What was the Muslim view of why the crusades were fought?

Answer 1

There are a wide variety of reasons as to why Crusaders attacked Moslems.

1) Impeding Control of Jerusalem: The stated mission of the Crusades was to take back control of Jerusalem for Christendom. If they were trying to take it back, it follows logically that somebody else was in possession of it. As Moslems were in possession of Jerusalem and they did not wish to just give the city up, Crusaders attacked them.

2) Protecting Byzantium: The real reason for the Crusades was to prevent the Byzantine Empire from being completely overrun. The Seljuks, Ottomans, and Abbassids were all moving into Eastern Anatolia and threatening the survival of the Byzantine Empire. These states were all Moslem, so necessarily any policy to contain them militarily would require Moslem deaths.

3) Religious Discrimination: Many Christians saw Moslems as infidels who had knowingly rejected Christ and were thus fit to die. (This view has changed with time.)

For a more detailed analysis, see the link below.

Answer 2

Answer 1

The crusades were fought when they attacked Muslims in the currently known countries of Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine

Answer 2

The Muslims saw the Crusades as an offensive war by Christians against the Islamic States with the intent to conquer and sublimate Islam to Christianity. In their view, the Crusades were a holy war whose goal was at least to humiliate Islam if not eradicate it and they support this view by referring to the numerous events of Christians massacring Muslims in conquered cities in the Middle East (most famously in Jerusalem after the First Crusade).

The Muslims had controlled the Levant Region from 634 C.E., meaning that it had been their territory for 500 years by the time the Crusades came around. It was their home and it was being violated.

Answer 3

they wanted to liberate Jerusalem and Palestine, the "holy Land", because they believed that Jesus had lived, died and was resurrected there.