That blessed night one of us, Ahmad ibn Hassan, witnessed a remarkable circumstance; one of those strange events that are memorable among things of sensibility.  It happened that he was struck by the urge to sleep in the remaining third of the night, and retired to the bench that surrounds the Dome of Zamzam, on the part that faces the Black Stone and the door of the House, and there laid himself down to sleep.  Suddenly a foreign man came and sat on the bench beside his head and began to recite the Koran in a moving and gentle voice, accompanying it with deep sighs and sobs.  He recited beautifully, instilling the sentiments into the soul, and infusing them with a power to move (even) the insensible.  Our comrade abstained from sleeping that he might enjoy the beauty of what he heard, with all its yearning and emotion.  At last the man ended his reciting and said:

                      �If evil deeds have taken me far from You

                My honest thoughts have brought me near again,�

repeating the words in tones of harmony that would cleave stones and break the heart.  On he went retelling these lines, while tears flowed and his voice trembled and grew weak, until it came to Ahmad ibn Hassan that the man would faint.  This thought had no sooner passed through his mind than on the instant the man fell swooning to the ground, and lay there like something cast aside, moving not.  Ibn Hassan rose up much alarmed at the frightening thing he had seen, uncertain as to whether the man were dead or alive, so violent had been the fall, the place being raised high from the ground.  Another who had been sleeping near him got up, and both stood bewildered, being fearful of shaking the man or even of approaching him.  At last a foreign woman passed and crying, �Is it thus you leave this man, and in this state?� made speed to take a little water from the Well of Zamzam and sprinkle it on his face.  The other two then approached the man and raised him.  But when he saw them, he straightway concealed his face from them, for fear that his features should be impressed upon their minds, and rose without delay and betook himself towards Bab Banu Shayba.  The two remained marveling at what they had seen, and Ibn Hassan bit his fingers in regret at the opportunity he had missed of gaining the blessings of the man�s prayers.  For the situation had not allowed him to ask of them, and he had retained no image of him that he might seek his blessings when he should encounter him again.  The assemblies of these foreigners, in sensibility, in emotionalism, in the ready ecstasies, in the manifestation of grace, are truly remarkable and exalted.  Grace is in God�s hands, and He bestows it on whom He wishes.

                At dawn on Thursday the 13^th of the month, the moon was eclipsed to an extent of two-thirds, and it set in this state of eclipse at the rising of the sun.  God inspires us to ponder his portents.

Ibn Jubayr, Mecca, December 1183 on hajj through the holy lands.

Introduction:

Christianity and Islam historically have had their fourteen hundred year relationship defined by the era of the crusades, a period that has often been characterized as a disastrous collision of two societies.  The series of holy wars each religion mutually experienced through crusade and jihad has undoubtedly had the greatest impact upon how their relationship has developed through the years.  The long-standing realities that lent so greatly to the generated perceptions have persisted even through contemporary times.  Unfortunately, many of the perceptions, especially those emphasizing a long cultivated hatred between the two faiths, which resulted in fanatic intolerance, are true.  Once the era of crusading warfare had begun there was seemingly no way to stop it, and with reoccurring periods of conflict grew the distrust, misunderstanding, and often-outright hatred between members of the two religions.  Control of Jerusalem, sacred ground of the three religions of Abraham, has undoubtedly been a central focus of crusading warfare which was to be the ebb and flow in the eastern Mediterranean world for several hundred years; a period of intense religious strife for what the leaders of each faith believed, and argued to be waging on behalf of a just cause.  Yet, despite the obvious examples of intolerance and violence that have become characteristic of crusade knowledge there remains more to be undertaken in hopes of gaining a complete picture.  Perceptions and understanding of the relationship between Muslims and Christians during the crusades are due for revision.  There exists an inconsistency between the thought and action of religious-political rulers backed by their armies and those of the many common individuals whom happened to live in one society or another through the time.  Many individuals of both faiths, even while their politico-religious rulers promoted intolerance, interacted quite contrary to those promoted ideals.  This contradiction is especially true amongst medieval merchants and pilgrims.  Through the study of these defiant classes of people, perceptions of widespread and commonly accepted crusade era intolerance come under challenge.  During the crusades, there existed a much more tolerant society between Christians and Muslims than what has often been believed or taught.  The reality, thus defining limits of crusade era intolerance between the two religions, comes clearly in focus through the study of an articulate twelfth century voyager named Ibn Jubayr.

The Life of Ibn Jubayr:

            Abu al-Husayn Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn Jubayr al-Kinani, simply known as Ibn Jubayr, a Spanish Moor, was born in the city of Valencia of present day Spain in 1145 AD.  He lived when the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula, in Arabic termed al-Andalus in reference to Spain�s southeastern region of Andalusia, was under control of the Almohades.[i]  They had appeared originally in Morocco in the early twelfth century under an Islamic religious reformer named Mahdi.  Under his leadership, the Almohades took control of Morocco in about 1147 then successfully pushed northward against the Spanish armies, and by 1150 had taken primary control of al-Andalus.[ii] It was in this context, near the borders of two religious societies in which Jubayr lived.

            The family lineage of Ibn Jubayr is most likely traceable to the Muslim holy city of Mecca, where his ancestral ties place him amongst descendants from the tribe of Kinanah, many of whom had immigrated to the Iberian Peninsula from al-Maghrib in the eighth century.[iii]  The last part of Ibn Jubayr's full name, "al-Kinani" reflects the apparent connection to his Bedouin roots as in times past tribal names were often included as an identifying factor.. 

            Ibn Jubayr was a devout Muslim and a well-educated man.  An unyielding faith in Allah and his desire to pursue knowledge is what joined to make Ibn Jubayr and his works important features of historical knowledge.  However, if it were not for a momentous episode that ultimately led to Jubayr undertaking a hajj to the holy Arabian city of Mecca, history may have never had much reason to acknowledge or study his life. 

            In 1182, while in service as a secretarial scribe to the Almohod governor of Granada, Abu Said Uthman Ibn �Abd al-Mu�min, Ibn Jubayr�s life encountered a moment which would forever change him, and ultimately the worlds� perspective of the crusades.  While in the company of the Governor al-Mu�min, Jubayr was offered a cup of wine.  Jubayr, citing Islamic teachings as grounds for refusal to drink, infuriated al-Mu�min who assuredly expected compliance with his order.  In reply to the negative response, Al-Mum�in ordered Jubayr to drink not one, but seven cups of the forbidden wine. The now rightfully fearful scribe was commanded to drink the wine or face consequences for his refusal.  Reluctantly, Ibn Jubayr obliged and did as ordered, for the first time in his life setting his lips upon alcohol.  After realizing his treatment of Jubayr was made in err and noticing that he had caused the pious scribe much anxiety over the affair, al-Mu�min compensated him by offering him seven wine cups full of gold dinars that Jubayr gladly accepted.[iv]
            With ample funds and guilt upon his consciousness over the incident, Ibn Jubayr now committed himself towards making the Hajj to Mecca, generally listed fifth amongst the five pillars of Islam incumbent upon every able bodied Muslim. The Hajj of Ibn Jubayr therefore was actually a trip undertaken to provide penitence for what he believed to be a serious infraction against his faith.[v]  Beyond his hajj, and the compelling reasons behind it, relatively little else is known about the life of Ibn Jubayr.  One thing is for certain; his two-year journey between 1183 and 1185 left him with the desire to pursue further travels.  He is known to have undertaken two other major voyages throughout the Mediterranean world, neither of which are known to have been recorded.  His second voyage occurred between 1189 and 1191, a few years after Saladin had taken Jerusalem for Islam once again, and also at the time Richard the Lionheart, soon to hold the throne of England managed to reclaim some of the lands Saladin had previously conquered.  Ibn Jubayr embarked upon a third voyage in 1217 AD, just a few years after Pope Innocent III had renewed the ambitions of crusading armies from Europe.  While on this third voyage, Ibn Jubayr died at Alexandria on 29 November 1217 AD.  He was seventy-two years old.[vi] 
 

History of the Text:

The travel narrative, or rihla in Arabic, of Ibn Jubayr is the written account of his twenty-seven month hajj away from his native Spain.  For reasons unknown, Ibn Jubayr does not include the initial catalyst incident prompting his voyage, neglecting to make any mention of the wine incident throughout the entirety of the rihla.  Rather, the event that spurred his travels becomes known only through the works of the seventeenth century Arab historian al-Maqqari.[vii]  Nafh al-Tib by way of either oral transmission, legend, or perhaps an eclectic mixture of both is somehow able to have this knowledge.  If it were not for the records of al-Maqqari the underlying motivation for Ibn Jubayr�s travels may have gone on without even a guess as to why he embarked on such a voyage.  The last known remaining manuscript of Ibn Jubayr�s work resides preserved in the University of Leiden in the Netherlands.
            The text has been a source of scholarly pride amongst Muslims, especially since being written during what is considered to be the golden age of Islamic science between the eighth and fifteenth centuries.  Since first writing the narrative in the late twelfth century it is safe to assume that the text has been reprinted in its original language many times; however ascertaining an exact figure may prove impossible due to the lack or outright nonexistence of publication documentation in earlier times.  However, a number of Arabic reprints have appeared since the mid nineteen sixties, most of which were published in Cairo but still lacking in definitive or clear publication information. In 1852, William Wright, through Brill Publishers provided an Arabic edition based on the Leiden manuscript.  Wright�s edition signified the beginning of serious scholarly interest in the travels of Ibn Jubayr.  Nevertheless, since the Wright edition was published there has been an increased yet limited attention in studying Jubayr throughout western academia.  Michael Jan de Gouge in 1907 provided revisions to Wright�s work but was not alone in studying the narrative of our traveler. One year prior to the de Gouge revision, Celestino Schiaparelli, provided the first Italian translation through Casa Editrice Italiana in Rome, making it the first translation of Ibn Jubayr�s work outside of its original tongue.  No other translation of the Rihla was made until 1949, when Maurice Gaudefroy-Demombynes, a Frenchman provided his fellow citizens with what he simply titled Voyages.  There was an obvious turn towards Ibn Jubayr�s rihla in the mid twentieth century.
            The only English translation created to date and thus most helpful for the purposes of this study was undertaken by Ronald J.C. Broadhurst, working with the Michael Jan de Gouge revision of Wright�s edition.  Jonathan Cape Publishers published Broadhurst�s translation in London in 1952.  Broadhurst in his introduction is forthright in offering credit where it is due to the authors that preceded him.  One aspect lacking from the Broadhurst translation as he mentions are some of the lengthy original research notes provided in the Wright edition.  Broadhurst felt that the average reader would not be interested in the meticulous notes provided by Wright, justifying that they are available to the reader in the earlier work.[viii]  Schiaparelli, author of the Italian translation is credited as having been invaluable in providing geographical and chronological information relating to the travels of Ibn Jubayr.
            Despite the popularity of Ibn Jubayr as a traveler, geographer, and pilgrim, the written travel account of his pilgrimage between 1183 and 1185 remains relatively obscure in the larger scheme of history.  What is contained solely in the words of Ibn Jubayr�s rihla has so far been lacking an in-depth study outside of the various translations and geographical references to found within it.  The rihla in the scope of western study has served mostly as a challenging section of translation from Arabic to other tongues rather than a source of knowledge pertaining to late twelfth century crusade society aside from brief references.

Itinerary of travels:

             According to the opening words of his rihla, Ibn Jubayr, along with his personal physician, Abu Ja�far Ahmad Ibn Hassan, left Granada in Andalusian Spain on 3 February 1183.[ix] From there it was several days journey southwest by land across southern Spain where they crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to the northern African city of Ceuta.  In Ceuta, Ibn Jubayr and Ibn Hassan were able to secure passage aboard a Genoese ship sailing for Alexandria.[x]  The journey by sea was long and arduous, taking the travelers by way of an indirect route that sailed around the southwestern portion of Sardinia before bearing towards Sicily then Crete.  From here the boatload of pilgrims turned due south towards the northern African coast which they sailed near until finally making port at Alexandria in late March 1183.
            Now back on land, Ibn Jubayr and his traveling companion Ibn Hassan absorb Alexandria before heading south or upriver along the Nile delta towards Cairo.  While in Cairo Ibn Jubayr describes the nilometer in a manner representative of the author�s scientific curiosity:

[the nilometer] measures the Nile�s increase at the time of its yearly flooding.  The beginning is expected in the month of June, the maximum in August, and the ending in the beginning of October.  This measuring instrument is a white octagonal column of marble set in a place which confines the water as it  flows into it.  It is divided into twenty-two cubits, subdivided into twenty-four parts called �fingers.�[xi]  
            In Egypt is also where Ibn Jubayr perhaps bore direct witness for the first time the realities of the intra-religious fighting.  He writes:When we landed at Alexandria [�] the first thing we saw was a large    concourse of people come forth to gaze upon Rumi prisoners being brought into     the town on camels, facing the tails and surrounded by timbal and horn.[xii]  We asked of their story and were told a case that would rend the heart in compassion and pity.[xiii] 

Despite ideological created images of the enemy, he may have been unprepared to actually afford hatred towards the imprisoned Franks despite being religiously programmed to do so.  This could have been the first time Ibn Jubayr himself while on hajj resists the beliefs which he is supposed to hold true according to conventional norms.  Interestingly enough the two travelers spend relatively little time exploring the ancient cities of Alexandria and Cairo, instead opting to make progress along the Nile before departing it near Qus Egypt where they split off along a desert caravan route long used by merchants and pilgrims alike to Aydhab, a port city along the western shores of the Red Sea.  In Aydhab Ibn Jubayr would find passage across the Red Sea to Arabia and the way towards the object of his travels, the holy city of Mecca.  He put to the Red Sea aboard a Salibiyah towards Jidda, a gateway to Arabia on 18 July 1183.[xiv] 

            Ibn Jubayr reached the holy Arabian city of Mecca in August; he would not leave it until the following March, some seven months later.  The reasons for his extended stay are clear; Mecca was the destination he required in hopes of reasonably expiating his sin of drinking wine.  While in Mecca he took every opportunity to examine, partake, and renew himself religiously in the treasures of the city.  Having finally come to terms with his religious obligation to the hajj, he set across the al-Hejaz towards Medina, the resting place of Muhammad.[xv]  His journey was far from over.

            After leaving Medina the two Maghribis along established caravan routes, set out across the Arabian Desert towards Baghdad, city of the Caliphs.  Baghdad was the beginning and terminus of one of the many primary routes traveled on hajj.  It, along with Cairo and Damascus, was one of the central staging cities from which the large caravans would set forth after collecting pilgrims from nearby regions.[xvi]  The processional across the Arabian Desert as described by Ibn Jubayr was tough; the pilgrims measured their progress through the desolate region in terms of watering holes.  Over a month the caravan, an assorted assembly in its own right, marched along in the early summer heat, all the while encountering a myriad of Bedouin tribal cultures and ancient villages along the way. 

            Between late May and early June of 1184 Ibn Jubayr reached the Euphrates and Tigris river valley containing the ancient city of Baghdad.  Again, as in Alexandria relatively little time was devoted to Baghdad, he spent no more significant time there than anywhere else, instead soon opting to continue northward along the Tigris.  Nevertheless Ibn Jubayr in Baghdad explores and describes the institutions of the ancient city in detail as he does everything that crosses his eyes.

            From Baghdad Ibn Jubayr began his last major land segment, traveling through Takrit and Mosul before heading due west towards Aleppo through modern day northern Iraq and Syria.  On this leg of the voyage the travelers were keenly aware they were nearing the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, disputed lands over which Saladin was eyeing with his armies at the time.  Ibn Jubayr must have assumed that in his travels he would again have to come into contact with the front of the religious wars affecting society as he did in Alexandria.

            From Aleppo the pilgrims took a due south route towards Damascus, administrative capital of Saladin�s empire, whom Ibn Jubayr venerated as the true champion of Islam.  The pilgrims arrived and remained in Damascus for over three months, all the while exploring its institutions dedicated to the arts, medicine, and sciences before departing it in September 1184.  At this point the contradictions of the time again become pronounced and are what prompted R.J.C. Broadhurst, who provided the English translation of Ibn Jubayr�s rihla, to note in his introduction:

                        And here we come upon the strange anomaly of those days.  At a time when the kingdom is at war with the Muslims and when our diarist has even witnessed, as he left Damascus, the triumphant return of the army of  Saladin, laden with booty and leading many Christian prisoners, he yet can journey to this Christian stronghold in a caravan of Muslim merchants.[xvii]

Syria and the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem comprised the frontier of the war torn society, so it is no wonder that this zone of mutual contact between the two religions also hosted, in addition to battles, an increased level of tolerance and cooperation once understudied or outright ignored by many historians.  Assuredly longing to see his homeland of Spain�s al-Andalus, Ibn Jubayr pressed forth through the disputed lands making way to Acre on the shores of the Mediterranean where he put forth to sea again on 9 October 1184. 

            The October departure from Acre was probably intentional on the part of Ibn Jubayr.  Most voyages due west from Acre across this segment of the Mediterranean relied on seasonal winds favorable for sailing.  Consequently, most fall departures were planned for sometime around mid-October when an easterly wind generally came about during a certain two-week period allowing westward travel to commence.[xviii]  It is within reason to believe that a man of Ibn Jubayr�s education and knowledge would have been mindful of such facts along his journey.  But, he may have neglected to take one factor into account�the unpredictable weather of the season. 

            The sea journey towards Spain, although ultimately successful in returning him to Spain, was nearly a disaster for Ibn Jubayr and Ibn Hassan.  After departing Acre aboard yet another Genoese captained ship containing an eclectic mixture of Muslims and Christians the pilgrims soon encountered rough seas.  At one point in early December caught off the coast of Crete in a sizable storm, Ibn Jubayr perhaps rethinking his winter sea voyage commented, �All modes of travel have their proper season, and travel by sea should be at the propitious time and the recognized period.  There should not be a reckless venturing forth in the months of winter as we did.�[xix]  He had not seen anything yet. 

            On the night of 10 December 1184 Ibn Jubayr was caught in an awesome shipwreck in the straights of Messina between Sicily and the boot tip of mainland Italy.[xx]  The shipwreck that caused Christians and Muslims alike to believe the end was near lasted throughout the night after the rudders became grounded upon an outcropping of rocks.  The ship sustained mounting damage for hours resulting in its near complete destruction.  It was not until early the next morning that the Christian ruler of Sicily, King William directed their rescue and helped deliver both Christians and Muslims to the shores of Messina.  By way of a strange twist of fate Ibn Jubayr now found himself afoot in the land of the opposition, moreover he was now somewhat indebted to a Christian king for his life.  Ibn Jubayr remained exploring the Christian territory for nearly three months and it was here where again he gains exposure to a heightened world of contrast between the expounded religious ideals of the day and the reality of a world not so divided as often thought.

            Aboard one of three Rumi ships Ibn Jubayr on 25 March 1185 put to sea once again, not now far from home.[xxi]  The journey across the sea towards al-Andalus was filled with excitement and apprehension, probably to such a degree that unless a voyage of such magnitude has been undertaken, it is probably not understood.  The roughly five hundred miles worth of sailing assuredly provided Ibn Jubayr ample time for reflection upon his fascinating journeys abroad, for indeed this was the final phase of pilgrimage for him, the return home to his native culture.  The ships landed near Cartagena in mid April of 1185 leaving the two pilgrims with a short land journey to their home town of Granada.  The voyage of Ibn Jubayr and Ahmad ibn Hassan came to a close with their return home on 25 April 1185, upon which Ibn Jubayr closes his rihla with, �The span of our journey, from the time of our leaving Granada, to that of our return, was two full years and three months and a half.  Praise be to God, Lord of the Universe.�[xxii]                     

Introduction to the diary and historical context:

            The journey of Ibn Jubayr spanned an amazing time in medieval history.  Between February 1183 and May 1185 he provides an Andalusian point of view of the holy lands during the time of the crusades, a perspective history does not often enjoy.  It is from his observant written account of the twenty-seven month journey that Ibn Jubayr gained recognition as a geographic scholar and from which new perspectives of the crusades can be gained.  The odyssey of Ibn Jubayr provides one of the best glimpses into the Mediterranean world during this turbulent period, and it is from his accounts that this time, one most often identified as a period of absolute religious intolerance and bloodshed, comes into focus much differently.  This is true because he offers the critical glimpses of the fringes of the crusade era world so necessary to gain an understanding about the limitations of religious intolerance throughout the later twelfth century.

In the late summer of 1184, at about the time Saladin was advancing his Islamic armies around the Christian Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, Ibn Jubayr, wrote a simple yet powerful observation about the crusade torn world through which he traveled:  "The soldiers engage themselves in their war, while the people are at peace and the world goes to him who conquers."[xxiii]  Having set forth from his native Spain in 1183 when so many from geographic Europe were doing so to fight a holy war in the name of the cross, Jubayr had to be well aware that he would encounter this peculiar contradiction while en route.  Furthermore he would naturally have formed an opinion on the matter, what that was to Ibn Jubayr will probably never be known. 

Either way he has no forbidding reservations about beginning a journey he knew would lead him through the disputed lands.  Ibn Jubayr, just as so many Muslims and Christians of the time had become accustomed to, became part of the cross-religious contact of the medieval Mediterranean, even despite the war raging between the armies of their representative religions.  Those who participated in travels to the holy lands on crusade rather than pilgrimage (if there was a difference) became part of a multi-cultural experience whether they approved of it or not.[xxiv]  There is no doubt that the crusades managed in placing two alien cultures within each others� spheres.     

Before any attempt at reconciling the contrasts of the time begins though, it is paramount to understand the societal context of the times Ibn Jubayr traveled.  Beginning in the seventh century Islam emerged out of the Arabian Desert amidst the shadow of Christianity, and as the new religion grew both in terms of physical size and societal influence the two religions came into perilous contact.  Essentially there was a growth of cultures which in the words of noted author on European-Middle Eastern relations, Dr. Norman Daniel, �developed side by side, but not usually step by step.�[xxv]  With the simultaneous existence of the two religions in such close proximity it seems as if only matters of human nature can explain the discord which developed between them.  Unfortunately societies in general have historically tended to be suspicious of each other because of their lack of knowledge and understanding about the other.  Jumping in to fill the void ideological alliances were often to blame for the way certain attitudes towards another group of humans were developed.[xxvi]  Over time the mistrust grew, as did efforts to forcefully hold control over segments of the holy land.  In all reality the initial contacts were territorial in nature.  However religion soon became the prime factor and a closer examination of how the disaster of the crusades, especially its tendency to perpetuate ideologically rooted hatreds is warranted.

The crusades and related conflicts occurred largely as a result of widespread religious pollution promoted on both sides.  In the year 1095 when Pope Urban II at Clermont rallied European Christians to go forth and claim Jerusalem in the name of a Christian God he set a precedent which was to be supported with the aid of many platforms.  Everyone fell for it.  Suddenly everything began to change towards promoting the hatreds necessary to justify sending legions of men to far off places in the name of God as they saw fit. 

In briefly analyzing the situation it becomes quite clear why and how this systematic control of societal mentality became so massive.  The answer ultimately lies within its simplicity.  During the medieval times nearly every aspect of daily life, be it that of Muslims or Christians, was influenced and filtered by the word of God.[xxvii]  The word of God was entirely dependent upon the filters of those who seemed to posses the divine connection.  Standing in the way of a true spiritual connection with God were the clerics of the two religions.  In the end the fundamental theme to result from the efforts of holy men was the emergence of a before unknown denial of the others� right to exist between the two faiths.[xxviii]  In other words, the crusade era mentality was created through the efforts of influential sanctified men.     

Literature played a major role in implanting crusade era ideologies upon the participants of the holy wars.  In a time absent of mass communications the written word of God as printed by the medieval religious authorities had an amazing impact upon the respective societies they served, or more accurately controlled.  Where illiteracy remained high it was often those who held religiously backed educations who controlled the media of the day, and with that they held the power to persuade.  Having that knowledge in mind, the Christian clergy asserted through its various literatures that Jerusalem was a land undeserving to be in the hands of Muslim non-believers.  This all of course lent greatly to the context in which the medieval writers portrayed the situation in the holy land.  Their tendency to exaggerate the facts and illicit mental accounts of the barbaric actions of Muslims in the holy lands were intentional acts generally aimed at having constituents believe that Muslim atrocities were indiscriminate and widespread. [xxix]   Once this was a commonly held belief it is easy to see how it became viewed as necessary to check with force.  Muslim authors and historians of the time were no less inept about falling into the same methods of mental capture amongst their peers.  Ibn Jubayr�s travels occurred early on in this process, where religious pollution in the form of literary propaganda was in full swing.  Even his text reflects this polluted mentality, where negative adjectives are frequently made in reference to the Franks; so much that they often seem ingrained and automatically forthcoming in his normal speech.  No less is to be expected that after he read some of the religiously infected texts that had been produced over the previous hundred years, they would help shape his mental attitude towards Christians.

However, once ideological zealots had had peoples� minds the responsive impulses to crusade on the part of commoners were automatic and widespread.  The religiously powerful had no need to promote intolerance any longer; the populaces by the time of Ibn Jubayr�s travels were naturally intolerant.  People begin joining the crusades from all walks of life and for a variety of reasons.  Some undertook the obligation as penance for a sin while others considered it a form of armed pilgrimage.  Others sought cures for ill health that they believed Jerusalem held while yet others joined out of pure sense of adventure.[xxx]  The infectious trend towards desiring to be a part of the crusades did not stop with men.  Many women joined the crusades, often acting as a form of combat support, although rarely as combatants themselves.  There existed a dichotomy governing the rules of the differing sexes during crusades as in most other areas of gender-studied history.  The practice of armed pilgrimage seemed to contradict itself as the political-religious rulers had clearly drawn a line between armed conflict and the devotional activities considered proper for women.[xxxi]  Nevertheless it is clear that the crusades over time became a self-perpetuating cycle that reached across common lines of division and thus intolerance resulted in a spread out series of armed conflicts perpetuated and accepted on many fronts. 

Yet regardless of the reasons it must be noted that the crusades accomplished something on a grand scale.  They facilitated the movement of untold numbers of people from their native lands in exchange for the unfamiliar lands of the east.  In doing so Christians and Muslims in many places created peaceful heterogeneous societies amongst each other often in defiance of the promoted mistrust between them.  This group of course supplemented the already impressive numbers of people, Muslim and Christian traveling for purposes of commerce and pilgrimage if not both.  Amongst those individuals was Ibn Jubayr, and by taking an accounting of his travels begins the process of identifying some specific examples of a world not so divided after all.    

Exegesis:

            Despite the intolerant behavior of so many Christians and Muslims during the crusades it is clear that a fundamental contradiction, necessary for truly understanding the complexities of the time were in place.  Specifically the professed words and justifications set forth by the religious-political rulers of the day did not necessarily coincide with the thought and action of a wide range of individuals.  Although most common amongst the merchant classes and pilgrims, the instances of dissent go beyond this group and actually may be seen along with the actions of some of the powerful personas of the time.  The crusades were a contest on a grand scale and as simple as it may be to view them in terms of two worlds, it must be noted that those also were divided into another two spheres, that of participants, and that of spectators.  Historically the most of the attention has been focused on the participants.  Thus it is arguable that the dichotomy may have been far more widespread than previously thought.     

            This perspective neither denies nor diminishes the fact that massive armies assembled along religious lines were indeed formed; they did kill and imprison each other in astonishing numbers often in brutal fashion.  Nor does it attempt to shun the fanatical religious intolerance that often was the norm.  The political-religious regimes then, as now, dictated their edicts of war through the massive control they wielded as the apparent representatives of God, and in doing so contributed, if not outright created with time the mentalities of their constituents.

            The examples of deviance in the rihla of Ibn Jubayr from prescribed norms may be roughly divided into just a few areas of concentration.  Firstly are the examples coming forth in the rihla of his sea travels.  While having not much of an alternative in mode of travel, at sea the medieval voyager finds himself in close contact with great numbers of people holding different religious beliefs while underway.  Although nearly every attempt was made by members of the two faiths to segregate themselves from one another, there are clearly instances where the lines of division blur.  A second area where the signs of digression become pronounced is relayed in the rihla pertaining to his travels through Syria and the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.  It is here where Ibn Jubayr surfs the frontier between Islam and Christianity.  What he sees in this region in many way surprises him and assuredly had great bearing on the reshaping of his attitude towards what was supposed to be his enemy.  Lastly but undoubtedly critical towards the support of this argument are his experiences in Sicily.  Here by way of accident Ibn Jubayr finds himself again having to reexamine the condition of relations and society between the two dueling faiths.  Ibn Jubayr discovers that Sicily, much like al-Andalus also lies on the not so clear-cut divisional lines of crusade era lands.  Contact with Sicily�s King William, a Christian leader who observed and respected many of the traits of Islam only added to the contradiction of Sicily itself.  Upon this Mediterranean island existed a blend of Christianity and Islam perhaps unknown to such a degree anywhere else in the world.  The hajj of Ibn Jubayr sheds an entirely different light upon the crusades, and brings forth a world of evidence to suggest that wars were occurring in direct contradiction to what many of the time truly believed. 

            When Ibn Jubayr set sail aboard a Genoese ship from Ceuta in February 1183 he began a pilgrimage that would challenge his beliefs on the relations between the two worlds through which he traveled.  It has often been customary to view the conflict of the time in terms of two worlds.  In actuality there existed a number of them, divided along geographical as well as theoretical lines.[xxxii]  At sea Ibn Jubayr, along with the great majority of other pilgrims did his best to keep the walls of intolerance up.  When he set forth from Spain he assuredly thought there was little to no room for agreement between Christians and Muslims.  At sea that attitude shows signs of beginning to change.  Jubayr describes a situation in which the walls begin to show signs of weakness: 

Early on the night of Wednesday the wind blew with violence upon us, throwing the sea into turmoil and bringing rain and driving it with such force that it was like a shower of arrows.  The affair became serious and our distress increased.  Waves like mountains came upon us from every side [�] We spent that night, the night of Thursday, wavering between hope and despair, but with the break of day [�] the wind abated, the sun shone and the sea was calmed.  Men rejoiced, conviviality returned, and despair departed.  [�]  Rumi sea captains who were present, and Muslims who had gone through journeys and storms at sea, all agreed that they had never in their lives seen such a tempest.  The description of it diminishes the reality.[xxxiii]

One of the critical aspects to pick up here, although not a blaring example of Christian-Muslim cooperation and tolerance is the manner of speech which he uses.  He writes of the experience in terms of a collective mentality, of men all experiencing the same frightening occurrence together.  The wind blew upon all of them, they passed the night wavering between hope and despair, and in the end there was a common relief.  Assuredly after surviving such a debacle at sea to see the sun shining the next morning meant that even temporarily it did not matter what each others� religions were.  Many of them probably passed the morning telling tales of past storms at sea.  That morning some of them assuredly were brothers in laughter as they released the anxieties of the previous night.  Assuredly they would grow closer en route to what Ibn Jubayr refers to as al-Iskandariyah (Alexandria.)

                Before proceeding further into the travels of Ibn Jubayr one thing must be made absolutely clear.  Ibn Jubayr, like many Muslims of the time, did not necessarily like Christians as a norm.  Too make that claim would be in obvious exaggeration of the truth.  Yet that does not diminish the fact that they probably did not entirely hate Jesus� followers either.  Throughout the rihla references are made both in highly negative and positive terms in regards to both Muslims and Christians depending entirely upon the situation.  What this signifies is that the rules of religious intolerance were static, often times flexing to accommodate an entirely different set of forces upon them.  As will be shown, Ibn Jubayr�s attitudes also gave way; at times, especially when offering support of Saladin, they become rigid with Islamic taught postulations, while at other times they sway greatly in the opposite direction.  Ibn Jubayr was like most people in that he was dependent upon his environment to dictate his mannerisms. 

            The same is true of many of the medieval Arab historians.  They too, although undoubtedly contributors to the literary pollution of the time, had tolerant perceptions of their enemy at times.  Ibn al-Qalanisi (1073-1160) an Arab historian, who died while Ibn Jubayr was yet a teenager, provides an example when commenting upon the death of King Baldwin, �He was an old man, rich in experience and inured to every trial and hardship of life.  Several times he had been imprisoned by the Muslims, in war and in peace, but his famous stratagems and skillful maneuvering had got him out.�[xxxiv]  It can hardly be said that al-Qalanisi offered up damnation towards Baldwin in death, rather he compliments his character and perseverance as a respectable opponent.  In another instance the Syrian historian Usama (1095-1188) who died the year after Ibn Jubayr returned to al-Andalus on his first voyage, directly makes a comparison of the two religions.  In his comparison of Christian piety versus Muslim piety he says, �I found a half-closed gate, opened it and entered a church.  Inside were about ten old men [�] the sight of their piety touched my heart, but at the same time displeased me, for I had never seen such zeal and devotion among the Muslims.�[xxxv]  Here not only does Usama acknowledge that Christians were too indeed men of faith, he laments in the absence of faith amongst some Muslims.  His comments are an obvious criticism directed at the unholy amongst his kind.  Strange in its own right is the fact that Usama had entered through the gates and into the church in the first place.  Obviously there existed a natural curiosity in Usama pertaining to the others.  These offer but two examples of deviation even in the texts written during some of Islam�s most turbulent moments with Christianity.  However these examples do not mean that Usama, al-Qalanisi, or anyone else including Ibn Jubayr were free from writing in just the opposite tone.

            Ibn Jubayr at times liters his rihla with supplications either praising or wishing harm upon Christians, this certainly helps illustrate the duality of crusade era mentality.  One of the best glimpses into the type of rhetoric used by him comes from his account of arriving at Tibnin, right on the frontier between the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem and Saladin�s empire.  He states, �[we] came to one of the biggest fortresses of the Franks called Tibnin.  At this place customs dues are levied upon caravans.  It belongs to the sow known as Queen[xxxvi] who is the mother of the pig who is the Lord of Acre�may God destroy it.�[xxxvii]  He definitely follows suit in many parts of the rihla, offering similar expletives in his descriptions.  However, Ibn Jubayr may have already been frustrated when he wrote the above passage and that may help explain why certain descriptions of Franks seem to carry a higher tone of animosity with them.  At Tibnin customs duties were levied only upon Maghribi pilgrims because as he later tells, �some earlier Maghribis had annoyed the Franks,� and this certainly contributed to the mood of the situation.[xxxviii]  Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that at times the writing in the rihla may have contained a great deal of emotion as well. 

            Nevertheless, deep down there was a true feeling of discord within him, probably not a controlling force, but present.  Interestingly though the animosity was not all entirely aimed at Christians, Muslims who took advantage of pilgrims were equally disliked and targeted.  At Jiddah, the coastal gateway city to al-Hejaz, Ibn Jubayr summarized the attitude of Muslim pilgrims from al-Andalus at the time in one short passage:

The lands of God that most deserve to be purified by the sword, and     cleansed of their sins and impurities by blood shed in holy war are these Hejaz lands, for what they are about in loosening the ties of Islam, and dispossessing the pilgrims of their property and shedding their blood.  Those of the Andalusian jurisprudents who believe that the pilgrims should be absolved from this religion obligation believe rightly for that reason, and for the way, unpleasing to Great and Glorious God, in which the pilgrims are used.  The traveler by this way faces danger and oppression.  Far otherwise has God decreed the sharing in that place of His indulgence.  How can it be that the House of God should now be in the hands of people who use it as an unlawful source of livelihood, making it a means of illicitly claiming and seizing property, and detaining the pilgrims on its account, thus bringing them to humbleness and abject poverty.  May God soon correct and purify this place be relieving the Muslims of these destructive schismatics with the swords of the Almohades, the defenders of the faith, God�s confederates, possessing righteousness and truth.[xxxix]

From this it becomes clear that there were situations in the world of the Muslims deserving of criticism.  When put into certain explanatory contexts the complexities of discord during the crusades gain further depth. 

            Amidst the shadow of anger-filled rants, Ibn Jubayr clearly changes tone at other times to let his contradictory tendencies to come through.  The following two examples occur when he visits memorials erected to Christian leaders but remain standing in Saladin�s city.  When describing the various shrines of Damascus he notes, �The first of these is the one that contains the head of Yahya ibn Zakariya� [John the Baptist, son of Zacharias]�upon whom be eternal peace.�[xl]  In wishing a Christian eternal peace he had to confront an unfamiliarity that could not go with out notice.  John the Baptist, amongst other Christian men of the cloth was venerated by Christians and Muslims alike.  In another instance Ibn Jubayr finds himself blessing the tomb of St. George in Mosul, �God has specially endowed this town with the holy earth which holds the tomb of Jirjis [St. George]�may God bless and preserve him.�[xli]  In allowing the parameters of intolerance versus tolerance to be stretched, even if occasional and minimal, the participants like Ibn Jubayr who did so effectively digressed from norms of the day, thus creating a contradiction between the edicts of their rulers and the consciousness of their minds.                 

            In Syria Ibn Jubayr makes note of some exceptional inconsistencies.  In Tyre Ibn Jubayr witnesses a wedding that holds him in amazement.  It was celebrated by both Christian and Muslim friends of the newlyweds and thus clearly shows that even on the frontier of the crusades harmony did indeed exist.  He writes:

An alluring worldly spectacle deserving of record was a nuptial procession which we witnessed one day near the port in Tyre.  All the Christians, men and women, had assembled and were formed in two lines at the bride�s door.  Trumpets, flutes, and all the musical instruments were played until she proudly emerged between two men who held her right and left as though they were her kindred.  [�]  Proud she was in her ornaments and dress, walking with little steps of half a span, like a dove, or in the manner of a wisp of cloud.  God protect us from the seduction of the sight.[�]  Behind her were her peers and equals of the Christian women [�] leading them all were the musical instruments.  The Muslim and other Christian onlookers formed two ranks along the route, and gazed upon them without reproof.  So they passed along [�] and all that day they feasted.[xlii]

Not only is he grasped by the �spectacle,� Ibn Jubayr obviously finds the bride attractive enough to ask God for strength against the seduction of the sight.  What truly holds him in addition to the bride and wedding processional are the spectators who followed.  Muslims and Christians alike representing friendships across the religious divide.  Moreover, it was again in Syria where he writes of another contradictory example of religious harmony, this time near Mt. Lebanon.  The observation goes:

It is strange how the Christians round Mount Lebanon, when they see any Muslim hermits, bring them food and treat them kindly, saying that these men are dedicated to Great and Glorious God and that they should therefore share with them.  This mountain is one of the most fertile in the world, having all kinds of     fruits, running waters, and ample shade, and    rarely is it without a hermit or an ascetic.  And if the Christians treat the opponents of their religion in this fashion, what think you of the treatment that the Muslims give each other?�[xliii]     

The question is well suited for purposes of this research.  At Mount Lebanon the contradictions between the ideologically pushed views of the powerful in organized religion come into conflict with the realities of the common populace.  After having undergone this examination of self, Ibn Jubayr in Damascus now making way towards Acre to sail the Mediterranean, could not deny the inconsistencies he saw, �We left Damascus [�] in a large caravan of merchants traveling with their merchandise to Acre.  One of the strangest things in the world is that Muslim caravans go forth into Frankish lands, while Frankish captives enter Muslim lands.�[xliv]  This was true, instances such as this are absolutely strange because they address a glaring dichotomy on the structure of medieval society, and that is precisely what is being argued here.

            Having successfully departed Acre, Ibn Jubayr soon again faced what he probably once did not readily accept, that there was in fact a religious inequity in the world he traveled.  Following the shipwreck in the straights of Messina in which Ibn Jubayr became an unexpected guest of Sicily for some three months he gets exposed to a lively blend of cultures.  Sicily, although officially a Christian territory, borrowed heavily from Islam both in appearance and custom.  It was here too that he came into contact with King William of Sicily, a Christian king who in many ways afforded special attention to Islam and relied on its knowledge.

            Messina, Palermo, and Trapani Sicily all offered their own challenges to the theory of an absolute intolerance between Christians and Muslims.  In Palermo Ibn Jubayr notes how many of the Christian women had adopted the dress of Muslim women.  Having adopted Islamic traits beyond token fashion statements it is reasonable to say they had absorbed other traits as well.  In Messina he writes that amongst area farmers there existed a certain harmony, specifically �[t]he Christians treat these Muslims well and �have taken them to themselves as friends� [Koran XX, 41].�[xlv]  By then Ibn Jubayr was quickly gaining new perspectives of his opponent as he traveled the island of Sicily.  He, like the Arab historian Usama, possessed a degree of curiosity about the Christian way of life and practice.  In Palermo he could not but resist visiting and sharing his descriptions of the Church of the Antiochan on Christmas day 1184:

One of the most remarkable works of the infidels that we saw was [the church].  We examined it on the Day of the Nativity, which with them is a great festival; and a multitude of men and women had come to it.  Of the buildings we saw, the spectacle of one must fail of description, for it is beyond   dispute the most wonderful edifice in the world.  The inner walls are all embellished with gold.  There are slabs of coloured marble, the like of which we had never seen, inlaid throughout with gold mosaic and surrounded by branches (formed from) green mosaic.  In its upper parts are well-placed windows of gilded glass which steal all looks by the brilliance of their rays, and bewitch the soul.[xlvi]

After having recently come from the holy cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina one is left stumped by how he comes to venerate a Christian church as the most �beautiful edifice in the world.�  It is amusing to imagine the responses he drew from describing the church in such terms.  Nevertheless even in context of physical representations of the two combatant religions signs of dissent can be seen.  The architectural structures in those days bore a great deal of strength.  They were the hard evidence of each religion�s greatness, size, and glory; and each religion did their best to create magnificent structures to display those traits.  Therefore, when Ibn Jubayr identifies the Church of the Antiochan as such a great structure he is actually saying a lot more than meets the eye.  

            King William only compounds the strange twisting of ideological rules Ibn Jubayr bares witness to.  Although the rescuing of the shipwrecked pilgrims in the straights of Messina may be seen as dutiful of the Sicilian ruler, he in other ways exemplifies the contradictions of the era.  Ibn Jubayr writes of King William�s extended compassion towards some of the shipwrecked:

        The strangest thing that we were told was that this Rumi King, when he perceived some needy Muslims staring      from the ship, having not the means to pay for their landing because the owners of the boats were asking so high a price for their rescue, enquired, this King, concerning them and, learning their story, ordered that they be given one hundred ruba�i of his coinage in order that they might alight.  All the Muslims thus were saved and cried, �Praise be to God, Lord    of the Universe.�[xlvii]

Obviously William placed the lives of these unfortunate pilgrims in context of their need rather than that of their religion, and in doing so contributed to the schism of thought that often was seen during the crusades.  But the manner of King William himself, aside from his noble actions also contributes to the mental split.  Ibn Jubayr writes that, �he has much confidence in Muslims, relying on them for his affairs, and the most important matters, even the supervisor of his kitchen being a Muslim [� and] he pays much attention to his (Muslim) physicians and astrologers, and also takes great care of them.�[xlviii]  Undoubtedly King William had no reservations, even as a Christian king, about making the employ of those who were Muslim.  In addition, he had adopted certain traits of Islam such as the taking of an �alamah, a type of creed or motto long used by Muslim princes.[xlix]  King William also read and wrote proficiently in Arabic, suggesting that he may have been either highly curious about the opposing religion or had outright prescribed to some of its ways.[l]  He was indeed representative of the divergence of thought seen in some individuals throughout the crusades; and is a great example of tolerance even through fiercely intolerant times.  Perhaps the best way to describe the mental attitude of King William pertaining to religious expression comes forth in the following passage where Ibn Jubayr recounts the king�s comments during an 1163 earthquake in Sicily:

                        It was told to us that when a terrifying earthquake shook the island this   polytheist in alarm ranged round his palace, and heard nothing but cries to God and His Prophet from his women and pages.  At sight of him, the were overcome with confusion, but he said to them: �Let each invoke the God he worships, and those that have faith shall be comforted.�[li]

King William was a man who acted on the urging of his own silent inner-conscious amidst the noise of religious pollution so profound during the era of the crusades.

            Ibn Jubayr left Sicily for al-Andalus assuredly with much to ponder.  His hajj had exposed him not only to some of the greatest treasures of Islam and Christianity, but also to the world in a new and refreshing perspective based upon ideologies of peace rather than hate.  Despite the religious wars occurring between men of differing belief, he realized there was yet room for harmonious brotherhood in a world too often shattered by staggering intolerance.  In the years away from his native Spain, Ibn Jubayr had found what he never sought.           

Conclusion:
 

There is so much knowledge to be gained from the pages of Ibn Jubayr�s rihla that concentrating on one aspect alone is challenging, for it leaves a great deal unexamined.  Yet the study of this eloquent pilgrim through such important times in the context of Medieval society satisfies and enriches our understanding of the universe as a whole.  For within the rihla a world of complex contradictions between ideology and reality unfolds, and with out it our understanding of the evolutionary relationship between Christianity and Islam remains incomplete.  Thus, we perpetual students of history are indebted to Ibn Jubayr for his guidance through a complex world which pitted the realities of fanatical ideology against the harmonious tolerance that so many chose to live.

Peace be upon him.