Chapters 11-13

I found Armstrong’s portrayal of the birth of Islam very refreshing, as well as very uncomplicated.  Refreshing, because Islam is not described to be an exclusive, radical new faith, but rather the simple act of surrender to a God already worshiped for centuries.  Uncomplicated, because Armstrong’s description has been stripped of all the biases and cultural implications that Islam carries in today’s Western world.  Its heart can then be observed: simply an extension of the worship of the one monotheistic God.

Jerusalem under early Islamic rule seemed sort of nice.  Since the religion itself allowed for the respect and acknowledgement of Judaism and Christianity, this early model was an attempt at a peaceful Jerusalem.  Unfortunately, perhaps this was a bit too idealistic in the long run, but I have to admire the humility and dignity with which the Muslims approached their Holy City, a city which they knew they shared with others.

Finally, the Europeans (consistently making themselves the bad guys throughout history).  As anticipated, the final chapter dealing with the Crusades was pretty sickening and incomprehensible.  However “love your neighbor as yourself” could possibly have been interpreted as “I mean, it’s okay to slaughter a few thirty thousand” is totally beyond me.  But whatever the cause of this disturbingly obsessive genocide, there is no doubt that an event of this magnitude can and will be felt a thousand years afterwards.  One phrase at the very end of the chapter stood out as particularly poignant:

“…the violent dislocation of Crusader rule had damaged relations between Islam and the Christian West at a fundamental level.  It had been the Muslim’s first experience of the Western world, and it has not been forgotten to this day.”