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Haq puts his hands together emphatically. "No, we cannot. We can try to discern God's will, but we can never be certain of it. In the Qur'an, we have the story of Moses complaining to God that Pharaoh has so much prestige and wealth. He cannot understand why power and truth do not always go together. Even the prophet Muhammad did not find military success until the end of his life. He met defeat and setbacks more than once during his lifetime."

I decide to steer the conversation in a different direction. "From the perspective of a Christian, I found this movie really disappointing. I tried to pinpoint one Christian of true piety, and I couldn't. Even Balian, the most 'honorable' crusader in the story (short of the king, perhaps), loses his faith. Yet no Muslim loses his faith in the movie."

Haq leans back with a knowing look. "You're quite right about that. Whereas some Westerners may lose their faith, or find the movie justification for the faith they already lost, I doubt any Muslim would lose his over this."

I follow up my thought with another. "I do think, though, that many Christians will find justification in this movie to disassociate themselves from the Crusades altogether. They'll say 'These crusaders weren't real Christians. Real Christians don't do that!'"

Haq's eyes light up. "Just like how some Muslims will say Osama bin Laden is not a true Muslim. That we have nothing to do with him, even though what he's doing, he's doing in the name of Islam. I think it's good that we take a critical look at our motives, and ask whether what we're doing is really in God's will or not. I think that's a question both Christians and Muslims need to be asking themselves.

"But let me say this." Haq stops and gives me a reassuring look. "If you think Christians are not represented well in the movie, I think something good will come out of it. Thoughtful Muslims will ask themselves, 'Are Muslims today behaving like crusaders did back then, using God's name as justification to accomplish their own ends? That in the name of God they are taking property and life unjustly?' I hope some Muslims will give some thought to this."

"Do you think many Muslims will even go see this movie?" I ask.

"Hard to say," Haq says. "But I feel a good number will, simply because of the way it's linked with the Crusades. You know, the Crusades are still remembered well by Muslims. Christians have forgotten them, because Christianity has gone through a lot of transformation since then. But in the minds of many Muslims, the modern West is the heir to Christendom. The West's motives may have changed—they've become more secularized—but for Muslims, it's still the same old war."

Inamul Haq is an adjunct professor of Islam at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois. Steven Gertz is assistant editor of Christian History & Biography magazine.

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