Born in
Jerusalem, Nassir was the youngest son of a prominent
merchant. At age eight, he made the mistake of being caught
in a Christian church (he was curious about the stained
glass imagery and a monk had invited him inside for a closer
look). Outraged, his father disowned him and tossed
him out into the streets. On
his own, he was taken in by a band of thieves who taught him
well. At age fifteen, he was caught robbing that same monastery
and instead of turning him over to the authorities and their
cruelty, the monks took him in and converted him to
Christianity. He
was taken by the Saracens when they overran the monastery
and tossed in with the rest of the Brotherhood who quickly
learned that having a Saracen thief turned oblate could come
in quite handy.
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