Holy War

Soon after the beginning of the 7th Century, Islam developed into a religion that – just like Christianity – defended a universal claim – even by the power of the sword. It was just a matter of time until the two monotheistic world religions would clash head on.

Four hundred years after the Muslim expansion, the Christians of Europe struck back. "It is the Will of God" was the slogan of the crusaders who assembled in Western Europe. The events that occurred over the next three hundred years had a long-term influence on religious affairs and world history.

This film depicts the epoch of battles between the Islamic Ottoman Empire and the Christian powers of Europe. Fear of the Ottomans was one of the great traumas of Early Modern Europe. In Vienna in September 1683, the last battle was fought on European soil under the banner of the “Holy War”.

During the First World War, the despotism and arrogance of Europe's colonial powers in the Islamic world was truly revealed. The British and Germans particularly exploited the conflicts between Arabs and Ottomans for their own power interests. Into the mix came T.E.Lawrence, "Lawrence of Arabia".

In the late 20th century, there were still profound tensions between the East and West. Leading international experts explain how the relations between cultures and religions evolved against the legacy of the Holy Wars and how we are moving into the 21st century without resolution.