Guiscard wrote:muy_thaiguy wrote:Saladin, yes. But, what about the other Muslim rulers at the time, and before it? Especially the ones Saladin fought with, as I am not sure if many were happy, or even content with Saladin's views on things. Please fill me in on this.
I don't quite follow you... Other leaders, as Saladin was, were committed to driving the Crusaders out of the Holy Land as a matter of course. The Franks were an offensive power in the region looking to increase their territory at the expense of the Islamic lands. What I'm saying is that the utter and unceasing quest for the death of the infidel was not a part of Islam itself. There were constant diplomatic agreements in force throughout the Islamic world. At times, warfare against the infidel was justified by scripture. However, we can identify quotes which easily contradict such a notion, and the evidence of Muslims living peacefully alongside Christians in the Near East at various points gives us further evidence of the extent to which this was simply warfare with added justification from scripture rather than scripture prompting warfare. It was a concept which gradually evolved, not one that was born with Muhammad.
I hate to say it big G, but this a matter for Theology, not history necessarily to debate. You get no monopoly on this.