Muslim women "blocked from seeking office by male Labour councillors" - Muslim Women's Network say the national Labour party is "complicit" in local male Muslim councillors' "systematic misogyny"

Sigh You child. Here is 3 minutes of research.

Council of Clermont:

In 1095 Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus sent envoys to the west requesting military assistance against the Seljuk Turks.[1] The message was received by Pope Urban II at the Council of Piacenza.[1] Later that year, in November, Urban called the Council of Clermont to discuss the matter further. In convoking the council, Urban urged the bishops and abbots whom he addressed directly, to bring with them the prominent lords in their provinces.

What Urban II had to gain:

ndeed, one major incentive for the First Crusade was the Pope's desire to bring the Greek Orthodox Christians of the East under the control of the Roman Catholic Church in the West. By helping Byzantium reclaim its territory, Urban hoped to make the Byzantines dependent upon the West and bring its people back into the fold of Western Christendom.

Yet Urban was not just interested in expanding his power in the East. He also wanted to reinforce his power back at home in the West. The recent Investiture Conflict & Gregorian Reforms had shaken up Western Europe and challenged the pope's authority. The papacy was being challenged by the lay nobility, especially the Holy Roman emperor, Henry IV, whose growing military power had driven the Pope from Italy to France. The First Crusade can be seen as the Pope trying to reassert his power and authority in Europe.

All of these reasons seem very practical and only marginally related to religion. Though it is tempting to view medieval history through this cynical lens, it is also important to remember that this was a very religious time. The Pope may have had a number of religious reasons to call this crusade. The most likely religious reason for the First Crusade was Urban's desire to establish peace in Western Europe.

Also, religion played a very big role.

The Battle of Tours (often called the Battle of Poitiers, but not to be confused with the Battle of Poitiers, 1356) was fought on October 10, 732

This was nearly 400 years before the first crusade, and goes to illustrate, more than anything, the very simplistic view of history you have painted. The world is complicated, and you are boiling it down to suit an agenda. This is an obvious case of starting with a conclusion, before you have done research.

On this evidence, you are a very poor historian. Do not lecture others about their 'historical illiteracy' just because they disagree with your simplistic, politically driven idea of hundreds of years of cultural interaction.

Despite all this, you have yet to realise why I'm laughing at you. It's not because Islam had nothing to do with the crusades (it evidently did), it's that what happened in 1095 could not be more laughably irrelevant to today.

Read less reddit. Perhaps go and get a History degree. Have a nice day.

/r/worldnews Thread Parent Link - independent.co.uk