Of course, as you know, Jerusalem is a holy place for Muslims, too,
because the Prophet Mohammed, peace be on him, travelled from
there up into the sky to meet God and the prophets. Also the Al-Aqsa
Mosque is one of the oldest holy places of Islam. It’s wrong that the
Franks are using the building as a church and praying in it. Nuradin
wanted to bring Muslims together to win it back, and I want to make
his great hope come true!
Planning this new campaign, Saladin remembered Shirkuh
saying, ‘Never waste time. March quickly and take the enemy
by surprise!’ At first, Saladin’s soldiers followed his orders. They
were fast and deadly. The Frankish knights weren’t ready, and
the Muslims won without trying very hard. But then Saladin’s
men slowed down and stopped being careful. They thought that
they could take Jerusalem without any trouble!
King Baldwin the Leper was only sixteen when he learned that
Saladin’s army was attacking Palestine, and that there was no