On April 21, President Donald Trump participated in a Bible reading from the White House, the latest moment in an ongoing feud with Pope Leo XIV over the use of religious language to justify U.S. military action in Iran.

Invoking that type of language in discussions about the Middle East is another step down a dangerous path that could inflame tensions rather than easing them.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has framed the rescue of a U.S. pilot over Easter weekend in terms of resurrection.

Trump ended a recent social media post threatening Iran with the words, “Glory be to GOD,” which sits uncomfortably close to the phrase Deus vult – “God wills it” – the original battle cry of the medieval crusaders. It is also a prominent tattoo on Hegseth’s right bicep.

Trump's allies have largely ignored or downplayed his comments, chalking it up as simply what he does. It's part of his brand to provoke and bluster.

Perhaps they see it as a negotiating tactic. That may well be true, but invoking God in messaging about Iran is not harmless posturing.

Muslims read special meaning into 'crusades' talk

In the Muslim world, it does not land as political theater. It lands as deeply divisive history that the wider Middle East will not simply set aside.

I should know. I'm a historian of the Crusades – and this has happened before.

President George W. Bush did something similar in the days after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11,........

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