Reddit mentions of The Book of Contemplation: Islam and the Crusades (Penguin Classics)

If you're interested in the opposite perspective on things, I sincerely recommend The Book of Contemplation by Usama ibn Munqidh, a Syrian muslim soldier, diplomat and adventurer who lived in 1100s.

Court intrigue in Fatimid Egypt, taking on the Crusaders, fighting the Hashashin in personal combat, participating in many battles and sieges described in detail, all told in the form of short stories he recounts from his own memory or relays from other people. Most stories are told from grassroots level and some stories go so deep as to tell the stories of individual soldiers who Usama knew.

Despite its age it's a very easy read thanks to the quality of Penguin Classics translation and footnotes.

Sure thing. This one in specific was in Carole Hillenbrand's The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives, p. 357, under the subheading "The Ridiculous Side of Frankish Chivalry."

This isn't the only place I've seen that particular story cited, though, it pops up in all sorts of books and articles about Outremer and the Crusader States. I'm not sure if this is the entire anecdote or just a small part of it, or even if there are more stories like this (I would hazard a guess that there are), but looking into Usama ibn Munqidh's translated writings might be of interest.

Crusader-noncrusader relations were actually a little less binary than you might think.

I read a 21st century translation of "The Book of Contemplation" for a History 101 last fall, which is an autobiographical collection of short stories by a dude Usama Ibn Munqidh, a Muslim in who grew up during the First Crusade and lived into the late 12th century. Aside from being a really cool book in general, it also makes mention of several moments where crusaders and their Muslim counterparts were on (somewhat) peaceful terms. When I read this I was surprised to see how many different countries/factions existed in the Arabian/North African world independent of the crusader orders. Oftentimes Muslim polities weren't 100% on each other's side, and even collaborated with crusaders for shared strategic goals.

Side note--highly recommend the Book of Contemplation to anyone interested! It's actually not a dry read IMO; I really liked Cobb's translation.

Have you read Usama ibn Munqidh's The Book of Contemplation? (Not just the snippets that often get quoted, but the full thing.) It should give a lot of ideas for minor interactions and missions.

We have an idea of the values and beliefs of Islamic Scholars sponsored by centres of power. Which is to say that dissident scholars and sufis were certainly very influential and this period is also marked by massive migration (Turks, Mongols) who were not muslim to begin with and certainly did not become fully muslim once they arrived. Not to mention that buddhists and christians were also very influential.

Modern rise in fundamentalism began in the 19th century, did not became too relevant until the demise of the Ottoman Empire and the Sykes-Picot vision of the Middle East took fruit and these forces were often the only political avenue through which to challenge the kings and leaders of the Middle East who were often little more than Western puppets. In the collapse of legitimate social order following WW1 and the increasing encroachment of Western business interests which often tore up families and villages (shoemakers in Egypt were destroyed by western shoe makers flooding the market and subsidised by the Egyptian government no less!) So as with any other socio-political collapse (Byzantium in late 15th century), the religious order became more and more the only legitimate pillar of organization left in the country.

Edit: We really don't even know how these things were thought of in medieval Islam. People were much different than you think they were. Just because it was in the past does not mean it was worse or more conservative. Thats a false way of viewing history, things don't always move progressively.

Read http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Contemplation-Crusades-Classics/dp/0140455132

Written during the crusades by Usamah ibn Munqidh.

Edit2: The conservative Muslims today also have no idea what Islam used to be like, people like Sheikh Bedruddin in the Ottoman Empire or even much of Omar Khayyam's writings were very very influential. How do we know that? Authority figures literally killed them or threatened to kill them and burned some of their books.