This study offers a thorough treatment of Ottoman policy with respect to Christianity's holiest shrines during the first two centuries of Ottoman rule in Jerusalem. Based on official Ottoman records found in the registers of the kadi's court in Jerusalem as well as the Prime Ministry's Archives in Istanbul, it sheds new light on one of the most obscure and controversial chapters in the history of Christianity under Islam in Jerusalem.

A compelling consideration of Jerusalem during the formative period of Islamic civilization

A look at the developing conflicts in Christian-Muslim relations during late antiquity and the early Islamic era How did the medieval Middle East transform from a majority-Christian world to a majority-Muslim world, and what role did violence play in this process? Christian Martyrs under Islam explains how Christians across the early Islamic caliphate slowly converted to the faith of the Arab conquerors and how small groups of individuals rejected this faith through dramatic acts of resistance, including apostasy and blasphemy. Using previously untapped sources in a range of Middle Eastern languages, Christian Sahner introduces an unknown group of martyrs who were executed at the hands of Muslim officials between the seventh and ninth centuries CE. Found in places as diverse as Syria, Spain, Egypt, and Armenia, they include an alleged descendant of Muhammad who converted to Christianity, high-ranking Christian secretaries of the Muslim state who viciously insulted the Prophet, and the children of mixed marriages between Muslims and Christians. Sahner argues that Christians never experienced systematic persecution under the early caliphs, and indeed, they remained the largest portion of the population in the greater Middle East for centuries after the Arab conquest. Still, episodes of ferocious violence contributed to the spread of Islam within Christian societies, and memories of this bloodshed played a key role in shaping Christian identity in the new Islamic empire. Christian Martyrs under Islam examines how violence against Christians ended the age of porous religious boundaries and laid the foundations for more antagonistic Muslim-Christian relations in the centuries to come.

This book traces the history of conflict and contact between Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the Ottoman Middle East prior to 1914.

"Jerusalem: A Religious History" is one of the first books that goes back in history and delves into the religious underpinnings of the Abrahamic religions (Islam, Christianity, and Judaism) for their fervent support of Jerusalem and adjoining territories referred to as the Holy Lands by many. Quoting the religious texts of Jews (Torah, Tanakh, Talmud), Christians (Bible), and Muslims (Quran and Hadith), this book provides a clear picture of why the Muslims, Jews, and Christians hold Jerusalem so close to their hearts. The quoted verses of the religious texts in Quran, Bible, and Torah will make you appreciate the religious significance of Jerusalem for the various faiths and the conflicts that has plagued that region for centuries. The following are some of the topics covered in this book: => Verses about Jerusalem in Torah / Jewish scriptures and Quran => Jewish beliefs about Aaron building the calf in Jerusalem at Temple Mount => Quran and Torah's different accounts of the story of the calf built in Jerusalem for worship by Children of Israel => Select Talmud references to Jerusalem => Select Quranic references to Jerusalem => Quranic verses about Children of Israel in Jerusalem => How the World Zionist Organization pushed the cause from the "Holy Land" to the formation of Israel => How the World Zionist Organization managed to declare independence of Israel => The "Aliyah" (Jewish immigration to Israel and Jerusalem) => Summary of the wars in Israel => Religious Reasons for Evangelical Christians' Support for Israel => Birth of Jesus - Bible and Quran's accounts => Jerusalem at the Time of Jesus => Islamic scholar Ibn Kathir's account of Jesus's birth according to Islamic beliefs => The two versions of the day of Jesus's supposed crucifixion in Jerusalem (Islamic vs Christian versions) => The Crusaders nine major attacks over Jerusalem and the wars with Jews and Muslims => The biblical concept of "Greater Israel" as mentioned in Jewish holy books (modern State of Jordan, some parts of Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Turkey) => Status of current movements supporting Greater Israel => The concept of Rebuilding of the temple => Jewish beliefs about reconstruction of the temple => Role of "New Jerusalem" in Christianity End of Times (Christian Eschatology) => Per Islamic beliefs, killing of Dajjal (Anti-Christ) by Jesus in Israel (location of Ludd) toward end of times => Judaism's Holy Sites in Jerusalem => Islam's Holy Sites in Jerusalem => The ascension to the skies by Prophet Muhammad from Jerusalem with Angel Gabriel where he met Adam, Jesus. Moses, and other prophets => Christianity's Holy Sites in Jerusalem => Jerusalem under Islamic rule after Caliph Umer's conquests - The takeover from Bishop Sophronius => Salahuddian Ayyubi, Umayyads, Abbasids, other Islamic rulers in Jerusalem => The Ottoman Muslim's losing of Jerusalem to British => The British rule over Jerusalem => Jewish beliefs about King David (Prophet Dawood in Islam) => Jewish beliefs about Solomon's (Prophet Suleman in Islam) Temple => Destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Romans and the Babylonians => Construction of the Solomon's Temple => The issue about the United States' Stance on recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital => And more ...

In this work, thirty-three scholars consider the significance of Jerusalem in the thought and practice of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. They describe its archeological remains, cultural creations, and tumultuous history from biblical times to the present. But they also probe its rich significance as a religious site sacred to three faiths: as the sacred center of the world, as a goal of pilgrimage, and as a symbol of eschatological fullness. --From publisher's description.

Connected by their veneration of the One God proclaimed by Abraham, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam share much beyond their origins in the ancient Israel of the Old Testament. This Very Short Introduction explores the intertwined histories of these monotheistic religions, from the emergence of Christianity and Islam to the violence of the Crusades and the cultural exchanges of al-Andalus.

The material in this publication was compiled over an 18-month period and includes a variety of local, national and international issues and disaggregating Jerusalem's intricate problems. It offers meaningful models that even though they may not yield solutions acceptable to all parties in the Israeli - Palestine conflict, will at least clearly demarcate common ground and draw the 'red lines' that may not (yet) be crossed. The result is an enormously valuable resource that cannot fail to attract the attention of anyone concerned with the future of the Mideast region.

This updated edition by one of the world's leading apologists presents a systematic, positive case for Christianity that reflects the latest work in the contemporary hard sciences and humanities. Brilliant and accessible.