universal urge to sort of say muslims for example or jews or christians, it's oriented to face darussalam. people are buried facing jerusalem as it were. it's saying where do i belong? where am i headed? when they turn five times a day to words meca, the action is to say where is meca now, it is an exercise that says where am i going with my life? you entered of your work, whenever you are doing and you played yourself in the direction where you feel you should be going. it's a reminder of what your plea of these were and that is something that occurs every faith, just a reminder of where am i headed? where is my true center. >> host: you are watching book tv on c-span2 and we are visiting london talking with british authors. today author karen armstrong the author of over 20 books about religion. while we are taking this, ms. armstrong, there is an election of the pope going on. what is your fault of the whole process? >> guest: i thought there must be a simpler way but perhaps that is and kind. who has really founded these people? they were having problems triet my feeling is that it is

people had gone to darussalam or else the gone somewhere else. but some were in shelters for a month living in the shelter. the state of the war in israel is such a little country. it's the sites of new jersey so even if it is the south, everybody has a relative there. it's not like america where you hear of this. this is everybody's problem. and the phone starts ringing when these things heat up and even my phone, and particularly recently when we actually have the sirens in jerusalem for the first time in 30 years that was an interesting experience because you find yourself saying should i take a shower or not take a shower. [laughter] or am i going to sleep in my normal pajamas? because i'm going to have to go down and deal with upon shelter and i don't want them to see me in my pajamas. these are stupid things to think the consciousness of what happens is on everything. as of the state of the war and israel is an ongoing effort and a consciousness. but it's also a way of going on with life no matter what and that is what they are best at is t