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OldBrit · 61-69, M
It goes back centuries frankly...
The growth of the rich, educated, sophisticated Arab world in the middle ages was an afront to the largely backward Europe of the time.
Then someone realised they were in "The Holy Lands". So "we good Christians" needed to free the oppressed Holy land and return it to Christians.
Whoohoo off to war.
Of course the main reason was for Lords and Kings and the Church to plunder to add to their coffers. But they needed to make it a Holy War to get people to travel so far from their homelands and fight with any passion. Thus Arabs became this enemy to be hated for desecrating our Holy sites etc
Therefore Arabs = bad = sworn enemy has been embedded in European psyche for generations.
The growth of the rich, educated, sophisticated Arab world in the middle ages was an afront to the largely backward Europe of the time.
Then someone realised they were in "The Holy Lands". So "we good Christians" needed to free the oppressed Holy land and return it to Christians.
Whoohoo off to war.
Of course the main reason was for Lords and Kings and the Church to plunder to add to their coffers. But they needed to make it a Holy War to get people to travel so far from their homelands and fight with any passion. Thus Arabs became this enemy to be hated for desecrating our Holy sites etc
Therefore Arabs = bad = sworn enemy has been embedded in European psyche for generations.
AthrillatheHunt · 51-55, M
@OldBrit not to mention the moorish conquest of the Iberian peninsula , or the ottoman ( not really Arab but still Islamic ) siege of Vienna and conquest of the Balkans .
OldBrit · 61-69, M
@AthrillatheHunt yes well the back and forth of the Islamic vs Christian borders around and in Europe are all part of that engrained history