The Knights Templar were at the forefront of the Crusades fought in the Holy Land and the Iberian Peninsula. By definition, this made them implacable foes of the Muslim Saracens. But was the relationship between the Templars and Islam more complex and nuanced? It’s a difficult question to answer – but let’s have a go!
The Knights Templar were present in the Holy Land for about 180 years from their formation to the Siege of Acre in 1291, when they lost their last foothold in the Levant (eastern Mediterranean including modern Syria and Lebanon). Over time, the knights had to interact with the local population and in some accounts – friendly and hostile to the Templars – they developed a certain modus vivendi with the Muslim population.
Now, we mustn’t go overboard here and suggest they were super-tolerant, even imbibing Islamic beliefs. These were rumours spread before and during their trials in 1307. The idea being that the Templars had gone very native to the point where they were consorting with the Islamic enemy. There’s really no evidence to suggest this was the case.
However, an Arab chronicler, Usamah bin Munqidh, described the Templars as his “friends” and mentioned how they allowed him to pray in the Al Aqsa Mosque, that had been converted into their headquarters. The Templars believed it was the site of the Temple of Solomon. When a local knight took exception to Bin Munqidh praying to Mecca in the former mosque, it took a Templar to intervene and order the boorish Christian to back off.
Robert of St Albans – Templar ‘revert’ to Islam
Then there is the curious story of Robert of St Albans – an English Templar knight who converted to Islam and defected to the armies of Saladin in 1185. Saladin, whose full name was Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, was a Kurdish Muslim sultan who founded the Ayyubid dynasty and is known for his military victories against the Crusaders, notably the capture of Jerusalem in 1187.
The taking of Jerusalem followed the Battle of Hattin, which was a disaster for the Templars and crusading forces. Their defeat marked a decisive turning point in the Crusades. Incredibly, their former comrade, Robert, led part of Saladin’s forces on that fateful day. Not only had he left the Templars and converted to Islam, but Robert had renounced his vow of chastity and married Saladin’s niece. However, he was killed at Jerusalem in 1187 bringing that curious episode to a close.
Templars – too friendly to Islam?
A gap opened up in the Holy Land over time between those who had been there for many years and the stream of newcomers from the west. The former tended to have a more nuanced relationship with the enemy, appreciating the need for diplomacy as well as taking up the sword. The crusaders needed to box clever to retain a hold on the kingdoms they had established in the east.
But the newcomers baulked at this diplomatic sophistication. They construed it as weakness – and worse…treachery. Over time, some began to question the loyalty of the Templars, believing they had gone soft or defected to the other side. This was ridiculous. The knights were involved in every crusade from their origins to termination and right to the end, were begging the pope and Christian monarchs of Europe for the resources to continue crusading against Islam.
On the Muslim side, there was little doubt about the determination of the Templars. After the Battle of Hattin, Saladin wasted no time trying to convert any Templars to Islam and simply had them executed en masse. Their Christian zeal was taken for granted. When Muslims fought with great tenacity, they were referred to as Dawiyat al-Islam – Islamic Templars. It was assumed by the Saracens that a Templar was not for turning.
When the Knights Templar were put on trial between 1307 and 1312, there were umpteen accusations of diabolism and Islam being combined in their initiation rituals and clandestine ceremonies. Most of these charges were based on a hopeless misunderstanding of the Muslim religion. For example, claiming that the Templars venerated an idol representing the prophet Muhammed ignored the prohibition on idol worship in Islam.
If you would like to know more about the Templars, do not hesitate to get a copy of my book: The Knights Templar – History & Mystery – published by Pen & Sword – available now on Amazon, WHSmith, Waterstones, and Barnes & Noble.
Your mode of explaining all in this piece of writing is genuinely good, all can
easily be aware of it, Thanks a lot.
Thanks for your kind comments – I’m always happy to comment on other people’s blogs on this subject. I have a book with a strong Islamic theme coming out later this year – will tell you more when I can.
The Arabs were killed and expelled out of Portugal and Spain, by the Templar Knights.
During the Reconquest “Reconquista”
Researching the conquest of Lisbon – or Al Usbunna as it was called under the Moors – it’s certainly said in the chronicle that the Islamic population had three days to leave the city. However, it’s clear many stayed as there was a ‘mouraria’ there for centuries – and of course a Jewish quarter. In fact, it’s clear that all over Spain and Portugal, Jewish and Muslim communities continued for longer than you might expect. The final expulsions took place under Ferdinand and Isabella and then again in the opening years of the seventeenth century. The Templars in the twelfth century were certainly the shock troops who often were the only Christian force in ‘nullius diocesis’- the lands between Islam and Christianity where no bishop or prince ruled. Preceptories like Calatrava were right on the front line between the two religions. The Templars are particularly important in the history of Portugal were they continued to exist as the renamed Order of Christ – after the Templars had been suppressed throughout the rest of Europe. The Order of Christ continued to use all the emblems and rituals of the Order and one of its most famous members was Henry the Navigator. All fascinating stuff! I can recommend some really good books on the subject.
Thank you for this post, enjoyed reading it and thank you for the pictures.
To be noted that Arabs in Europe let their imprint also in the European languages, through spanish and portuguese. Perticulartly, almost all words starting with “al” are of arabic origin (al- = “the” )
Algebra
Alcohol
Alchemy / chemistry
Algorithm
Arsenal
candy
cotton
lemon
etc
to be noted also that on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea the presence of European populations (not even talking about colonization) is assessed by many ways: italian speaking communities in Tunisia, Spanish speaking communities in North Morocco, high ethnical mixing between berbers and europeans (especially in the North Morroco and North Algeria), without even mentioning the Egyptian multicultural crossroad (Greek, Turkish, Arab, British, French cultures). Enrichment is mutual and if Europe havent christianized Arabs and Arabs havent islamized Europeans during the last 15 decades, there is absolutely no reason to fear an islamized Europe or US today.
Thank you for those comments. Another good Arabic word that you find in Portuguese is “Almohada” for pillow. I find that word interesting because of course the Almohads were radical Berbers who swept aside the more moderate Almoravid caliphate in Al-Andalus in the twelfth and early thirteenth century. Lavender in Portuguese is ‘Alfazema’ – a very nice word.
My mother comes from Portugal and when she was young the people in the north of that country would call the southerners ‘Arabs’ while the people in the south would call the northerners ‘Vikings’.
I agree with what you say about the mixing of peoples around the Mediterranean. DNA testing in Spain has shown north African descendancy among much of the population which is inevitable as human being crossed from Africa in to Europe over millenia. But the Carthaginians, Greeks and Romans were Mediterranean empires – a Roman could travel from Rome to Alexandria and Antioch and still be within the same cultural world. The emergence of Islam was in a way another in a long line of Mediterranean empires and to conquer lands on the northern side of the sea was probably an obvious thing to do.
The Templars of course fought the Saracens – not just in the Middle East but also in Spain and Portugal. But in the process, they undoubtedly came in to extensive contact with eastern culture. This is something that was used against them by their enemies. The Templar Grand Master in Jerusalem, for example, made a point of having a Saracen secretary. And we know there were Templars who spoke Arabic. Not to assimilate I realise, but to conquer more effectively.