Papal crusade indulgences were extended to Iberian conquests against Muslims

Evidence

In the interim, many Latin chroniclers and Western theologians developed the view that the Saracens were pagans who bore a striking resemblance to the Roman idolaters of antiquity against which the earliest generations of Christians struggled. This construction of Islam as paganism was particularly prominent around the time of the First Crusade, serving as one of the major propagandistic tools used by crusaders to justify their efforts to conquer the Holy Land. The struggles of ancient Christians against Roman idolaters were now replicated in the battles waged by Christians against Saracen pagans. Crusaders could find comfort in knowing that the risks they undertook were not in vain but were part of an ongoing battle in Christian history to eradicate those enemies of Christ who worshipped false gods and idols. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 125 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

These polemical ideas, in particular the hostile biography of Muhammad, were used to deny any political legitimacy to Muslim rule in Spain and to justify the social and political subjugation of Muslim subjects of Spanish Christian rulers. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 71 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Iberian conquests adopted crusade imagery even where historians hesitate to call them crusades; Popes granted Holy Land crusade indulgences to Iberian reconquest campaigns — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 910; Medieval Spanish rulers used anti-Islam polemic to justify rule over subject Muslims (+16 more)

Broader Connections

• Popes granted Holy Land crusade indulgences to Iberian reconquest campaigns #corroborates (1.00) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 910
• Internal European crusades against dissidents predated and modeled the overseas Crusades #expands (1.00)
• Aragonese crusader kings framed Moorish conquests as holy warfare against Islam #corroborates (1.00) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 914
• The papacy manufactured Muslims as a holy-war enemy to unify Christian Europe #corroborates (1.00) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 93
• Anti-Muslim polemics legitimated Christian subjugation of Spanish Muslims #corroborates (1.00) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 71
• Thirteenth-century Castilian anti-Muslim ideology assembled existing canonical and historical strands #corroborates (1.00) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 908
• Crusaders justified conquest by recasting Muslims as pagan Roman idolaters #corroborates (1.00) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 125
• Medieval Latin writers framed the Crusade as Christian defence against Islamic aggression #corroborates (1.00) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 2106
• The Crusades were framed as a militaristic pilgrimage against Islamic advance #corroborates (1.00) — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 172
• Iberian kings borrowed crusade prestige to elevate local Moorish wars #corroborates (1.00) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 914
• Medieval Spanish rulers used anti-Islam polemic to justify rule over subject Muslims #complicates (0.80)
• Iberian crusader ideology could coexist with respect for Muslim foes #complicates (0.80) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 915
• Medieval Iberian rulers compelled Muslims and Jews to hear Christian sermons #complicates (0.80) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 923
• Muslims held cultural and intellectual dominance in Spain through the thirteenth century #complicates (0.70)
• Early modern Spain alternately demanded Muslim assimilation and then rejected it once achieved #complicates (0.70)