The best historians don’t try to rewrite history or even engage in much interpretation. Instead, they create a time machine by going to the original sources and writing the story of actual people. Sometimes the past seems so distant that it seems unreal. It was real, and the people were real.
Raymond Ibrahim is one of these historians and has written the definitive series on the Crusades (though, strictly speaking, many of the wars with Muslim armies and kingdoms aren’t classified as part of the Crusades). This is an era much misunderstood and maligned in our time, but also a time that directly shaped the world we now live in.
While reading these books, I couldn’t help but notice a curious irony. Europe spent centuries resisting Muslim invasions threatening to overrun Europe. Flash forward to the Twenty First Century: Wars the West has fought in the Middle East have produced millions of refugees flooding into Europe. In spite of the best efforts of European press and governments to hide the effects, the clash of civilizations has produced many problems no longer ignorable. People in the United States, seemingly unaware of what really goes on the world, opened their border to similar issues, with still many not understanding what uncontrolled immigrations does to societies.
The Western Roman Empire, among other reasons, came to an inglorious end from endless wars and the massive cultural changes resulting from the influx of thousands of immigrants. Modern Europe arose out of those ruins, while defending themselves from invaders. Now Europe and the West face similar problems that brought down the Romans.
Is the same fate inevitable? If it is, what will rise in their place?
Darrick Dean 