Page 118 - A Call for a Turkish-Islamic Union

A CALL FOR A TURKISH-ISLAMIC UNION

the radicals within his own ranks. Following the slaughter of
3,000 innocent Muslim civilians at Castle Acre, ordered by King
Richard the Lion-Hearted, commander of the Third Crusade,
some Muslims demanded revenge: They wanted to massacre
Jaffa's (today's Tel Aviv) Christians. Saladin successfully calmed
his soldiers down and extinguished their bloodlust, and so guar-
anteed the safety of Jaffa's Christians.

In the end, Saladin brought peace to the Holy Land by grant-
ing the Crusaders some privileges and concessions. On 28 August
1192, the two parties agreed upon and signed a peace treaty. Sal-
adin made a great gesture: He invited the Crusader's command-
ers, who had killed thousands of Muslims in their quest to
conquer Jerusalem, to stay there as his guests. Those Cru-
saders visiting Jerusalem were astonished by the Muslims'
great forgiveness, compassion, and justice. On one occa-
sion, upon learning that his former enemy King

Richard was sick, Saladin sent his own physi-
cian to treat him, along with some ice to reduce
his temperature. Saladin became a legend
throughout Europe for his righteous character,
which was based on the Qur'an's values.
In short, Saladin's Islamic Union gave the
Muslims power and victory, as well as the opportu-

nity to realize the justice, compassion, and peaceful-
ness central to Islamic morality. Muslims were
moved to serve Islam, prevent some radical
movements from spreading among Mus-
lims, and live according to the Qur'an.
Eight centuries have passed
since the time of that Is-
lamic Union. Today's

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