The Siege of Haifa:When Muslims and Jews Fought as Comrades and Brothers in Arms*

The fight between pro Palestine and pro Israel camps is perhaps at its worst, both on social media and off of it. The acrimony is violent, lacks nuance and is completely bereft of empathy on both sides. Who in the recent history is to blame is far more complicated than the protests in university campuses permit us to understand. Starting today, I intend to trace the historical origins of the current crisis in the Middle East and curiously enough, the first story is not of jews and Muslims fighting each, but of their military alliance in defence of a shared land and against a shared enemy in the 11th century. Why? Because it is important to realise that neither Islam nor Judaism prescribes mutual destruction and leaders in the history of Islam, would perhaps disapprove of the current format of the conflict, bereft of dialogue and filled with indiscriminate violence.

?Of the three faiths born in the Middle East, Judaism, Islam and Christianity, Judaism is perhaps the oldest. There is in fact historical sources to even suggest that none other than Alexander had made contact with the Jews of the Middle East during his world wide campaign. As Christianity carved out its own path, followed by Islam, Judaism settled into a pluralistic society with its sister faiths. Prophet Muhammad himself, had taken two Jewish wives, Rayhana Bint Sayd and Safiya Bint Huyayy. While there was some friction with Jewish communities during his righteous war which led to the creation of the Islamic Caliphate, the relationship was ultimately cordial and friendly. ?Following his ascension to heaven, his successor, Abu Bakr, in recognition of the Jewish connection to Jerusalem, permitted a community of Jews to settle into the holy city where they remained for some time to come.

Until the crusades, be it under the Fatimids or otherwise, Transjordan/Levant/Outremeir which includes present day Israel and Lebanon, was a region of many faiths. Many religious groups including the Jews, the Muslims, the Alawites, the Druze, the Nizaris, the Ismailis, the Armenian Christians, etc., comprised the local population. While there were frequent infighting among the political rulers of the region, not unlike the story from the Game of Thrones, there was also a threat looming in the not too distant land of Europe, quite like the white walkers, where blind faith would marry militant violence, to show the world a prolific picture of religious extremism in the form of the “Frankish Army” or the “Crusader Armies”.

Noblemen and soldiers of Europe, who were prone to fighting and violence in a militarily charged continent, when introduced to Christian faith and its condemnation of violence, had a profound crisis of conscience. On one hand, political realities justified their martial tendencies and yet these very martial tendencies, according to their faith, guaranteed a place in hell. Exploiting the Europeans’ guilt ridden mindset, Christian leaders such as Pope Urban embarked on a campaign of false propaganda (the likes of which would put even Bin Laden to shame), alleging muslim atrocities against Christian pilgrims in the Middle East and branding the Muslims as pagans, driven to harass the virtuous followers of Christ. He and many others in the Church, demanded that Christian knights and rulers, including kings, commit to reclaiming Jerusalem and other holy sites in the Middle East from the “pagan” muslims, to earn forgiveness for their sins and find a place in heaven. Christian nobleman such as Bohemond, Tancrid, Baldwin and many others, living under the fear of eternal damnation for their less than admirable lives in European conflicts and driven by a sense of adventure, ?were quick to answer this call for religious violence, in the hope of divine forgiveness and began what would be centuries of campaigns in the Middle East.

However, the crusader armies were anything but righteous, as they did not see virtue in the lives of non-christian and non-Europeans alike. When they sacked cities like Acre and Tyre after long and bloody sieges, death would be inflicted indiscriminately against all inhabitants men, women and children and be it Muslims, jews, aluwites, druz, etc, with such ethnic cleansing preceded by cries of “God Wills It!”. Legend has it that following the conquest of Jerusalem by the crusader armies, the scale of murder of the Jerusalem residents, Muslims and otherwise, was so widespread that the city smelled of death for several decades thereafter. In 1098, during the siege of Ma’arra, faced with imminent famine, crusader armies took to consuming the meat of the dead bodies of their muslim enemies, leaving the muslim armies shell shocked at the barbarism in display.?

When this army of barbarians reached Haifa and offered peace at the expense of conversion, the Muslims and the Jewish populations of Haifa were unimpressed and decided to contest. Over the course of several days and months, Muslim and Jewish defenders, fought side by side and heroically gave up their lives against the armies of Tancrid. Eventually, the city fell to the Franks after a bloody battle. Interestingly enough, when Saladin, the legendary Ayyubid ruler, ?took back Haifa in 1187, the jews were welcomed back to Haifa. He also helped resettle the Jews into Jerusalem in recognition, perhaps, of the blood they spilt aiding their muslim comrades in fighting the franks.?

With this background, one wonders, how did the two communities that defended present day Israel against a common aggressor, turn into sworn enemies 10 centuries later? The answer is complex. Yet with the crisis in the Middle East only getting worse, the present promises little hope for dialogue and reconciliation. Perhaps, what we need therefore, is to ignore the virtues of placing history in the past and instead, look to history for if it teaches us anything, it is that any friendship or enmity, no matter deep, is ultimately vulnerable to the sands of time and change. ?Therefore, there is hope, for peace and for a just resolution.

*Acknowledgements: Much of the material for this post comes from the following books and for those looking for further reading material, this is a great starting point

1. Hamas: From Resistance to Regime by Paola Caridi

2. The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land Book by Thomas Asbridge

3. My Life by Golda Meir

4. Russian Civil War by Anthony Beevor

5. Saladin: The Life, The Legend and the Islamic Empire by John Man

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