people only a few choices when fighting war in reverence to Allah; these being to convert to the religion, pay a tax, or die. They would commonly kill people because they thought of it as an example for non-believers as a type of motivation to accept the religion. It was because of this belief that jihad was an extremely popular choice of how to approach war during the Crusades.

The Crusades not only applies to jihad, but also to the similar concept of just war. It is vital to understand that the Crusades were a form of just war, as established by Pope Gregory within the church. It is a foundation for several Christian lands located in Europe, as many of the aggressors were motivated by the Popes. At times they would receive conflicting views in that some believed that even benevolent war was wrong to fight, while others held the outlook that immoral events took place in avoiding the minor aspects of just war.

In addition to this, the theory of just war was widespread throughout the European Christian perspective of the Crusades because of Pope Urban II. This was because mercenaries were trying to help him avoid Muslim invasions into the Byzantine Empire. Ultimately, Urban II declared war, branching off of the idea of a just war, and the premise of these factors that contributed to how the fighting was conducted. The thought process followed that, "With its sense that the highest good was to die fighting for the cause of the right deity, in a Christian just war. (Madden 82) The prominent social value became religion expressed as a religious act imposed by military nobility.

As demonstrated, the ideas of just war and jihad as they were expressed during the Crusades were very similar in their standard and motivation for war. While jihad was primarily inspired by religion through the Muslims, just war was carried out as a more peaceful expression demonstrated by European Christians. It was the common ground influence that sought to justify war from both people groups, portrayed through an instrument of brutal fighting, over a longing for the Holy Land, through sacred methods.

Caroll, Anne W. The Crusades In Christ the King: Lord of History: Tan Rock Publishers Inc, United States.: 1994.

Madden, Thomas F. The New Consise History of the Crusades: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, United States.: 1999.