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From the article: 'As the Middle Ages ended, the crusades were mostly a fading memory. Yet, today the word and the way it is used seem more popular than ever. How did the crusades return to today’s society?‘This crusade… this war on terrorism is going to take a while.’ US President George W. Bush, South Lawn of the White House, 16 September 2001. Propelled to the front of the world’s attention by US President George W. Bush’s offhand remark on the South Lawn of the White House in the days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the crusades have continued to feature prominently in public rhetoric in the first decades of the twenty-first century. Deployed by both Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and ISIS as an example of historic Western aggression in the Middle East and against Muslims, the crusades have also been used by white supremacists and those in the West – such as Norwegian terrorist Andreas Breivik and his emulators. Apparently innocuous forms of crusading rhetoric and imagery can be found, particularly in the names and branding of sports teams, in descriptions of public health campaigns, and in entertainment from literature and art to films, TV dramas and digital games; though the contemporary associations of the crusades have often raised questions as to their continued suitability for these uses. In the aftermath of the Christchurch shootings in New Zealand in March 2019 by a terrorist who referenced various historical figures – including the crusader Bohemond of Taranto – in his attack the city’s successful rugby union team considered changing their name and branding from ‘Crusaders’. However, the question remains: why has a medieval form of Christian holy war – linked to pilgrimage, the papacy, and Jerusalem – found popularity in the modern world? What accounts for the breadth of its invocations?' For an overview of the Engaging the Crusades project, see this on the same website:
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