M5: The Crusades

     Sitting on a wagon among a sea of carts, we were funneled into the holy city of Jerusalem. My driver, Jacob, turned left onto a different road. We followed the stream of traffic toward the West Wall. Jacob was my Jewish friend that had volunteered to show me the remains of the Jewish Temple. The Jewish temple had been destroyed by the Romans. The Western Wall was all that was left. Jerusalem was a holy city for Muslims, Jews, and Christians. Finally our wagon pulled off to the side and we got out. Just then, soldiers streamed over the walls that protected Jerusalem.
     "Jerusalem belongs to the Christians" a knight no older then 13 screamed as he vaulted over the wall. Quickly, I realized that these people were malignant Christian crusaders that believed Jerusalem should just be for Christians. They were trying to take the holy land! In an instant, we were swept up in a wave of horror. Soldiers stabbed Jews, releasing heart wrenching cries. Crusaders spit on the Western Wall and stomped on holy books. A large, hairy man came towards us with a look of hate on his face.
     He grabbed Jacob and hoisted him up by the throat. Suddenly, I snapped out of my trance. I jammed the mans nose into his skull, just as my self-defense coach had taught me. He dropped my friend and sneered at me. I dished out three swift upper cuts to his jaw, and he fell with a thud. Turning to the disheartened Jews, I gave an angry cry. "Are you going to sit here and let these Christians trample on your faith?" I yelled. "All three faiths of the book should have an equal claim to Jerusalem." Men and women stood and brushed themselves off with fiery determination. They grabbed broken boards and bricks from the street, making weapons out of junk.
     The make-shift army started down the road, where crusaders had started a bonfire with copies of the Torah and Qur'an. I joined them. Even though I'm an atheist, I still believe in religious equality. We stopped a group of crusaders in their tracks. " Jerusalem should be shared." Jacob said. "Stop destroying symbols of our faith. We are very similar." With loud battle cries, we rushed towards the fight. Blood was being shed by Jews and Christians alike. Sadly, I shook my head and zapped back to my New York Condo.
     To late, I had realized that the right way to settle religious arguments did not include dead bodies. Wars between faiths had been going on for centuries, but it didn't have to be this way. Instead of suiting my friends up for a fruitless battle, I should have organized a peaceful negotiation. I did understand, however, that beliefs were worth fighting for. I just wished we could all get along. Confused, I went to bed, leaving the heavy thinking to the scholars.