chapters 14-15

i like chapter 14 for the reason that i described in class when Anthony brought up the usage of the term "jihad". for those of you who werent there, i find the usage of this word, both present and past, interesting because in my Middle Eastern Studies class my professor discusses almost daily the term 'jihad' and how it tends to be wildly misunderstood, both by muslims and by westerners. not so much meaning "holy war" it really is intended to mean "struggle", and mainly the personal struggle to bring their lives closer to the way of God. you hear all the time about muslims "waging jihad" against the united states or the west or some other body.... these people are abusing the term and the religious excuse. in my opinion, anyway.
something that kind of resonated with me was t he confusion that the jews felt when the christians and the muslims were battling for control of jerusalem... a place that they considered to be THEIR city. the jews had returned to their roots to try and find healing, and found themselves to be displaced, yet again.
just like the people were vulnerable, everyone searching for a homeland that they belonged in, Jerusalem was left unprotected when its inhabitants fled as the Crusaders neared. the people must have been terrified, running through the streets weeping and ripping their clothes- clearly mourning Jerusalem, feeling as if the city was already dead and gone.
the ottoman takeover offered relief to the inhabitants, and the ottomans seemed to be generous in early years. is it just me, or am i starting to sense a pattern? the conquerers seeeeeeem to be generous, seem to offer equality to all the people, or stability, or protection.... thennnnn things get nasty. when there are 3 religions living in the same place, all believing that this is their city, their homeland, peace is next to impossible. it sounds cynical and maybe it is.... i hope so actually, because i would love to see a solution in the present-day Israeli/palestinian conflict.... i just dont know if it could happen. when the conflict is in such a core of a peoples' beliefs, compromise seems unlikely.
i also found it interesting that the scientific revolution called attention to the fact that Jerusalem could not be the center of the earth, which in turn led them away from "religions of the imagination". .... yeah, because Christianity, Islam and Judiasm are so unpopular these days?