Page 5 - Devastates Saladin News Today

To take on the christians, throw them out of jerusalem, and recover it for islam. >> but many choose war. >> so one of the tensions in saladins life is the tension between saying im the hero of sunni, islam, and the fact that he spends quite a long time fighting his fellow sunni muslims in creating that empire. >> he said to his son later, dont get used to killing. dont get into killing. dont believe in killing because blood never sleeps. >> we shouldnt confuse our desire to transform saladin in...

Region want to throw out the westerners. >> and so this is what prompted the rise of saladin, to take back jerusalem from the christians who had taken it from the muslims. >> saladin was a kurd, an ethnic kurd, who was born in the city of tikrit. >> hes famous for his generosity. in fact, his administrators say, weve got to hide money from him because if he knows hes got it, hes going to give it away. >> saladin wants to conquer jerusalem. but in order to conquer jerusalem, hes first got to unit...

Major port city at the time was acre. >> the city of acre on the northern coast of present-day israel was an entry point for the maritime trade that flourished across the mediterranean. >> it was an actual economic and political capital of the crusader project in the middle east. it was very important for them because the port of acre is huge. the city is large. >> king guy has not gotten any men, but he knows that he has to give them a target, something to fight for. and he decides to attack th...

So, richard was a great king who lived by the sword and died by the sword. >> at the end of the third crusade, saladin is able to return to demascus where he is given a heros welcome. but he has spent years and years fighting. physically and mentally he is shattered. and just six or seven months after richard has gone home, saladin falls ill. on the fourth of march, 1193, the great hero of the near east dies. >> this was a man who united all of these muslim groups and took back jerusalem from th...

By all accounts, he is equally skilled as saladin, but hes his younger brother, so he had few opportunities to show that. >> hes a man of courtesy, of culture. he enjoys talking with richard about music, about singing, about hunting. hes part of a positive relationship thats formed between the two of them. and in the course of the negotiations, there is a radical solution put forward by richard at one stage, and that involves his sister. >> joanna is richard the lionhearts sister, who happens to...

Jerusalem is to reclaim the ha ram al sharif with the al aqsa mosque at its center. >> now he had to transform the entire haram back into an islamic space and repair everything that was damaged in one way or another by the crusaders or due to crusader use. >> the rock upon which the prophet ascended to heaven has been covered with marble and is stripped off. theres various images of christian religious figures on the walls. theyre removed or covered. and most symbolically of all, perhaps, theres...

Entire kingdom of jerusalem. >> when saladin amasses his forces in northern palestine, king guys inexperience is quickly put to the test. >> saladin was very shrewd and sort of provoking the christians to come out of the safety of jerusalem to meet them further north. >> guy of lus enonfelt like this was his chance to strike at saladins army once and for all. if he could win, it would be a huge victory. if not, it could be disastrous. >> announcer: "jerusalem indicat"jerusalem: city of faith and...

Emotionally to christians and to muslims. >> their negotiations are some of the most fascinating negotiations that take place because theyre exactly like a modern peace negotiations between the israelis and the palestinians, for example. they say essentially, you think jerusalems yours, and we think jerusalems ours. >> saladin declines to meet richard in person. he says its not proper that leaders should meet, and if we dont make an agreement, we may then fight again. >> so the person who tried ...

Crusaders on ships coming towards him in droves. with one of those soldiers being one of the most ferocious warriors of all time. richard the lionheart. king richard the i of england may very well be the polar opposite of saladin. he kills and leaves the dead bodies around so that other people are afraid of him. >> hes fearless. hes incredibly energetic. hes efficient, and hes a flamboyant character. >> he has the irony of being a bad son, a bad brother, an absent king, but a brilliant military ...

>> everyone was shocked by it. the only two people who really accepted it were richard the lionheart and saladin himself. the christians were all appalled by richards idea. >> peoples absolute belief in the spiritual significance of jerusalem inevitably raises the stakes when there is conflict. it just makes confrontation or discussion even that much sharper. >> in order to save face, richard feels its important to add as part of his demands the proviso that al adil converts to christianity. sal...