Kameel Majdali's Road Ahead

Jerusalem’s central location and sacred association guaranteed it a front-row seat to history’s greatest drama. One of these key events was the Crusades in the Middle Ages.   The Crusades 1099-1187 AD The Crusades were a period of several European invasions of the holy land; they were considered a long overdue pushback after four centuries of Islamic conquests. It was a controversial period of claims and counterclaims. The main thing is that the pilgrims were motivated by piety to ‘defend the Holy Sepulchre’ and guarantee free access to all Christian holy sites in the land.   The first crusade succeeded in conquering Jerusalem in July 1099. The victorious Christians set up the ‘Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.’ They turned the Dome of the Rock and the al Aqsa Mosque into Christian houses of worship. They left an architectural legacy that remains to this day. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, destroyed in 1010 AD, was completely restored and the building you now see today dates back...

Did you know that the year 2017 has at least 6 major anniversaries? Two are Christian and the other four involve the Jews and Israel. What are they and what do they mean? Here we go … 500 Years Ago - The Protestant Reformation 31 October 1517 Yes, the Reformation will be half a millennium old as of 31 October 2017. The Reformation was when a group of reformers broke from the Pope, the Vatican, and Roman Catholicism. It cut across centuries of tradition and papal control in order to return the church to a more Biblical foundation. The date October 31st was chosen as ‘Reformation Day’ because it was when Martin Luther (1483-1546) nailed his 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. It was a big gamble - his life was at stake - but Luther survived and succeeded. Luther was not the only reformer. John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli , and John Knox also played a major role in the break from Rome. The reformers objected to the following Catholic doctrines: 1. ...