"Peaceful Takeover"

Around the 19th Century, Europe started to slowly become more and more present in Jerusalem. They were not entering the city by force, but instead slowly moving more of their culture into the city. This movement was described as a "peaceful Crusade." Armstrong discussed how this crusade was inherently possessive and had harmful impacts on Jerusalem until the present day (Armstrong 360). Jerusalem had been taken over forcefully many times, but were the effects of this "peaceful takeover" just as harmful for the city?

Firstly, the impact of the Enlightenment philosophy in Europe meant that fewer pilgrims were entering, and more tourists were coming instead (Armstrong 341). There was a shift in how Jerusalem was being viewed. People were coming with a focus on viewing or studying Jerusalem, not worshipping there (Armstrong 345). This led to a disregard of the sacred center of the city. People from all religions in the city were offended by the archaeology that was conducted with no respect for the sacredness of the sites being excavated (Armstrong 362). Imperialism was also entering from Europe through this movement, which gave Britain more of a hold in Jerusalem (Armstrong 365). Britains involvement in Jerusalem was a crucial contributing factor to the violence that broke out in the 20th century (Armstrong 373).

When compared to some of the events that Jerusalem has gone through in the past, this "peaceful Crusade" is an improvement. Compared to the actual Crusade, the level of direct violence is theoretically lower. However, having a lower immediate death count than the Crusaders does not make an action moral. Jerusalem was being invaded by an outside power. While it may have been more peaceful than previous invasions, it still had dire consequences for the political situation of Jerusalem that are still being felt to this day.