“There can be no religion without virtue”

There is an old Bedouin saying that roughly translates “there can be no religion without virtue”. On our family websites page on the Crusades, this quote is mentioned in the context that the Arab Faris (knight) code of honor, virtue and ethics predates the emergence of Islam.

The Bedouins can be a salty and pragmatic bunch. They were critical of those espousing religion without practicing it.