SACRED geography may have no place in modern international law, and the judges who adjudicate territorial disputes at the International Court of Justice have no remit in such matters. But as a way of tugging at people's heart-strings and convincing people that a piece of ground is worth fighting for, it is more effective than any other sort of argument. Doubtless there were many social and economic reasons for the Crusades, but to the humble European peasants who tramped eastwards, it mattered a lot that the tomb of their Saviour was at risk, so they had been told, of being taken over by infidels. As a rhetorical rallying-cry, religion works. Even among those who are not consciously devout, it can strike a deep chord.
