Muslims were ever to become modern, which most
Muslims agree is a necessity. In the salaFism move-
ment, especially during the time of mUhammad
rashid rida (d. 1935), these two strands of thought
largely merged, leading to the present situation in
which saint veneration is often the province of the
less educated and less sophisticated. The dominant
discourse, which is largely a modernist one, has
come to look down upon saint veneration and inter-
cession as being both un-Islamic and backwards.
This does not mean that saints or their cults are
disappearing. It does mean, however, that many
Muslims, and particularly those who are intellectu-
ally and politically active, will, for the foreseeable
future, perceive the saints to be an aspect of “folk”
or “popular” Islam rather than the integral part of
Islam that they were for a millennium.
See also ahl al-bayt; al-badaWi, ahmad; bidaa;
miracle; sUFism; Wahhabism; zaynab bint ali ibn
abi talib.
John IskanderFurther reading: Vincent Cornell, Realm of the Saint:
Power and Authority in Moroccan Sufism (Austin: Uni-
versity of Texas Press, 1998); Gerald T. Elmore, Islamic
Sainthood in the Fullness of Time: Ibn al-Arabi’s Book of
the Fabulous Gryphon (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1999); Valerie J.
Hoffman, “Muslim Sainthood, Women, and the Legend of
Sayyida Nafisa.” In Women Saints in World Religions, edited
by Arvind Sharma, 107–144 (Albany: State University of
New York Press, 2000); Lamin Sanneh, “Saints and Virtue
in African Islam: An Historical Approach.” In Saints and
Virtues, edited by John Stratton Hawley, 127–143 (Los
Angeles: University of California Press, 1987).
Saladin (Al Malik al Nasir Abu’l Muzaffar
Yussuf ibn Ayyub, better known by his title,
Salah al-Din) (1138–1193) Muslim soldier
and leader of Kurdish descent, who became the ruler
of Egypt and Syria and led the Arab Muslim jihad
against the Crusaders
Saladin was born in Takrit, north of baghdad in
Iraq, where his father was governor. But Saladin’s
family transferred their loyalty to Nur al-Din ibn
Zangi, the ruler of Aleppo and damascUs. Sala-
din began his career as a member of the military
machine marshaled by Nur al-Din to combat the
Christian crusaders in the latter half of the 12th
century. Nur al-Din’s first task was to unify the
Muslims and it was with this aim that Saladin was
sent as part of an expeditionary force to defeat the
Shii Fatimid rulers of egypt. The campaign was
successful and shortly thereafter Saladin was rec-
ognized as the ruler of Egypt. In this role, Saladin
undertook numerous building projects to fortify
the country’s defenses, most notably the citadel that
still has a prominent place on the cairo skyline.
Saladin’s ambitions placed him in conflict with
Nur al-Din, but before they could settle the matter
in battle, Nur al-Din died in 1174. Saladin spent
the next 12 years continuing Nur al-Din’s program
of unifying the Muslim princes of syria and pales-
tine, this time under his own aUthority and lead-
ership. Once he had accomplished this—either by
treaty or by force—Saladin focused his efforts on
expelling the crusaders from the region.
He began his offensive campaign with a deci-
sive victory in 1187 at the Battle of Hattin. Saladin
then led his troops in retaking, with little resistance
or bloodshed, most of the crUsade cities and for-
tresses. Saladin’s primary objective, however, was
JerUsalem, which he besieged in 1189. Unable to
adequately defend themselves, the city’s inhabitants
quickly came to terms with Saladin, who allowed
them to ransom themselves as prisoners of war.
This action stood in sharp contrast to the crusader
conquest of the city almost a century earlier. Indeed
Saladin was famous for his generosity and honor.
He often allowed crusader prisoners to go free with
the simple promise not to take up arms against him
again—a promise that was not always kept.
The highpoint of Saladin’s career came with
restoration of the Muslim holy places in Jerusalem.
The last years of his life were spent battling the
Christian forces in the Third Crusade, which ended
in stalemate. Richard the Lion-Heart led many rein-
forcements from Europe to Palestine through the
crusader stronghold of Tyre, securing cities on the
coast but never gaining a foothold inland nor enter-
ing Jerusalem. Although Richard requested to meetK 600 Saladin