The story which I would want to work into my classroom would be of the Muslim eating with the acculturated Frank. (The story of the Frankish physicians ran a close second.) I would have the students read this section and then have them answer a series of questions about the encounter. What does the story indicate about Usama Ibn Munqidh's attitude towards the Franks?  Why do you think that this story was included in his work? Why would Franks who have lived in the Middle East have developed a more tolerant attitude compared those Franks who were more recent arrivals? Why did the Frankish woman accuse that particular Muslim of being the one who had killed her brother Hurso?  Why would the Frankish knight have intervened in the dispute about who had killed Hurso? 

The story is very relevant since it exemplifies how familiarity with individuals from the "other"can help to overcome the suspicions which a person may harbor about a larger group. For example, a Nazi who may have saved Jewish people with whom they were familiar, but yet the Nazi may still have harbored prejudice against the Jewish people as a group.

This story can teach very important life lessons.