Human greed appears to have almost no boundary. There is a large segment of the human population that seems to be determined to take whatever they can, from whomever they can, for as long as they can. There are limits to that kind of behavior, however. Other people take notice, and those who are victims protest loudly. There are angry confrontations, and eventually, retaliation against those who are continually grasping for possessions. Eventually, those with empathy for the disadvantaged and victimized get their dander up also, and those humans with megalomania find that they have a price to pay. There is a way to get away with invasion, plunder, looting, murder and rape, however. Just place it under the banner of a religion with a righteous cause, and you can carry on this destructive behavior for centuries, with the willing support and encouragement of your entire society.
The three religions stemming from the descendants of Abraham, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, are particularly convenient shields for this intolerant, violent and disruptive greed. The reason is that they are, all three, highly bipolar religions. Each of them preaches, and exhorts its followers to practice, compassion, mercy and justice. Each of them also believes that theirs is the only true religion, leading them to deep intolerance for all humans who do not share their particular beliefs. In its mildest forms, this is expressed as disdain for all humans who not have the same faith. In its most virulent forms, this intolerance is expressed as violent hatred. All those of any other belief are simply animals, who deserve to be tortured or killed. This is indeed a convenient substrate and culture medium for anyone who wishes to cloak their self-aggrandizing greed in righteousness.
Such was the situation late in the eleventh century. Europe had sustained a population growth stemming from moderate prosperity. Young sons of the nobility were more adventurous, seeking their own fortunes and land. There was no longer room in their own feudal states. Middle class and peasants were also involved in expansion. Forests were being cleared, markets established, and borders expanded. The Normans conquered England, and Italians were challenging the Muslim dominance of the southern and eastern Mediterranean. The Muslim world was also more aggressive. Turks had expanded southward, capturing Antioch in1085, and extending northward into Armenia. The Christian and Islamic worlds were about to clash over property and trade. Christians were highly unorganized in their efforts to expand into the Muslim world, until such time that they chose to cloak their greed in religious garb. Then everything changed.
There was also a religious resurgence at that time as the Popes assumed a more active role in the societies of Europe. There was abundant energy not only for the expansion of trade and acquisition of land, but also for religious expression. Pilgrimage to a holy shrine was emphasized. The need for that pilgrimage was urgent, because there was widespread belief that the end of the world was near. Access to make that pilgrimage was either difficult or impossible, because those lands and Jerusalem were in Muslim hands. Although the relationship between Western and Eastern Christianity had been frigid, it was now thawing in an effort to meet the threat of further Muslim expansion. European Christians now felt that they should help their Eastern cousins. Pope Urban II, speaking at the Council of Clermont in 1095, emphasized the plight of the Easterners, the desecration of Holy Shrines, the molestation of pilgrims, and urged all Christians to use their warlike expansionist energy in a Holy War, instead of against each other.
The response to that call to arms was unexpected and overwhelming. Early unorganized bands of crusaders were repulsed or killed, but four large armies of crusaders were being organized, each leaving at a different time. The battle cry was, “God wills it,” and all were urged to wear a cross. The eventual target was the Holy City of Jerusalem, and defeating the infidel was believed to be an act that would be pleasing to their God. The original call to make this pilgrimage for nothing but the loftiest of causes had already been subverted to violence directed toward anyone else who did not share their belief, even before the crusaders left their home lands. The intensity of that violence and depravity, soon to be expressed, was greatly unexpected.
In 1097, Western crusaders joined by Byzantines captured Nicea. They proceeded from there across the mountains, where they were met by a force of Turks. They defeated the Turks in open warfare, then proceeded to Antioch. Antioch was surrounded by high walls, forcing a long and difficult siege. Finally, in the spring, the crusaders gained access to one section of the wall through an act of treachery by one of the Antioch commanders. As the crusaders entered the city, they massacred the entire Muslim population. The siege of Jerusalem followed in 1099. After siege towers had been erected, one section of the walls was breached, one of the gates opened, and the crusaders entered the Holy City. They proceeded to massacre all Muslims, men, women and children, and massacred all Jews. It was a slaughter of great hatred, fully justified in the eyes of the murderers because it was a “Holy Cause,” fulfilling the commands of their deity, because “God willed it.”
Things have not gotten much better. We still hide our real motives of greed, jealousy and intolerance behind religious banners. Our born again Christian president has thrown us into a devastating war, because his God told him that America should invade Iraq. The cost so far has been about one million lives, beheadings, bombings, torture and murder, with total disruption of Iraqi society and a bankrupt America. One wonders how much longer we can go on using our religious myths to justify our evil acts, before kill ourselves off and destroy our planet home.