Selahaddin'in Mısırlı Hristiyanlara Karşı Sert Muamelesine İlişkin Eleştirel ve Analitik Bir Çalışma

Abstract

Sultan Salah al-Din (d.1193 CE) was a model of gallantry for many Muslim and non-Muslim historians and scholars alike. He was kind to Crusader women and humane to captured high-ranking prisoners. His attitude towards Christians was substantially distinct from the Crusaders’ attitude towards Muslims, and his treatment of Christians and non-Muslims in Islamicjerusalem was marked by tolerance, respect, and generosity. Nonetheless, according to some Muslim and non-Muslim historians, Salah al-Din’s relations with Egyptian Christians started off on the wrong foot and then deteriorated further. For example, Coptic historian Sawirus ibn al-Muqaffa‘ stated that churches in Egypt were severely damaged, particularly after Salah al-Din became wazir in 1169 CE, and at the start of his Ayyubid sultanate. He also stated that on Salah al-Din’s orders, all wooden crosses atop basilica domes and churches in Egypt were removed, and churches with white exteriors were painted black. Furthermore, the ringing of bells was prohibited throughout the country, and Christians were not permitted to pray in public and so forth. Surprisingly, Salah al-Din’s hostility towards Christians did not continue for long; after about five years (1174 CE), Salah al-Din showed tolerance towards Egyptian Christians. He was generous to them and other non-Muslims in the surrounding areas, and granted them certain privileges. This paper seeks to critically examine Salah al-Din’s attitude towards Egyptian Christians and why that attitude later changed. It will attempt to answer the following questions: Why did Salah al-Din impose such severe restrictions on Egyptian Christians? and whether his treatment of Egypt’s Christians was related to the Crusaders' occupation of Islamicjerusalem?