Chapter 11-13

When I was a freshman at Miami I took a history of pre-modern civilization class. The class was completely different than what I thought it was going to be. The teacher focused heavily on religion- especially Islam. I was pretty annoyed because if I wanted to learn all about religion I would have signed up for a history of religion class. However, as the semester went on, I realized that the reason we focused on religion is because religion was so intertwined with with politics, power and life. 

This notion is expressed in all three chapters of the reading. I was surprised to learn that to the muslims and to the religion of Islam, Jerusalem is only the third important city. This makes me question the modern rights to the city of Jerusalem. To the Jews, Jerusalem and Israel is the only important city. However the muslims have Mecca, a city that they could always call their homeland- why do they have to have the "right" to both cities. As much as the conflict going on in Israel isn't about religion it is about religion. 

In chapter 12, Armstrong discussed how the Christians really showed their political power and influence over Jerusalem through the fact that they put a lot of effort in developing in Jerusalem special to their faith. This helps explain some of the reasonings behind the crusades- the christian knights felt as if it was their duty to fight for their city (272). The crusades happened hundreds of years ago- yet religions and cultures are still fighting over the city. For example, "for six hundred years there had been tension between Jews and Christians, particularly regarding the status of Jerusalem.  Will people ever stop fighting over the city? If it has equal importance to all three religions- three religions that realistically share the same G-d then why can't people get a long and realize that even if Jerusalem is part of Israel/a Jewish state that it can still be meaningful to all religions.