The Light Shineth in Darkness
by
Udo Schaefer
One Paragraph

When Jerusalem was taken, 'Umar had marched in by the side of Patriarch Sophronius and had left all shrines and churches untouched, whereas the Christian Heraclius had massacred the Jews during the former invasion of the city. The same scene repeated itself in the Crusades. In 1099 when Jerusalem was taken, the crusaders caused a terrible slaughter among the native population during which Jews and Muslims were killed and burnt. When in 1187 Saladin wrested the city from the crusaders, he shamed the Christian world by allowing the Christian priests to take away with them all their church property. In an instruction left by 'Umar in his will "nothing is more emphatically recommended to his successor that he should refrain from violence towards his non-Muslim charges, indeed, rather should he, himself, take up arms to ensure their protection". (157:1)

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