Al-Qata'i by Reem Bassiouney
Author:Reem Bassiouney
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Georgetown University Press
Published: 2022-11-24T00:00:00+00:00
Chapter 9
Jaâfar ibn Abd al-Ghaffar, Ahmad ibn Tulunâs secretary, told me the following:
Intrigue is more powerful than murder. Ibn Sulaiman has loathed the amir for some time, and so he lies and makes up information and stories about what transpired between the amir and the Coptic patriarch, Pope Mikhail, and between the amir and Judge Bakkar ibn Qutaiba. Ibn Sulaiman claims that the amir was jealous of men of religion and the way that people loved them; he was always out to crush them and make them aware of their limits. He only felt any affection for a few unknown religious figures, like Anduna, the monk, Shaikh Ali, the shaikh of a small mosque outside the city, and a few others. That is a completely false statement without any truth to it. I will tell you what really happened with the Coptic patriarch, a story that one of the corrupt bishops, Bishop Sakha, fabricated. He actually assaulted the Pope when he visited his church. When the bishop was late, the Pope himself prepared the communion elements. When the bishop finally arrived, he interrupted the Mass, grabbed the Communion elements, and threw them on the floor. The Pope then ordered that the bishop be deposed and someone else be appointed bishop. What then happened with this evil bishop was that he exploited Amir Ibn Tulunâs need for money to fight his wars. He paid the amir a visit and betrayed the Pope. He concocted a story and told the amir lies. He claimed that the Pope was hoarding silver and gold when the country needed money, and that churches were full of gold and silver goblets and vessels. The amir summoned the Pope and laid out the accusations. He asked the Pope to give him some silver to be converted into money. The Pope tried to explain to the amir that the church vessels and the like were not his property, and he could not make decisions about them. The amir put him in prison for a few months until two Christian secretaries, Yuhanna and Musa, who were working for the amir, interceded. The amir then released the Pope. I can swear that the amirâmay God come to his aid!âwas the first ever Governor of Egypt who did not make use of church pillars or even pillars from ancient temples in the construction of his mosque. Throughout his reign, he never laid his hands on any church property. He had a fixed point of view, and was loved by Christians, Muslims, and Jews alike. They all prayed for him every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
His story with Judge Bakkar ibn Qutaiba is harsher and more complicated. I will relate it now.
I witnessed the encounter between the amir and the eminent judge and shaikh, Bakkar ibn Qutaiba. I have always wanted to forget it, and yet it has stayed with me through the years. When the conflict between the amir and the caliphâs brother, Al-Muwaffaq started, Al-Muwaffaq started cursing the amir in the mosques of Baghdad.
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