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Show THE CAMPUS Stathis analyzes the Crusades By GLENN HALTERMAN JOURNAL STAPP WRITER Attendees of Thursday's address by G. Michael Stathis in the Randall L. Jones Theatre were treated to a stimulating examination of the Crusades. Stathis gave his presentation at this year's Southern Utah University Distinguished Faculty Honor Lecture in conjunction with the university's Convocation lecture series. Nov. 27, 1995 marked the 900th anniversary of Pope Urban II's call for holy Crusade at Clermont Ferrand. "The general objective of these 'holy wars,'" Stathis explained, "was to establish Christian control over the holy places of Palestine, especially the church of the Holy Sepulcher." According to Stathis, an assistant professor of behavioral and social sciences at SUU, the overwh lmingly po itive response by church hierarchy and French nobility to Pope Urban's announcement wa a surprise to the Pope. He had declared "the 'duty' of able-bodied Christians to wear the cross and take an oath to liberate Jeru alem." The public' response to the call to action: the cry of "D eus le volt," "God wills it!" What followed, Stathis related, were a series of violent, bloody, and grizzly confrontations between European Christians and Near Eastern Muslims lasting, traditionally, until 1292 when the final expulsion of Crusaders from Jerusalem took place. The first "successful" Crusade by the Westerners came in 1097. It was during this socalled "Barons Crusade" that an indiscriminate slaughter of Jerusalem's inhabitants, including Muslims, Jews, Eastern Christians, and animals, took place. During the ensuing years, Islamic retaliation came in the form of a counter-Crusade or jihad, due to the Muslim belief of the obligation to defend Islam. In attempting to understand the reasons and justifications behind the Crusades, Stathis presented a quote from author Michael Crichton in The Lost World, "The characteristic human trait is not awareness but conformity, the characteristic result is reugious warfare. Other animals fight for territory or food; but uniquely in the animal kingdom, human beings fight for their beliefs." .-llilio.Z:.,&1111ii-.i "The final legacy of the Cru ades is found in their hostile impact, religious fanaticism, and cultural intolerance," Stathis said. "The greatest lesson to be learned from the Crusades is simple yet profound and quite timeless. Any act of human depravity can be justified in the name of religious, ideological or national belief," said Stathis. Don't let drab hair get you down for the holidaysAdd some color with our Color Pick-Me-Up only $15 The SearchforBas Begun Miss SUU 1996 All women between the ages of 17 and 24 who are full-time SUU students are invited to attend an informative meeting, Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. in the TV Lounge of the Student Center. You may also call D'EI Beatty at 865-8075. THE MISS SUU PAGEANT IS AN OFFICAL PRELIMINARY EVENT OF T,Uis$/l1llf/'ica!Pagfil~ A SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM |