On Oct. 2, 1187, Salahuddin Al-Ayoubi conquered and liberated Jerusalem after 88 years of European occupation. This happened after the victorious battle of Hiteen against the European invaders headed by England’s Richard the Lion Heart, Philippe August, King of France, and other European nobles.
The victory was not due to the power or the number of the Muslim army, but was due to a sincere belief in God that was supported by unlimited determination to regain a lost right.
In fact, the Crusades were not dedicated to religion but to colonization — occupation of more lands. Pope Urban II made a call for a military expedition at the meeting in Clermont, France, in 1095 emphasizing the need to occupy Jerusalem and Palestine and also to expel the Arabs and Muslims on grounds of persecuting Christians or attacking Christian pilgrims who sought to visit Jerusalem.
Pope Urban’s call at the council of Clermont was a rallying call to the people, nobility and the kings. It was a period of expansion with the western Europe seeking to expand its economy and military might. The pope’s call struck a chord with the people espousing expansionist ideas. This provided an opportunity to expand and control new lands regardless of religion.
If the word “terrorism” were in use in that period, it would come as no surprise to me if the Pope had applied this word to describe the Arabs and Muslims.
History shows that the Muslims honored the pledges made by Omar ibn Al-Khatab in the year 638. Omar had pledged to protect the Christians, to safeguard the churches in Jerusalem and provide safety and security to Christian pilgrims.
In order to show the tolerance of Islam and how it fought racism and boosted peace, let’s give a simple comparison between the events that took place during the rise of the Jerusalem Latin Kingdom and the milestones of Jerusalem liberation from the Western colonialism.
The European armies surrounded Jerusalem in 1099, headed by Tankard and Raymond and an agreement was concluded with the Fatimi prince, who handed over the city without war in return for a pledge for the safety of Muslims. The Muslims were to be allowed to take refuge in Al-Aqsa Mosque without any harm to the innocents.
But by the time the invading Crusaders entered the city, 80 percent of Jerusalem Muslims were murdered regardless of gender or age. That massacre is considered one of the horrible atrocities in the history of mankind. As a result, the current Pope has lately apologized to the Palestinians and other Muslims around the world for the crimes committed by the Crusaders during that era.
On the other hand let’s see what happened when Salahuddin entered Jerusalem and how he treated the defeated Crusaders and other civilians.
In fact, Salahuddin granted them safety and security and accepted the terms of ransom for exchange of war prisoners. Moreover, he paid from his own budget for those who were unable to pay and repatriated them safely to their countries.
What I am trying to say here is that Islam is a religion that calls for fair treatment to others regardless of creed or religion, forbids aggression and fights terrorism that contradicts Islam’s teachings. This is in response to those who have said that they do not know anything about Islam following the Sept. 11 attacks on the US.
Moreover, such lack of knowledge is not due to shortcomings in the part of Muslims but is due to blunt rejection by other religions to learn more about Islam or its teachings. Nevertheless, there is a similarity between the circumstances of the rise of Jerusalem’s Latin Kingdom and the establishment of the state of Israel.
In fact, both of them were founded on the basis of colonialism, occupation of land, displacement of original population and unlawfully seizure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Hence, both states were based on hatred, violence and terrorism.
As the Jerusalem Latin Kingdom could not last or survive, Israel too will not last or survive nor can they coexist with the Palestinians or its neighboring countries.
History is again witness to the fact that early and the current attempts to occupy the Al-Aqsa Mosque did not succeed as long as the Islam is there. This is one of the many reasons, including the tolerance of Islam, that allows others to practice their beliefs without fear or terrorism.
