Searching for a Saladin

A Humane Warrior: Searching for a Saladin
By AMIR BUTLER
CounterPunch [www.counterpunch.org], 28-30 May 2005

Sir Ridley Scott's treatment of the Crusades in Kingdom of Heaven
focuses attention on a chapter of history that is barely remembered
in our societies, yet provides the prism through which Muslims view
their relations with the West.

The central storyline is mostly fictional, however the historical
backdrop is essentially accurate; with its progression from the
treaty broken by Crusader bandit-knights, to the attack on the Castle
of Kerak, and the subsequent surrender of Jerusalem to Saladin's armies.

Saladin, the 12th century Muslim ruler and vanquisher of the
Crusaders, has long been romanticized in both Muslim and non-Muslim
literature as a figure who personified bravery, chivalry and honor.

Even Dante's Divine Comedy, where history's heroes and villains are
categorised into different levels of hell, describes Saladin as
standing 'alone, apart' in the highest level afforded to non-
Christians; alongside the likes of Plato, Homer and Dante's own
guide, Vergil.

In the Muslim world, the name 'Saladin' resonates with meaning. For
this reason, his name peppers the speeches of Osama Bin Laden, and
Saddam Hussein frequently described himself as Saladin II. Saladin
is, for Muslims, the symbol of a golden age of honour and dignity;
and he is, for figures such as Saddam and Bin Laden, a useful
rhetorical device for giving legitimacy to their own causes.

Muslims revere Saladin because he was an embodiment of Islamic
principles; and non-Muslims revered him for what they saw of his
chivalry. He became a window through which the medieval world came to
see something of Islam; and he now represents a window through which
Muslims see something of their past. A past filled with acts of
kindness that seem out of place in today's dystopian world of made-
for-TV decapitations, kidnapping of engineers, and the torture of
prisoners of war.

Although he lived as a military leader at a time characterised by its
violence, Saladin could teach our contemporary leaders -- both Muslim
and non-Muslim -- something about chivalry and respect for humanity.
Whilst besieging the Castle of Kerak, on his march to Jerusalem,
Saladin learnt that a wedding ceremony was underway in a part of the
castle. He didn't make some utilitarian judgement about 'collateral
damage' and continue the attack. Rather, he ordered his soldiers to
refrain from bombarding that wing.

Whilst Crusaders had, according to reports of the time, massacred
Jews, Christians and Muslims to the point that, "our men waded in
blood up to their ankles", Saladin did not extract revenge or conduct
any of his own massacres on recapturing the city 88 years later.
Instead, he granted the Crusaders protected passage to the coast.

When Richard the Lion Heart attempted to then recapture Jerusalem, he
was confronted both by Saladin's military might and his clemency.
Despite having violated a treaty by slaughtering 3,000 men at Acre,
when Richard's horse was killed at Jaffa, Saladin sent two of his own
horses to replace it. "It is not right," he wrote. "That so brave a
warrior should have to fight on foot." When Richard fell sick during
the siege, Saladin sent his personal physician to care for him.

After his death in 1193, they did not find Swiss bank accounts of
money pilfered from his people, but an empty personal treasury;
emptied by his charity to those in need.

For Muslims, Saladin represents a moment in their history of strong
and honorable leadership in the face of tremendous opposition.
Tyrants and dictators have since misappropriated his name and legacy;
but Saladin was everything that the secular and politically emaciated
dictators of the Muslim lands are not: a leader who was powerful yet
just; victorious yet clement; and who was inspired not by a love of
power or a thirst for wealth, but by faith alone.

In the end, Saladin was victorious over the crusading armies of
Europe, but perhaps his greatest victory was not militarily, but
morally. For real victory, Saladin said, "is changing the hearts of
your opponents by gentleness and kindness."

Amir Butler is a writer based in Melbourne, Australia. He can be
reached at: amir@amirbutler.com