Posted on 03/07/2006 3:40:46 PM PST by Fair Go
A TEXTBOOK widely used in Victorian high schools describes the Crusaders who fought in the Holy Land in the Middle Ages as terrorists, akin to those responsible for the September 11 attacks.
The Year 8 textbook Humanities Alive 2 says that the Crusaders, like Muslim terrorists, "believed they were giving their lives for a religious cause". "Like the Crusaders ... they were told they would go straight to heaven when they died," the book says. "Those who destroyed the World Trade Center (sic) are regarded as terrorists. Might it be fair to say that Crusaders who attacked the Muslim inhabitants of Jerusalem were also terrorists?"
The textbook has been criticised by Melbourne University historian Barry Collett, a specialist in medieval history, for being "historically inaccurate" and "grossly misleading" in its depiction of the Middle Ages.
"The Crusaders felt they were intervening to stop the bloodshed that was already going on," he said. "I would tend to compare them more with Australian troops intervening in East Timor."
The book, used in about 100 schools around Victoria, is a revised edition of a series of textbooks published by John Wiley and Sons since 2003, all of which have included the section on September 11.
The selection of textbooks is at the discretion of individual schools in Victoria and neither the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority nor the state Education Department have any input into the quality or content of textbooks.
A spokesman for state Education Minister Lynne Kosky said schools decided for themselves what was appropriate to be taught and there were no recommended books for the curriculum.
The textbook also portrays the church as a corrupt institution driven by the desire for power and which tortured and killed anyone with opposing beliefs.
"It's very out of date, this view of the church as being fiendishly power-hungry," said Dr Collett, a visiting scholar at Oxford University.
"The church's activities were far more humane and pastoral than you would guess from reading this."
Dr Collett said the textbook presented an oversimplified view of history and the language used suggested a particular point of view rather than asking open-ended questions.
Despite popular perception, Dr Collett said those involved in the Inquisition actually spent most of their time working with divided families rather than torturing heretics.
Rather than working with government to oppress people, Dr Collett said the church was the principal force against the authoritarian excesses of governments.
General manager of the schools division at John Wiley, Peter van Noorden, denied the textbook makes a connection between the Crusades and September 11.
He said the section was intended to encourage discussion and prompt students to think more broadly about history. "It's very specifically put at the end of the section as a challenge for students to consider ... to analyse things from different perspectives," he said.
Dr Collett said the authors of the book included a historian, who worked closely with school teachers in developing the text and activities.
Geee...only a thousand years of civilization between the two.
I guess in a thousand years, the terrorists of the day can say they were no worse than the Islamofascists of the 21st century???
ping
Ping
There's a difference between an army fighting in a war and a terrorist committing mass murder against civilians. Anyone writing a history book should be forced to know this.
The muslim armies they confronted were a long way from home.
I'm not going to criticize the inquisition. I'm just curious as to what "working with divided families" means in the context it's presented.
I don't see any equivalence between the two at all. Anyone who does, I think, has a distorted and dangerous view of history.
I wonder how the book would compare the sacking of Rome and St Peters Cathedral by the Muslims? Or would it even mention that event at all, and pretend that the Crusades were the first time that Muslims and Christians came into conflict.
General manager of the schools division at John Wiley, Peter van Noorden, denied the textbook makes a connection between the Crusades and September 11.
He said the section was intended to encourage discussion and prompt students to think more broadly about history. "It's very specifically put at the end of the section as a challenge for students to consider ... to analyse things from different perspectives,"
Amazing how it's all now about "challenging students" they
must get all the same talking points...
It is highly unethical for a teacher to idoctrinate students. The best way to get them to think is to present them with the facts as objectively as possible. If the students must be given a point of view, they are entitled to all points of view.
He probably doesn't remember that the muslims were in southern France 300 years before the French were in Jerusalem.
Tell that to the NEA, FTU, and the DNC.
Tell that to the NEA, FTU, and the DNC.
The author[s] got past the long term Islamic invasion and occupation of Christian lands, did they?
Every time the left open their mouths with some misrepresentation of history, the truth needs to be hammered home. The left are misusing history to make outrageous allegations and in the process are aiding terrorism.
It's an old, old trick to disguise your argument in the form of a "question." Anyone who doubts this need only listen to any White House press conference and hear the liberal polemics that aren't really questions even though they end with a question mark.
Probably when asked the importance of Martel, the response would be "champagne".
"Those who destroyed the World Trade Center (sic) are regarded as terrorists. Might it be fair to say that Crusaders who attacked the Muslim inhabitants of Jerusalem were also terrorists?"
No. It might not 'be fair'.
(What sort of language is that?)
Teachers, Ask your class: Would it 'be fair' if a bunch of islamonuts set explosives in your schoolroom now, raped children at gunpoint, killed and wounded many, gave them no water, let them dehydrate...and left over 300 dead?
Because allah created the world for islam and everyone else deserves to be dead?
Well at least we know one thing. There are 100 schools in Victoria where the teachers are idiots.
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