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Ali ibn Tahir al-Sulami (died 1106) was aDamascenejurist andphilologist who was the first to preachjihad against thecrusaders in the aftermath of theFirst Crusade.
al-Sulami recognized the Crusaders as Franks whereas his most of his contemporaries thought the Christians wereEastern Romans trying to re-capture their lost territories since theSiege of Jerusalem (636–637).
In 1105 al-Sulami published his treatise,Kitab al-Jihad ("Book of Struggle" or "Book of Jihad"), and preached his ideas from the Great Mosque in Damascus. He recognized the dangers of the Christian invaders connected with the ongoing Christian reconquests ofSicily andSpain. He believed that Muslims had abandonedjihad and other religious duties, and argued that the caliphs were supposed to make war on the Christians once a year, something they had not done for many years.God, he claimed, was now punishing Muslims for their sins. In order to defeat the crusaders, al-Sulami argued that Muslims must practise the innerjihad so that they could successfully undertake thejihad against the enemy. His message was mostly ignored, as Muslim rulers would not merge the concept ofjihad with military expeditions until later in the 12th century underNur ad-Din Zangi andSaladin.
Only two manuscripts of theKitab survive, both incomplete, and both in Damascus.