Muslim Responses to the Crusades: A Brief Survey of Selected Literature

Abstract:There is a wealth of literature on the Western perspective of the Crusades. The subject has crossed academic disciplines because of the availability of the literature in the modern world. That does not necessarily mean that what has been said about the Crusades is completely correct. Moreover, little attention is given to the side against which the Crusades were launched in the Middle Ages, and not much has been written on the Muslim responses to the Crusades. The recent past, however, has produced some interesting research on the medieval Muslim perspective and understanding of the Crusades and Crusaders, as seen and recorded by the Muslim scholars of that period. This essay explores and surveys the existing literature on the Muslim responses to the Crusades.