This Steyn paragraph is one of the most brilliant summaries of world history I have ever read! However, the Europeans did not "simply bypass the Islamic world". It took the Portuguese King, Henry The Navigator, most of the 1400's to creep down the coast of Africa and to find a sea route to India and China. They took the long way around precisely because the Crusades could not crack the Islamic nut, so to speak!
That is on of the things I love about Steyn, He has an analytical mind and the ability to cut thru the crap.
I also love his sense of humor and the way he forces us to engage our minds.
He it undoubtedly a man without parallel.
"The one man global content provider!"
Actually, I think the Portuguese [it's Prince Henry - he never made it to King]went around Africa because the breakdown [and civil wars] of the Mongol Empire made the trade routes unsafe. Trade had been going through the Muslims' areas for hundreds of years before, during and after the Crusading era.