Arabs call the Crusades al-Salibiyyah. The term is highly emotional
to them, reminding them of European atrocities committed during
the 200-year-long campaign to bring the Holy Land under Catholic
control.
To the peoples of the Arab world, those weren't the only
crusades. In their minds, two more crusades have followed.
The next crusade was the colonial period when the Arab world came
under the control of the British, French and other European powers.
This frustrated Arab dreams of unity and brought a sense of inferiority
as they were incapable of overthrowing the Europeans for such a
long time.
The current crusade is the one that, in the eyes of fundamentalists,
most threatens their way of life. It is what is often called American
imperialism. Unlike the British and French, Americans have made
no attempt to annex an Arab territory as a colony of the United
States. Americans themselves were originally under colonial rule
and fought a revolutionary war to be rid of it and replace it with
the modern American republic, so Americans are not inclined to
colonize as did the Europeans of the 19th century.
However, inadvertently, American culture threatens the traditional
way of life of all the Islamic peoples. This is a major cause of
resentment if not outright hatred toward the United States.
Partly this is the result of technological advancement. Radio
and television have brought Western culture into peoples' homes
all over the world. American movies are universal; wherever you
go in the world they seem to be available. The message they send
is not a good one. They depict an immoral and very violent country,
far from the reality of many American families-but foreign
audiences don't know that. They also depict liberated and
scantily clad women and know-it-all children who show contempt
for their parents-both highly offensive to Islamic values.
The current crusade is the one that, in the eyes of fundamentalists,
most threatens their way of life. It is what is often called American
imperialism. Unlike the British and French, Americans have made
no attempt to annex an Arab territory as a colony of the United
States. Americans themselves were originally under colonial rule
and fought a revolutionary war to be rid of it and replace it with
the modern American republic, so Americans are not inclined to
colonize as did the Europeans of the 19th century.