The Islamic Golden Age
Episode 18 of 20: Salah al-Din
'Men grieved for him as they grieve for prophets. I have seen no other ruler for whose death the people mourned, for he was loved by good and bad, Muslim and unbeliever alike.'
'Abd al-Latif, 1193
Historian Jonathan Phillips reassesses the influence of 12th-century hero Saladin - a man whose legacy has been admired and appropriated by an extraordinary range of people through the ages. In the past few years he's been the subject of a ballet in Damascus, a musical in Lebanon and he's seen in a children's cartoon (on al-Jazeera TV) where his morality and good character are used as an exemplar for young people to emulate.
Given his role in defeating and removing Western invaders, his legacy has immense symbolism in the Middle East. Arab Nationalist leaders such as Nasser of Egypt, Saddam Hussein, and the Assad dynasty in Syria have all embraced his achievement. Yet he appeals to Islamists too: Osama bin Laden praised Saladin's wisdom and his use of the jihad to succeed in defeating the West; to the head of the CIA unit hunting bin Laden, his opponent's personal piety, generosity and sharing of hardships with his men meant 'he is an Islamic hero, as the faith's ideal type, and almost as a modern-day Saladin'.
Jonathan questions why Saladin has maintained such an incredibly broad appeal down the centuries.
Producer: Mohini Patel.
First broadcast: 14 Feb 2014 (b03tj110)
