Everything from Al-Quds to Ottomans Week 3

I want to apologize for being away from the blogging world for so long. Some illness attacked my body early last week not to mention the overwhelming stack of responsibilities that demanded my attention. My brain has been trying to take in the overwhelming amount of information that Karen has thrown at us in the past six chapters. Time is moving fast now and a lot has happened. Reflecting on chapters 12-16 makes my head hurt. I can't keep it all straight. Going into this book we were told that at some point we would be lost in the midst of all the conflicts, conquerors, and opinions that surround Jerusalem's past. I have found myself in this place. Part of me is overwhelmed by how crazy it is but I am comforted by the consistency of the craziness. (I'm not sure if that makes sense. I am lost in all the conflict, it's always something new, but at the same time it's all the same.) The conflict in Jerusalem seems to be unending. A different ruler, a different faith, a different society, but the same conflict.
The first line of Chapter 12 was really interesting to me. "The Muslims had established a system that enabled Jews, Christians, and Muslims to live in Jerusalem together for the first time." This made me think. How were they possibly going to pull this off? What inspired them to be so tolerant of these other people? How could they maintain control of Jerusalem with this kind of tolerance? Armstrong went on to say, "It seemed as though Islam and Christianity were about to enter a new era of friendship and peace."(pg.258) This proved to be difficult. Conflict, intolerance, starvation, and destitution rose up again in the city of Jerusalem.
The Crusades seem to reflect the same battle only now from the Christian perspective. The outcome was as you would expect..."The Crusades in the East and the reconquista in Europe had made a new and permanent rift between the three religions of Abraham."(pg. 306) This period of time baffles me. Did these Christian people actually believe that this was what God wanted? Who told them this was a good idea? I have a very hard time believing that the God they served was actually pleased by this act of violence. Maybe this is a question to ask the scholars tomorrow...
Here's a question, was the Ottoman rule a period of relief for everyone? It seems like the city began to prosper and experience much needed peace during this time. Is this true? Was there really that much peace?