history

589 - 632 : Koran revealed to Muhammad; it shares stories with Judeo-Christian texts.



711 - 718 : Arabs conquer Spain, which becomes center of commerce and culture.



1096 - 1291 : Christian Europe launches the Crusades against Islam.



1453 : Ottoman Turks take constantinople, capital of Orthodox Christianity.



1493 : King Ferdinand drives the Moors from Spain and next expels the Jews.



1683 : The Ottoman siege of Vienna fails, marking the end of its Islamic expansion.



1965 : Nostra Aetate



2001 : Pope John Paul II is first Pontiff to visit a mosque, in Damascus, Syria.



Sept. 2006 : Pope Benedict XVI links Islam to violence, igniting debate and protest.