I'm reading a book right now (trying to find the time to finish it!!) called, Warriors of God. It's a great read about the Crusades and in particular shows the comparisons between Saladin and Richard the Lionheart. Great book!! But most interesting given recent events is the chapter on a man called the Old Man of the Mountain. His name was Sinan and he commanded a group of men known as the Assassins. They were essentially terrorists who struck fear in the hearts of Christians and Muslims alike. The comparisons between him and the ever-growing legend of Osama Bin Laden are striking. He was known for residing in caves and retreating after quick strikes...he's described as "brilliant, clarivoyant, ruthless, deceitful, and pious with a tyrant's power of awesome destruction." Once, to prove the devotion of his followers to a Crusader leader, Sinan had given a fleeting hand signal to two followers high in a tower, whereupon the two leaped to their death in the ravine below...after asking if the Crusader would like the act repeated, he promptly said, "no!" He ultimately committed some great heresies against Islam by placing himself as a substitute for the Prophet. As I was reading about him I thought of Bin Laden perverting the faith he claims as his own...of the allegiance he's been able to build among his followers (even to their death)...to his methods of attack and retreat. Just thought some of you might find it interesting.
The Assassins are notable for two other phenomena we still see today: brainwashing and suicide assassination. There were no explosives back then, so the usual way the Assassins operated was to get very close to the target (usually a prince, king, military commander, etc) and make a lightning attack with a dagger, preferably a throat slash. It was fully expected that the target's guard would then immediately kill the assassin. Thus, the medieval equivalent of a suicide bomber... Now, getting a suicide assassin properly motivated was the fascinating part. It took months to properly motivate an assassin. They would begin the brainwashing by having the prospective assassin smoke large quantities of hashish (which is where the term 'assassin' came from), and this would continue throughout the whole process. Once properly stoned the prospect would go into the stronghold's garden (they all had one) and have sex with several beautiful women. They were then told that this is what heaven was like. Stoned, in beautiful surroundings, having sex with beautiful women - sounded an awful lot like the Koran. The process was repeated over and over again until the assassin was ready to give his life and go to heaven for good... The methods might have changed over the years, but the result is the same.
Bingo,Tree. as·sas·sin (ə-săs'ĭn) n. One who murders by surprise attack, especially one who carries out a plot to kill a prominent person. Assassin. A member of a secret order of Muslims who terrorized and killed Christian Crusaders and others. [French, from Medieval Latin assassīnus, from Arabic ḥaššāšīn, pl. of ḥaššāš, hashish user, from ḥašīš, hashish. See hashish.] WORD HISTORY At first glance, one would be hard-pressed to find a link between pleasure and the acts of assassins. Such was not the case, however, with those who gave us the word assassin. They were members of a secret Islamic order originating in the 11th century who believed it was a religious duty to harass and murder their enemies. The most important members of the order were those who actually did the killing. Having been promised paradise in return for dying in action, the killers, it is said, were made to yearn for paradise by being given a life of pleasure that included the use of hashish. From this came the name for the secret order as a whole, ḥaššāšīn, “hashish users.” After passing through French or Italian, the word came into English and is recorded in 1603 with reference to the Muslim Assassins.
