Saladin Great warrior of Medieval history

Only medieval Muslim military leader respected by both Muslims and Christians alike, not many Muslim leaders have earned so much praise from Western scholars as Saladin.There are many Hollywood movies made on life and conquests of Saladin by famous Hollywood directors such as Kingdom of Heaven. A leader who is still an inspiration for modern Muslims, a leader who was and is a symbol of Arab nationalism and Muslim unity.

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Leo Caesius

Banned
He did speak Arabic (and has left nothing in Kurdish for future generations). He has also been claimed by Iraqi nationalists (because he was born in Takrit) and Syrian nationalists as well (because he lived in Syria). The Kurdish connection was actually viewed as little more than an obscure detail until this past century. But you're right, strictly speaking he's not an Arab and therefore a rather odd focus for Arab nationalists.
 
Saladin

He was symbol of arab nationalism because he done so much for arabs. You can ask any egyptian.
 
He did speak Arabic (and has left nothing in Kurdish for future generations). He has also been claimed by Iraqi nationalists (because he was born in Takrit) and Syrian nationalists as well (because he lived in Syria). The Kurdish connection was actually viewed as little more than an obscure detail until this past century. But you're right, strictly speaking he's not an Arab and therefore a rather odd focus for Arab nationalists.

Arabs don't seem to be all that hung up on the technical ethnicity of their heroes - the cultural & religious affiliation are more important. Even the Turks are like that. Otherwise, Ataturk...
 
I can vouch for the fact that yes, paradoxically, Salah al-Din is viewed as a key figure of Arab Nationalism and Pan-Arabism. In these schools of thought, an "Arab," is viewed not only as an ethnic Arab, but anyone with any connection to the Arabic language and culture, superceding religion, race, or any other charactertistic.
 
I'm not sure what the question is. If Saladin had lived longer would it have affected the history of the Middle East? It Saladin had been killed at an earlier stage or if there was no Saladim. Islamic fundamentalists such as the Talaban display a misunderstanding of Saladin. Templars excepted, Saladin largely showed mercy to his enemies and Richard the Lionheart eventually regarded his word as more trustworthy than his own Crusadetr "allies".
 
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