Quote:
Originally Posted by Catfish
WHat i consider to be starnge is that jews and christians did live well under the reign of some Saladin long ago, even if the foregone fights for Jerusalem were hard to say at least.
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Christians and Jews are living , as people of the book, as people of second class under Islamic rule, they have no equal rights, but - by Quranic demand and Sharia rule! - must be discriminated and persecuted, to make them feel infeiror to Muslims (so the demand!) and make them feel sorry for not converting to Islam, which is the final goal anyway. All other people, atheists, believers of others faiths, MUST BE KILLED. Saladin was a ruler with iron fist, eh is repsomnsoible for having death-senbtenced several of the most promising mystiocs and possible reformistic minds of his times. His grave has an inscripture, saying "He cleaned Earth from the dirt of the infidel". You also may want to check his record during the conquest of the city Tiberias, where he raised a bounty after having captured the city, a bounty for every Chgristian brpought to him. The city got almost emptied, and the prisoners got executed by Saldin'S followers, in his presence. And before Richard arriovbed in the holy land, and Saladsin still was in service of a local king, he defated a French army and took many noble men and princes as prisoners. But he refused to follow the habit of that time to trade them for a ransom. He executed them all, sending a message of terror back to Europe. That was before Jerusalem fell to the Muslims. Later, when Richard Lionheart moved to Jerusalem, he also took a huge number of prisoners, I think that was at Akkon. And he also executed them. But there is a difference. Richard had extremely short supllies and extremely long supply lines (to Europe), and he was pushing on the offmnse against Saladin in Jeruslem. Leaving priopsner behind would have needed knights of his to guard them, it would have limited if resources in food and water even more, and it would have left him with a poential enemy amry in his rear if the prisoners mamanged to break out and overwhelm the guards. Richard had a military reason. Saladin had not. He was superior in numbers, had full supply and short supply lines, and was just one or two days on horse away from the kingdom in the North for whose king he had commended that battle.
In Islam, tough rulers are not only forgiven when ruling with iron fists and supressing the people, they are also admired. As long as they can make the people beleive thgat they do it on behalf of Allah and Islam, it is okay. You see that pattern being reapeted throughout history.
It is also a form of Islamic interpretation of Darwinistic selection that should help to keep Islam and Muslims strong.
So, there are many romanticisng myths about Saladin her ein the West, just think of Lessing'S Nathan der Weise. boltaire also once admired Islam and Saladion, Goethe also had a transfugured image of Islam. But Voltaire at least was smart enough to finally realise that he was wring and what a minster this islam really is. He then turned into a bitter critic and enemy of Islam. Goethe and Lessing died in blindness over it.
Well, I know wait that somebody tries to transfigure islam again by painting the picture of the so-called bright times in Grenada during the Caliphate. We then can have a closer look at the repressions and discrimination Jews and Christians were object of. Grenada , beside Saladin, also is one of these massively distorted propaganda stories being told.
Islam knows no equals to itself, and no equal rights for others. That si somethign that many Wetserners - and also some well-meaning socalled Muslims - do not want to understand and although it is in their very basic fundament of scripture itself. And Saladin? Was a tyrant with an iron fist. That simple. Ridley Scott painted him quite heroic in his movie because he wanted to avoid assassination threats agaiunst the project and his staff, and becasue he needed the permission by the king of Marocco to film on location in his country. I like the director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven. But I keep in mind that the Saladin as depicted in that movie has little in common with the historcial figure of Saladin.