Kurdish Language and Culture

Most of the "bad things" about Saladin reflect on the fact that, to his enemies, he was not a Christian and was a better person and leader than the Christian rulers he was fighting. It should be remembered that Saladin did not kill the innocent Christian inhabitants of cities he captured, The Crusaders however killed all Muslims, leaving the streets knee deep in blood

• He was a self made man, not a hereditary ruler
• He united the Muslims of Syria
• He defeated the Christians at a great battle near the lake of Galilee and conquered the Christian cities of Syria and Jerusalem.
• He essential defeated the three greatest rulers of Europe - King Philip Augustus of France, King Richard I of England, and the German emperor, Frederick Barbarossa in the second crusade.
• During the Third Crusade when King Richard the Lionheart was sick with a fever, Saladin supplied him with delicacies, sent him a gift of the choicest fruits of the land.
• When Richard's horse had been killed in battle, Saladin sent a fine Arabian steed as a present for his rival.
• He forced Richard to sign a truce when Richard could not regain Jerusalem
• The terms of Saladin's truce were honorable and generous. As an example Christians were permitted to visit Jerusalem without paying tribute, that they should have free access to the holy places, and remain in undisturbed possession of the coast from Jaffa to Tyre.

The great and scholarly Sultan of Egypt and Syria!

Saladin, pronounced Salah al-Din in Arabic, was a Kurd born in Tikrit, Iraq in 1137. In 1174 he became Sultan of both Egypt and Syria after the death of Nur ad-Din, who was once Saladin's political rival and once-mentor.

During the time he spent gaining power in Egypt and Syria, Saladin tried to avoid open conflict with the Crusaders, who the Muslims referred to collectively as Franks. But after Nur ad-Din's death, Saladin know had a large enough army to pursue his goal of recapturing the Holy Land.

Following a year long truce with the Crusaders, on July 4, 1178 Saladin defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin. During this battle Saladin captured the King of Jerusalem Guy de Lusignan. Next he marched on the city itself but found it defended by a knight, Balian of Ibelin. Balian and only a handful of other knights successfully defended the city from Saladin's attack until an agreement was made between the two, Balian would surrender the city to Saladin, as long as Saladin allowed the Christians to leave safely with the payment of a ransom.

The fall of Jerusalem led to the calling of the Third Crusade, and soon Saladin's famous rival Richard I of England was on his way to the Holy Land along with the King of France and the Hly Roman Emperor. The armies of Richard and Saladin soon fought several times and the two leaders had a great respect for each other. Before Richard surrounded the city, Saladin burnt all the crops in the fields outside of the city walls so Richard and his army would have no food. Eventually Richard realized that even if he did capture Jerusalem, he would not be able to defend it against Saladin, so in 1192 the two kings agreed to a truce. Saladin would remian in control of Jerusalem, so long as he allowed safe passage to and from the city for Christian pilgrims.

The following year, in the city of Damascas in Syria, Saladin passed away on March 4. When his advisors opened his treasury there was not enough money to even bury the great Sultan, he had long since given nearly everything away to charity.

Both Sunnis and Shiites are just different Islamic schools. No one can claim one school is better than the other. They just got divided on the way the successor of the prophet (after his death) should be. Muslims elected Abou Bakr to be the first Caliph after prophet Muhammad (PBUH) death. However, some Muslims believed that the successor should be from the family of the prophet and hence should Ali Ibn Abou Taleb (the prophet cousin and husband of his daughter). However, after the election of AbouBakr, they joined the majority and even Ali Ibn Abou Taleb (God be pleased with him) supported the elected Caliph. The same scenario was repeated after election of Omar Ibn Alkhattab as the second Caliph and Othman Ibn Affan as the third Caliph. Ali Ibn Abou Taleb was then elected as the fourth Caliph. However, Sunnis and Shiites are just two Islamic schools that differ in minor issues.The outsiders are trying to feed up assumed differences and conflicts between Muslim groups to gain control on Muslim countries and on their resources. The two main groups are Sunnis and Shiites. Both groups agree upon basic Islam pillars, believe in same and only version of Quran, believe and follow the sunnah of same prophet (PBUH), pray to same direction (facing Kaba in Makkah or Mecca in Saudi Arabia, go to same places on pilgrimage (or Hajj), and adhere to same Islam morals and ritual worships. They only differ on some side issues that are not critical.

There is an incorrect assumption in the wording of the question, so be careful. Not all Sunni and Shi'a are fighting. The vast majority of Iraqis are tolerant people who have been living side-by-side for thousands of years. Intermarriage between sects is very common, especially in urban areas.

There are many factions within both the Shi'a and Sunni camps, so one must not lump them all together.

Currently there is violent fighting for control of Iraq. The Shi'a are the majority or larger sect and have gained an advantage in their present form of government ( officials elected by popular vote).

Although there has been competition for thousands of years it was the United States intervention and support of Sadaam Hussein that began the modern Iraqi Sunni-Shi'a political/power competition with control being given to Sadaam's Sunni side.