Speaking at the symposium, Yapıcıoğlu emphasized that Saladin's Conquest of Jerusalem was not the result of an ordinary process.
“Without going into the details of the conquest, I would like to underline a few points about the strategy followed by Saladin in the process leading to victory,” Yapıcıoğlu said, adding:
“The Great Commander Saladin-i Ayyubi made serious preparations before the conquest. First of all, he believed in this and prepared himself for the great conquest. Saladin Ayyubi was aware that Jerusalem was under captivity due to the disorganization of the Muslims. That’s why he believed that it should start from here. Perhaps the real conquest; was to reunite the disintegrated and fragmented Islamic society and lead it towards the same goal. If this happened, Jerusalem and Masjid al-Aqsa would be saved much more easily. Saladin Ayyubi said that ‘Let our swords become blunt while fighting unbelievers not Muslims’ in order to draw attention to the damage caused by internal conflicts. He emphasized the necessity of uniting under the ‘Islamic identity', leaving aside ethnic, sectarian, and geographical differences, and even spent all his energy on this for a long time. The Great Commander Saladin Ayyubi adopted a holistic strategy of struggle and prepared Muslims materially and spiritually for this.”
Yapıcıoğlu said that Jerusalem and Masjid al-Aqsa were not occupied due to the strength of the enemies of Islam, on the contrary, they were occupied by the crusaders because Muslims prioritized their tribe, sect, and regional issues, and became enemies to each other.
“The best lesson to be learned from Saladin’s style of struggle is hidden in what he did before the great conquest. When the Islamic Ummah succeeded in acting as one, single fist and in harmony as the members of a body, it achieved great conquests and attained Allah’s help, “ Yapıcıoğlu underlined.
Yapıcıoğlu stated that the Islamic Ummah, which drifted away from its essence in the past, started to decline due to degenerating thoughts, dysfunctional actions, alienation from Islam, and the confusion over recognizing their friend and enemy.
Yapıcıoğlu said: “The biggest occupation that collapsed the Islamic Ummah was the occupation of Palestine, which resulted in the loss of Jerusalem and Masjid al-Aqsa. Due to the disunity among Muslims, Jerusalem and Masjid al-Aqsa have been waiting for more than 70 years to be released from captivity, or rather, a Saladin that will emerge from the ummah.”
“Our problem is clear. But we have a clear solution. Let’s not forget that we are not desperate, our hands are not be tied. We can never be hopeless when we have an experience like Saladin before us,” Yapıcıoğlu concluded.