St. Francis and the Sultan

I have been trying to learn more about the history the Catholic faith and how to apply the lessons of the forbearers of the church to our life today.  I read a story about St. Francis today and his dealings with a Sultan during the crusades in the 1200's.

The story has different versions as anything passed over 800 years tend to do, but I will try to get the gist of it here.  Basically, St. Francis went to meet the Muslim leader of Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil.  In short, the Sultan was impressed by the faith of Francis and rather than killing him allowed him to preach.  Francis didn't waste time trying to convert the devout Muslim leader, but concentrated on befriending him.  To this day the results of this pilgrimage can be seen in Assisi, as relics from the Holy Land that the Sultan allowed Francis to visit are there.   

The lesson I got from this is that rather than trying to force faith on strangers we should befriend and listen to them.  Friendship is the bridge to introduce people to the faith.  Maybe rather than being missionaries we should first be friends.  It worked for St. Francis.