Courtney+Myers-Muslim+notes

Lands were invaded and cities sacked. To be honest, they didn't even know that there was something to be concerned about at first. French commanders and French knights tended to be at the forefront of the fighting in the First Crusade, so Muslims in the region simply referred to the Crusaders as Franks no matter what their actual nationality. As far as the Muslims were concerned, this was simply another stage in Frankish imperialism that had been experienced in Spain, North Africa, and Sicily. Not until after permanent kingdoms were established in the Holy Land and regular reinforcements from Europe began arriving that Muslim leaders began to understand that this was not Rome reasserting itself or Frankish imperialism anymore. Muslims were able to effectively retaliate when they stopped bickering among themselves so much. The first leader to begin this process was Nur al-Din, and his successor, Salah al-Din (Saladin). For the most part Muslims remained divided and, at times, even indifferent to the European threat. Occasionally religious fervor took hold and inspired people to participate in campaigns against the Crusaders, but much of the time people who didn't live around the Holy Land simply didn't worry about it - and even those who did sometimes signed treaties with Crusader leaders against rival Muslim kingdoms. As disorganized as they were, though, the Europeans were usually far worse. Crusaders didn't leave much impact. Muslim art, architecture, and literature are almost entirely untouched by the extended contact with European Christians. Muslims didn't feel that they had much of anything to learn from the barbarians who came out of the north, so it was a very rare scholar to take the time to find out what the Christians thought or did. **__ 2. __** http://www.articlesbase.com/history-articles/the-lasting-effects-of-the-crusades-997052.html Muslims also paid a heavy price. More than the human and material losses, the Arab world suffered also psychologically. Before the Crusaders it had been the Turks and after it had been the Mongols who had occupied Middle East. All these successive invasions made the Arabs harder against other cultures and infused in them the belief that they should preserve their culture by all means. **__ 3. __** [] Many Muslims sought shelter in the [|Al-Aqsa Mosque], the [|Dome of the Rock] , and the [|Temple Mount] area generally. According to the [|Gesta Francorum], speaking only of the Temple Mount area, "... [our men] were killing and slaying even to the Temple of Solomon, where the slaughter was so great that our men waded in blood up to their ankles..." According to Raymond of Aguilers, also writing solely of the Temple Mount area, "…In the Temple and porch of Solomon men rode in blood up to their knees and bridle reins."= taken directly from biblical passage [|Apocalypse 14:20] The eyewitness [|Gesta Francorum] states that some people managed to escape the siege unharmed. Its anonymous author wrote, "When the pagans had been overcome, our men seized great numbers, both men and women, either killing them or keeping them captive, as they wished." Later the same source writes, "[Our leaders] also ordered all the [|Saracen] dead to be cast outside because of the great stench, since the whole city was filled with their corpses; and so the living Saracens dragged the dead before the exits of the gates and arranged them in heaps, as if they were houses. No one ever saw or heard of such slaughter of pagan people, for funeral pyres were formed from them like pyramids, and no one knows their number except God alone." Raymond of Aguilers(eyewitness) states that some Muslims "took refuge in the Tower of David, and, petitioning Count Raymond for protection, surrendered the Tower into his hands." Muslim historian [|Ibn al-Athir] who recounts that after the city was taken and pillaged: "A band of Muslims barricaded themselves into the Oratory of David (Mihrab Dawud) and fought on for several days. They were granted their lives in return for surrendering. The Franks honored their word, and the group left by night for Ascalon." Some people managed to escape the siege unharmed. Its anonymous author wrote, "When the pagans had been overcome, our men seized great numbers, both men and women, either killing them or keeping them captive, as they wished." The whole city was filled with their corpses; and so the living Saracens dragged the dead before the exits of the gates and arranged them in heaps, as if they were houses. After the city was taken and pillaged: "A band of Muslims barricaded themselves into the Oratory of David (Mihrab Dawud) and fought on for several days. They were granted their lives in return for surrendering. The Franks honored their word, and the group left by night for Ascalon." Although the Crusaders killed many of the Muslim and Jewish residents. That some Muslim and Jewish residents were allowed to live, as long as they left Jerusalem The Crusades were Christian military and religious expeditions launched both against rival religions (primarily Islam) and even other Christians. Crusades lay the groundwork for medieval Christian society and feudalism, and but they also laid the groundwork for contemporary violence between Muslims and Christians. Islam and Christianity become involved with mass murder over religion, holy sites, and religious beliefs for centuries. **__ 5. __** http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_did_the_crusades_affect_Muslim_christian_relationship_after_the_crusades Francis of Assisi went to the holy land in an attempt to make peace in the midst of the Crusades by trying to convert the Muslim leaders, he failed. **__ 6. __** [] **__Usama ibn Munqidh__** (1095-1188) was a Muslim warrior, politician, and author who wrote an important book of memoirs toward the end of his life. Born in Shayzar, Syria, Usama lived there until about 1131, when for some years he was associated with Zangi, one of the first Muslim leaders to lead significant counter-attacks against the Christian crusaders. In the late 1130s Usama moved to Damascus, whence he made a number of trips to Jerusalem and there became acquainted with the Franks. By 1144, however, factional rivalries forced Usama to move once again, this time to Egypt. The next several decades found him in the midst of more conspiracies and exiles, but by 1174 Usama was back in Syria, where he joined the court of the famous Saladin, conqueror of Jerusalem in 1187. By the time Jerusalem fell, however, Usama was nearing the end of  his life, having spent his final years writing a number of works of   poetry and prose, including the autobiograph­ical memoirs known variously in English as the Book of Reflections, Book of Instruction by Example, or simply the Autobiography. For the purposes of Western medieval history, this work is important chiefly for its famous descriptions of the Franks, excerpted in the present selection. Usama's observations offer a fascinating counterpoint to Chris­tian accounts of their own behavior and the reactions of their enemies. Usama's friendship with some of the Franks enabled him to get beyond rancorous slander, and his reflections on the curious ideas and habits of the Franks remain a valuable source for historians of the Western world as well as for students of Islamic history. Usamah ibn-Musrshid said : “Mysterious are the works of the Creator, the author of all things! When one comes to recount cases regarding the Franks, he cannot but glorify Allah (exalted is he!) and sanctify him, for he sees them as animals pos­sessing the virtues of courage and fighting, but nothing else; just as ani­mals have only the virtues of strength and carrying loads. I shall now give some instances of their doings and their curious mentality. In the army of King Fulk, son of Fulk, was a Frankish reverend knight who had just arrived from their land in order to make the holy pilgrimage and then return home. He was of my intimate fellowship and kept such constant company with me that he began to call me "my brother." Between us were mutual bonds of amity and friendship. When he resolved to return by sea to his homeland, he said to me: "My brother, I am leaving for my country and I want you to send with me your son"-my son, who was then fourteen years old, was at that time in my company-"to our country, where he can see the knights and learn wisdom and chivalry. When he returns, he will be like a wise man." Thus there fell upon my ears words which would never come out of the head of a sensible man; for even if my son were to be taken captive, his captivity could not bring him a worse misfortune than carrying him into the lands of the Franks. However, I said to the man: "By your life, this has exactly been my idea. But the only thing that prevented me from carrying it out was the fact that his grandmother, my mother, is so fond of him and did not this time let him come out with me until she exacted an oath from me to the effect that I would return him to her."
 * __ 1 __** . http://atheism.about.com/od/crusades/a/crusadesviews_2.htm
 * __ 4. __**http://atheism.about.com/od/crusades/The_Crusades_Islam_vs_Christianity_Causes_History_Images.htm