Jerusalem : One City, Three Faiths

Rating:
Summary: Good overview, be careful of author's bias
Review: As someone who is not part of the Jewish, Muslim or Christian world, I found Ms Armstrong's narrative well-paced and meticulously detailed. This book is written from the point of view of a religion expert, and the construction of the pre-Christian times of Jerusalem are particularly creative and evocative. Certainly, Ms Armstrong captures the complexity of problems that Jerusalem faces.

Be careful, though, of Ms Armstrong's strongly pro-Muslim bias. The history and present of Jerusalem are convoluted to say the least and Ms Armstrong does tend to paint the Muslim community's role and current stance with flattering brush strokes, and that of the Jews and Christian with disparaging ones.

I do agree with her eventual conclusion - tragically, the history of Jerusalem does not make a solution to the current situation very likely. In fact, it is possible to see history being repeated for the umpteenth time with the most recent events.

Rating:
Summary: Biblically Inaccurate
Review: I walked into this book having read several of Karen Armstrong's books, so I knew of her leanings that other reviewers have pointed out. Of course, if you are going to write about three major faiths, it is natural to expect some bias towards one of them. That aside, I found her history to be very interesting and helped put this city into a perspective I had not had before. She shows how an off the beaten path city became one of the most important places for three of the world's religions, and a contentious site of conflict. What Armstrong does well is to show the shifting lines that have occurred between areas of the city as various religious powers came to control. But more importantly she brings the various pieces of Jerusalem and puts them in a coherent organized narrative. Many of the places mentioned in the bible are put into perspective with each other, and their historical changes are traced over time. Even more useful is that the author generously includes maps throughout the book to show the changes and shifting lines of groups throughout time. As someone who knew little about the geography of Jerusalem, I found this to help keep all the players and movements straight. The book lags at points but overall moves very well through the centuries. This is an excellent overview history of this holy city and would be a very good introduction to the reader wishing to know more. It should not be the only book you read on the region, but rather use it as one view of the history which has brought us to the modern religious conflicts of the area.

Rating:
Summary: Biblically Inaccurate
Review: I was unable to finish this book because Karen Armstrong's Biblical references are so glaringly wrong. She has the God of the Old Testament splitting a sea monster in half during creation, and Isaiah telling King Ahaz that the Messiah will be his Queen's unborn son, just to name a few. I eventually came to the conclusion that if her Biblical references cannot be trusted, how can I trust that the rest of her research is correct as well? I don't know what Bible she was reading, but it wasn't the Judaic/Christian one!

Rating:
Summary: All Sides of the Story
Review: In books concerning hot conflicts like the Middle East, it is commonplace to cover only part of the story or to concentrate on one set of events more so than others. This is understandable of course since most people with adequate interest in a topic typically have made up their minds and favor one of the conflicting sides. Not so with this book. I read this book with a critical eye, begging to find any evidence that the author is partial to anyone anyone, but in all of the 430 pages I could not find a single biased reference nor any significant omissions. By writing this wonderful comprehensive and well-researched history of Jerusalem, Karen Armstrong has done all of us concerned about the city a great favor. Throughout the 5000-year history of the city, this book describes in an unbiased tone the enormously interesting history of this hotly contested city. Many remarkable and little-known facts are can be found here. For example, I was surprised to learn that the history of Jerusalem extended for 2000 years before King David, its purported "founder". The book covers all the different eras of the city: the Canaanite, Egyptian, Israelite, Babylonian, Greek, Roman, Muslim, and Crusader eras. The last two chapters focus on the 20th century history of the city.

Though the author was a former catholic nun, she displays no bias whatsoever towards Christianity. The book displays the history of the city equally from the points of view of all three religious groups that care about it: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Thus the book dwells in detail about the extreme agony of the Jews for their loss of the city and their being forbidden to enter it during Byzantine Roman rule. The book also illustrates the relative tolerance of early Islam and how Jews for the first time were allowed to return to Jerusalem under Islamic rule and coexist in peace with Christians and Muslims. If the author displays a bias against anyone, it is against extremists from all religions who are today fanning the flames of conflict and threatening the peace of the city.

The book is a definite page-turner, packed full of information, and well worth a read if you cared about understanding the "whys" and the "how comes" behind the daily headlines.

If you liked this book, you'll like Karen Armstrong's other books, especially "A History of God" which, surprisingly, contains little repetition or overlap with this book, unlike many similarly prolific authors.

Rating:
Summary: All Sides of the Story
Review: In books concerning hot conflicts like the Middle East, it is commonplace to cover only part of the story or to concentrate on one set of events more so than others. This is understandable of course since most people with adequate interest in a topic typically have made up their minds and favor one of the conflicting sides. Not so with this book. I read this book with a critical eye, begging to find any evidence that the author is partial to anyone anyone, but in all of the 430 pages I could not find a single biased reference nor any significant omissions. By writing this wonderful comprehensive and well-researched history of Jerusalem, Karen Armstrong has done all of us concerned about the city a great favor. Throughout the 5000-year history of the city, this book describes in an unbiased tone the enormously interesting history of this hotly contested city. Many remarkable and little-known facts are can be found here. For example, I was surprised to learn that the history of Jerusalem extended for 2000 years before King David, its purported "founder". The book covers all the different eras of the city: the Canaanite, Egyptian, Israelite, Babylonian, Greek, Roman, Muslim, and Crusader eras. The last two chapters focus on the 20th century history of the city.

Though the author was a former catholic nun, she displays no bias whatsoever towards Christianity. The book displays the history of the city equally from the points of view of all three religious groups that care about it: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Thus the book dwells in detail about the extreme agony of the Jews for their loss of the city and their being forbidden to enter it during Byzantine Roman rule. The book also illustrates the relative tolerance of early Islam and how Jews for the first time were allowed to return to Jerusalem under Islamic rule and coexist in peace with Christians and Muslims. If the author displays a bias against anyone, it is against extremists from all religions who are today fanning the flames of conflict and threatening the peace of the city.

The book is a definite page-turner, packed full of information, and well worth a read if you cared about understanding the "whys" and the "how comes" behind the daily headlines.

If you liked this book, you'll like Karen Armstrong's other books, especially "A History of God" which, surprisingly, contains little repetition or overlap with this book, unlike many similarly prolific authors.

Rating:
Summary: Clearing the cobwebs of the Holy City
Review: Karen Armstrong, an Oxford-educated,ex-Catholic Nun,and prolific writer on comparative religions has written an important contribution to the history of a city so mired in political and religious strife. Her main theme is the idea of "sacred geography", and the notion of religious symbolism and myth that is associated with sacred geography.
In a chronological manner, Armstrong ties each monotheistic religion to the city of Jerusalem, and delves into the linkages between each religion and the city of Jerusalem
For any reader of history, the story of Jerusalem is fascinating, if not for the depth of history associated with the city.

Yes, Armstrong does display a bias towards the current situation in the city today, but I will let you determine that for yourself.
All in all, a good overview of the history of the city, and the religious associations with Jerusalem.

Rating:
Summary: Good History - But Biased
Review: Ms. Armstrong presents a compelling sweep of history in "Jerusalem" which provides the reader with a multi-faceted view of this site of "Sacred Geography."

Humans have, since the beginnings of our species, looked to high places as the site to commune with the Divine. Jerusalem is one such place. From a time beyond recorded history, various peoples of various religions, have sought to worship the Divine atop its highest peaks. Looking at "The Dome of the Rock" it is clear that, at one time, this was a sacrificial altar.

Yet, the faithful of these religions have not been kind to Jerusalem. In recorded history, perhaps only King David was willing to accept a multi-faceted worship within Jerusalem. The Romans erected statues on the site deemed holy by the sons and daughters of Israel, only to incite a riot that required an army to halt the fighting. In our own day, the current Prime Minister of Israel, incited the ongoing Intifada by presenting himself, an armed guard, and a covey of people who wanted to "lay the cornerstone of the next temple" on the grounds of the Haram Al-Sharif (a.k.a., The Temple Mount). Clearly this place, this piece of sacred geography can incite people to extreme acts.

No group of humans has done well with this place. The Romans sacked the city and destroyed all but Herod's wall leaving the sanctuary of YHWH bereft. Fllowers of the Prophet came to the place of Mohamed's "Night Journey," conquered and rebuilt the city. The Christian Crusaders made the streets run with blood up to the knees of their horses. The Ottoman Empire, took over the geography and tried to rule it with an even, albeit Islamic, hand. Jewish settlers got the United Nations to make it a country. And, Christians, Muslims, and Jews have been fighting a never-ending battle for control of this geography. Each side of the three sides, inciting the other two to acts of outrage and violence.

In a post September 11 world, this book, along with Ms. Armstrong's other works, sheds a different angle of light on the question we all ask - why? Perhaps the most dangerous person in the world is "a monotheist with a mission." As humans we should all weep for Jerusalem and what we have done to her.

Rating:
Summary: One city, many religions
Review: Well, there are three contenders for whose city it is! Just ask Karen Armstrong. Should it be awarded to the evil Christians, who killed the Pagans and went back on the noble idea of refusing to consider mere terrain sacred? Obviously not. How about to the Pagans? No, of course not. They don't count at all, even though I must admit that Armstrong does refer to them a few times. How about to the Jews? No, these folks are just interlopers who had to invent arbitrary myths to pretend that they cared at all about the place, much less had a right to be there. The winners are ... (envelope please!) ... the Muslims! The Muslim Arabs had no need to invent any myths to "fuel their struggle" because Jerusalem was theirs like a spouse. I wonder if Karen will award Paris to the Germans next.

I was hoping to see a more sympathetic treatment of Aelia Capitolina. Still, I wasn't shocked by Armstrong's lack of concern for the polytheists: she seemed to discuss them only to complain about the Christians. But I was surprised to see Armstrong trying to mislead her readers into thinking that Jerusalem is Arab by right and is in the process of being wickedly Judaized. After all, as even Karen states, Jerusalem was over 60% Jewish by 1900. And, in fact, the Jewish percentage of the city hasn't changed much since then, even though the surrounding area has become far more Jewish. This sort of blatant bias made Armstrong look more like a Hamas gun moll than a serious scholar.

There are plenty of facts in this book, but Armstrong's tendency to invert truth makes it appear that she wrote the book just to attack the human rights of a few non-Muslims. Avoid this paean to hatred, racism and intolerance.

Rating:
Summary: A history and a meditation
Review: While this is a superb, fair-minded and empathetic history of the city which will be enlightening to all except very knowledgeable specialists, it is at the same time Karen Armstrong's meditation on the "sacred geography" conceived by the three faiths in its spiritual and its material form. She is very sympathetic to and receptive of the spiritual ideals of all three faiths, and is dismayed by how so often they have all been debased by bitter rivalries (between as well as within religions), by demands for exclusivity and domination, as well as by the "idolatry to see a shrine or a city as the ultimate goal of religion". This is something the wisest theologians - few, alas, in number - have taught. At the same time, however, a material shrine is one expression of one's spiritual identity, so that the perceived threat or the destruction of a shrine - let alone expulsions and exile - are experienced as violations of one's spiritual identity. She shows that the potency of religious symbolism is such that even secular nationalism (to which she perhaps does not pay quite enough attention) has recourse to it. She shows how the best periods in the history of the city have been those few when the rulers of one faith or ethnicity have respected the faith, ethnicity and buildings of another. She is not optimistic that such wisdom is available in Jerusalem in the near future.