What the West remembers as an epic effort to reconquer the Holy Land
is portrayed here as a brutal, destructive, unprovoked invasion by barbarian hordes.
Thus did a Latin translation
of a Hebrew translation
of an Arabic commentary
based upon an Arabic translation
of a Syriac translation
of a Greek original
spark a momentous intellectual movement in medieval Christendom.
Originally published in 1836, this is still a valid look at the deep imbedding of religious culture into every aspect of life.
Note the similarities in behavior and in actors with today.
Worth reading in depth, but a skim would do.
How our image of the peoples of the Middle East was stereotyped by the West's need to define them as "the other" and "the enemy,"
with stereotypical "evil" attributes. Skim it.
Think about these issues
What is the "Middle East"? How do you define it?
"Middle" in regards to what? "East" in regards to what?