tuesday readings

this group of readings spans a huge span of time, and i mean huge- from 362 to 1187. its incredible to me how in a book on the history of Jerusalem, this time period is only 4 chapters. no city in the united states has been around NEARLY that long! i am reminded again and again (and again and again and againnnn) that Jerusalem has an incredibly long, eventful and intricate history that almost anyone would have trouble grasping.
here we see the muslims enter the scene- it started out well, too, with a system that let the Jews and Muslims and Christians all live together.... but they were definitely separated to a point (with different districts and shrines, ect).
al-Hakim, who they funnily refer to as the mad caliph. he went so far as to replace Gods name with his own in prayers??? are you kidding me???? how crazy can you get?? and how unfair that when the muslims were appalled by his behavior (and how could they not be) he took it out on the christians and ended up leaving the christian section of jerusalem in ruins. SHOCKING, a huge part of the city being destroyed, once again. this place just cant get a break.
i liked hearing about the crusades from this perspective, where the christians arent portrayed in a positive light. its easy to see, though, how the roots of problems between Muslims and the Christian west start though... the Crusades seem to certainly be a legitimate reason to hold a grudge.