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The Norway bombing has brought renewed focus on the Knights Templar.How did the medieval Knights Templar influence Norway gunman?I think I know where this could be headed. The Knights Templar, mentioned in the same breath as an "anti-Islamic extremist", will effectively be brushed into a corner of "extremist" history over time. The Knights could very well be reduced to a group or ideology based on "racial purity" in the eyes of the public and media.
The Norway bombing has brought renewed focus on the Knights Templar.How did the medieval Knights Templar influence Norway gunman?I think I know where this could be headed. The Knights Templar, mentioned in the same breath as an "anti-Islamic extremist", will effectively be brushed into a corner of "extremist" history over time. The Knights could very well be reduced to a group or ideology based on "racial purity" in the eyes of the public and media.
Kind of pathetic isn't it? I am waiting for the flood of "see, Christians are terrorists too" articles to wear off.
The Norway bombing has brought renewed focus on the Knights Templar.How did the medieval Knights Templar influence Norway gunman?I think I know where this could be headed. The Knights Templar, mentioned in the same breath as an "anti-Islamic extremist", will effectively be brushed into a corner of "extremist" history over time. The Knights could very well be reduced to a group or ideology based on "racial purity" in the eyes of the public and media.
Why the Knights Templar ?They were closely linked with the crusades; fighting muslims in the Holy LandThey became powerful in both fighting units and with a large economic infrastructureThey were "victims of a conspiracy" led by the State (King Philip IV of France) and by the Church (French Pope Clement V)They cursed their "inside" enemiesThey supposedly had a huge hoard hidden somewhere...They were used by Freemasonry which has incorporated Templar symbols and rituals in a number of Masonic bodies, most notably, the "Order of the Temple"They were later "romanticized" in popular culture and "have become associated with legends concerning secrets and mysteries" (Da Vinci code, Indiana Jones, etc)Do you see other reasons ?
I understand the basic reasoning, and this includes one that you didn’t mention – that the group in the news claims some connection to the Templars (I don’t know that the modern group has any “huge hoard”, or is linked to Freemasonry, etc). My issue here is that the media may very well interpret the Templars through the lens of current politics, thereby reducing history to oversimplified “soundbytes” where things are judged to be good or bad based upon incomplete information. For example, if the Templars are simply painted by the media to be some xenophobic group which hated Muslims, then it becomes easy for modern readers to brand them as “evil-doers” and the Muslims as “victims of hate”.
What this does is lends support to a particular political point of view, even though it is merely an interpretation and does not tell us about the actual history of the Templars – why they were formed, what they did, what they were up against, etc. In the end, I am cautious of the media’s reporting of history in articles where there is a heavy dose of ideology and politics involved.
To further expound on my point, here is something about the Norwegian bomber:
At the one and only meeting of Breivik's "Knights Templar" in London in 2002, there were nine attendees, three of whom he describes as "Christian atheists" and one as a "Christian agnostic."...Breivik clearly explains that his "Knights Templar" is "not a religious organization but rather a Christian 'culturalist' military order." He even calls on the "European Jewish, Buddhist and Hindu community" to join his fight against "the Islamization of Europe."...Breivik says he is "not an excessively religious man," brags that he is "first and foremost a man of logic," calls himself "economically liberal" and reveres Darwinism.
http://townhall.com/columnists/anncoulter/2011/07/27/new_york_times_reader_kills_dozens_in_norway/page/2The very nature of the Norway bomber, then, seems clearly contrast with the Templars, who were part of a military religious order.
Of course. He can pretend belonging to a so-called Templars cell, it doesn't mean that it was genuine. To me, the main reason about his Templars claim, lies in the popular legends associated with them and not the historical part; a kind of fantasy but a lethal one.
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