A paradigm shift is underway in the Middle East. The structures that were established by the Sykes-Picot Agreement during the first half of the last century are fracturing and showing early signs of being undone, probably by the end of this decade. The colonialist project to divide and rule over the Middle East is facing an existential crisis. Hence, the upheaval.
Saddam Hussein was the first to attempt to erase the borders and try to unite the region. He was an Arab nationalist, and he understood that the region must first unite if they are to expel the Zionist Crusaders from the holy land; in other words, repeating the footsteps of Saladin. Saddam Hussein was inspired by Saladin’s legacy as a symbol of Arab unity, strength, and resistance against Western influence.
Crusade Now and Then
The resistance against occupation, colonialism and the ‘final crusade’ is underway in Palestine, Syria and Yemen. It was the British General Allenby who, after conquering Jerusalem in 1917, as he walked through the Jaffa Gate, declared that this was the ‘final crusade’. The crusaders have occupied the region directly and indirectly since defeating the Ottomans during WW1.
Nearly a century later, after the false flag operation on 11th September 2001, the American President George W. Bush announced the launch of a crusade against terrorism by invading the Middle Eastern countries and killing millions. The Western military interventions in the Middle East, or the Crusades, have a long history.
Between 1096 AD and 1271 AD, the West had launched at least nine crusades (along with several smaller or unofficial ones) before the ‘final crusade’ of the 20th century.
The Nine Major Crusades
- The First Crusade was launched in 1096 by Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont (1095). It resulted in the capture of Jerusalem in 1099.
- The Second Crusade was launched in 1147. It was initiated after the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144. Led by Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany. It failed.
- The Third Crusade happened in 1189. It was in response to Saladin’s capture of Jerusalem (1187). Led by Richard the Lionheart, Philip II of France, and Frederick Barbarossa. This was partially successful.
- The Fourth Crusade took place in 1202. It was diverted from its original goal, and it ended with the sack of Constantinople in 1204.
- The Fifth Crusade in 1217 was aimed at Egypt as a route to reclaim Jerusalem. Ultimately, it failed by 1221.
- The Sixth Crusade in 1228 was led by Emperor Frederick II. Tried to negotiate the peaceful return of Jerusalem in 1229 without battle.
- The Seventh Crusade in 1248 was led by King Louis IX of France. It failed after defeat in Egypt (1250).
- The Eighth Crusade in 1270 was also led by Louis IX, aimed at Tunis. Louis died there, and the crusade ended soon after.
- The Ninth Crusade in 1271, sometimes considered an extension of the Eighth. Led by Prince Edward of England (later Edward I). Marked the end of large-scale crusades to the Holy Land.
During the past century, the Western Crusader nations have been the biggest benefactors of the Sykes-Picot Agreement at the expense of the Middle Eastern region. While the European nations enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity after the Second World War, the people of the MENA region grappled with despotic leaders who were supported by the Zionists. The Arab Zionist regimes adopted policies that kept the region underdeveloped.
What sets the current crusade apart from the previous crusades is the fact that the modern crusade morphed into Zionism. The establishment of the Zionist state and the migration of Ashkenazi Jews to the region and their desire for the Greater Israel project are the reasons behind the current chaos and upheaval.
The Crusades’ Impact on the region
The past and present Crusades caused significant damage to the Middle East—militarily, politically, economically, and socially.
The early Crusaders attacked cities and indiscriminately massacred the local population. The most infamous example is the sack of Jerusalem in 1099. In the modern day, more than 7 million people have been killed since 2001. Others estimate the numbers to be over 10 million. The genocide in Gaza is turning the place into rubble.
Destruction of infrastructure and agriculture has been the hallmark of the Crusading armies. While besieging cities and fortresses, they often destroyed walls, aqueducts, and agricultural infrastructure. These campaigns disrupted local economies and depopulated rural areas. The modus operandi has not changed much.
In the past, Crusaders used scorched-earth tactics and damaged the countryside to deprive enemy cities of supplies, which had long-lasting effects on food production and local populations. In the 2000s, the American forces used depleted uranium bombshells in Fallujah, where deformities among newborns are still a common occurrence.
The Crusaders did not hesitate to desecrate mosques and religious sites. Crusaders often converted mosques into churches or destroyed them. In Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock were both repurposed by Crusaders after 1099. Now, Zionists wish to demolish the Al Aqsa mosque and build a Jewish temple there for the Antichrist.
The divide and rule policy is not a British invention. Crusaders created crusader states like the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the County of Edessa, and the Principality of Antioch, imposing a foreign, Latin Christian rule over local populations. These states often exacerbated regional divisions and inflamed sectarian tensions to keep the Muslims weak.
To impose their hegemony, they often encouraged political instability and fragmentation of the region. The aim was to ensure a weakened Muslim unity. Early Crusades thrived in part because Muslim rulers were divided.
Weak Muslim states meant the control of trade routes was in the hands of crusaders; thus, economic disruption was inevitable. Crusaders seized key coastal ports and trade routes. This shifted economic power temporarily to the West and interrupted long-standing regional commerce, especially between Syria, Egypt, and the interior. This situation in the modern day is no different.
I recall meeting a PhD student from the Gulf region in the late 1990s, who later found a job in the petrochemical industry in his home country. Only a few years later, to be made redundant, the research facility was closed down. The Americans had pressed the government to close it permanently. The reason given was that there is no point in duplicating research, as similar research was being done in America.
The Road to Freedom Goes Through War
The destruction and genocide in Gaza are part of the same project initiated by General Allenby in 1917. It is the tail end of the ‘final crusade’. The regional players realise that the end is near, and they are eager to witness a new beginning for the region. What is motivating them is a desire for freedom. The Arabs want to remove the shackles of colonialism.
As the cliché goes, ‘The old world is dying; the new world struggles to be born.’
Israeli youth no longer wish to die for Zionism, and over a million Israelis have migrated since the beginning of the war in Gaza. Colonialists (the billionaires) do not wish to let go of their most lucrative real estate. On one side, the world is witnessing the greed of the billionaires, and on the other, the determination of the Arab populace to gain freedom.
The freedom in the MENA region will lead to the collapse of the European Union, NATO, and the USA. The Yemenis and the Palestinians understand this fact. The world is beginning to see that the moral compass is in the hands of the Palestinians and the Yemenis and not in the hands of the crusaders.
The people in the Middle East are eagerly waiting for a change of leadership. They are waiting for another Saladin to unite the region. A paradigm shift is underway in the Middle East.
