Idea
The text criticizes the invocation of the Assassins and the Crusades when they are used to explain terrorism. In its view, these references do not explain the phenomenon so much as they produce a ready-made, charged image for it. They do not investigate causes; rather, they prepare the recipient to see the adversary as an absolute historical enemy, which turns explanation into a tool of mobilization.
Concise Formulation
Invoking the Assassins and the Crusades: is: an ideological literary approach that does not
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This claim falls within the book’s dismantling of discourses that exploit history to simplify contemporary violence. Here, the invocation of older examples does not function as cognitive clarification, but as a mechanism for reproducing fear. In this sense, the text rejects turning the past into a reservoir of hostile images and calls for a reading closer to understanding and farther from incitement.
Why It Matters
The importance of the idea lies in its distinction between explanation and the making of an enemy. This is useful for understanding Arkoun because he refuses to reduce history to easy-to-circulate symbols that serve emotion more than knowledge. It also helps the reader notice that some historical comparisons do not reveal the truth but conceal it.
Reading Questions
- When does invoking history become explanation, and when does it turn into incitement?
- How does this claim change our understanding of the use of old images in speaking about contemporary violence?
Documentation Level
High: the claim appears in a clear location in the book’s material.