Part 58

He resorted to making deals with the Crusaders occasionally in order to catch his breath and avoid being caught between two fronts: the eastern front where he had conflicts with other political forces, and the front which represented his conflict with the Crusaders. Moreover, he wanted to put the minds of others at rest by means of such deals whilst concealing his intention to put an end to Edessa; hence his operations to lay siege to it came as a surprise to its inhabitants.370 With regard to the idea that the fall of Edessa was not Zangi's only goal, but that he was also trying to build his state at the expense of his neighbours, both Muslim and Christian, it should be noted that all the Muslim leaders who emerged during the two centuries of the Crusade period of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries CE (sixth and seventh centuries AH) and contributed to the cause of Jihad had some sort of political ambition. They certainly strove to establish their own states at the expense of neighbouring political forces, but the point here is that political ambition — as I pointed out above — may be used to serve the interests of the Ummah as a whole, and that is Jihad, because these leaders could have accepted a life of humiliation and giving in to the Crusaders, and not tried to expand (their own territory) at their expense, in order to avoid stirring up political trouble with them and to avoid bloodshed, not to mention exposing the regions of their original influence to Crusader attacks. They rejected that, though, and accepted the Crusader challenge, and demonstrated their ability to change the political map of the region by taking on Jihad missions.371 It is important to note that it is no secret to researchers of Muslim relations with the Christian forces during the Crusades that a number of Orientalists sought to deny Muslim achievements and cast doubts on the bright stages of their history. A sense of vengeance is always discernible among this group, especially when it comes to Jihad, which is the pinnacle of Islam. Hence they strove very hard to deny this idea and cast aspersions upon it, and to speak ill of all past experiences of Jihad so that Muslims would not adopt this idea in the present and in the future. Thus it is possible to state — objectively and without jumping to conclusions — that the era of the Crusades witnessed a quantum leap in the development of the idea of Jihad in Islam, because this time the Jihad was against an enemy that had settled in the Muslim lands as a result of Muslim weakness that was caused by internal conflicts. If we realize that their religious identity was at risk due to the Christianization project on which the papacy was pinning its greatest hopes, we will understand the great importance of the idea of Jihad during the Crusade era.372 Consequently, western sources, both classical and modern, have tried to distort the image of this great Mujahid. One of the most well known contemporary books is Holy War: The Crusades and their Impact on Today's World. The author of this book, Karen Armstrong, says of Imad adDeen Zangi, "(This man) was no paragon: he was often dead drunk and was as cruel and ruthless as most men of war at this time."373 The biography of this man proves false what they say; our (Muslim) historians describe him as a martyr, which is the highest title that is bestowed only on those who deserve it. They have stated that he was one of the best kings in attitude, with the greatest resolve in dealing with matters; his subjects were safe and secure, and the strong were unable to transgress against the weak.374 He venerated Islamic law, established it in his state, and appointed judges to implement it. The aims of some Orientalists include the following: a) Distorting the meaning of Jihad so that our generation will remain without examples to strengthen their resolve and motivate them. b) Weakening the spirit of sacrifice, martyrdom and Jihad in the Ummah so that they can drive the Muslims like cattle. c) Attempting to separate the Ummah from its history by means of fabrications and distortions so that Muslims will not refer to their history and learn lessons from it. d) Their writings stem from a hateful Crusader spirit which resents the heroes who contributed to the failure of the Crusader venture. It is for this reason that the Orientalists have tried to distort the image of Imad ad-Deen Zangi. The biography of Imad ad-Deen Zangi and his dedicated supporters such as al-Qadi ash-Shahrazoori definitely expose, beyond any doubt, the lies of those Orientalists who have tried to erase the facts and make false accusations against that great man. His experience of Jihad deserves to be studied and analyzed in depth, and the conclusions drawn should be applied to our contemporary situation, so that we may benefit from them in a sincere effort to revive the Ummah.