During the First Crusade in 1099, crusaders launched a killing spree after taking control of Jerusalem, murdering almost the entire population of Muslim men, women, and children. The Jews, who fought side by side with the Muslims to defend the city, were not spared either. The crusaders set fire to a synagogue in which Jews had taken refuge and made sure that every one of them burned to death. This was not an anomaly: crusaders passing through Germany en route to Jerusalem had murdered Jews in cold blood. Christians were among the victims. When the crusaders attacked Constantinople in 1203, "for three days and nights, the Crusaders murdered, raped, looted or destroyed everyone and everything they could get their hands on. Untold thousands perished; many more were brutalized, maimed and left homeless." King Richard of England (known as Richard the Lionheart) beheaded thousands of men in full view of their armies after a battle. In contrast, after Saladin, the sultan of Egypt, successfully retook Jerusalem from the crusaders, he forbade acts of vengeance and violence against the crusaders, gave Jews state money to rebuild synagogues, and left churches untouched.

XREF: Connects to broader historical debates on crusader violence versus Muslim conduct toward conquered populations. QUESTION: The one-sided framing (crusader atrocities vs. Saladin's mercy) may warrant further scrutiny of sources and balance.

Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politi…, loc. 196