Problem 1: Read the excerpt from Pope Urban's speech and Saladin's speech in Document 1.
What ideas do the speeches give you about the purposes of the people who fought during the Crusades?
Problem 2: In 2001, Osama Bin Laden at the beginning of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan said, "This war is similar to the previous crusades led by Richard the Lion- Heart, Barbarossa and Louis of France. In the present age they rally behind Bush."
Do you agree with this claim? Why or why not?
Problem 3: The popular phrase "The clash of civilizations" was coined by the Director of Harvard's Center for International Affairs Samuel Huntington in 1993. He predicted that "The clash of civilizations will dominate global politics. The fault lines between civilizations will be the battle lines of the future.... Conflict along the fault line between Western and Islamic civilizations has been going on for 1,300 years.... This centuries-old military interaction between the West and Islam is unlikely to decline. It could become more virulent. "
In your opinion, is this statement still true over twenty years later? Why or why not? Please provide specific examples.