At the time of the Fifth Crusade St. Francis of Assisi travelled to
Egypt with the hope of promoting peace between the Christian and Muslim
forces. He fully expected capture and martyrdom, but felt that the any
dialogue about peace was worth the price. He was, in fact, soon captured
but rather than death he was taken to the Sultan who recognized the
holiness of this friar who appeared before him wearing a tattered habit
and offering a greeting of peace. The Sultan was so taken with Francis
that upon his departure from Egypt, Francis was offered several gifts
from the Sultan, which were turned down.
As the start of Ramadan
approaches, the US Franciscans released a message which said, in part,
"...(Franciscans) continue to take great inspiration from the meeting of
St. Francis and the Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil in 1219, an encounter
based on peace, and mutual admiration and respect." Almost 800 years
later the posture of the Franciscan body is still one of peace.
You can the message from the US Franciscans at
https://ofm.org/blog/message-ramadan-2017/
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