The Holy Land Jerusalem Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

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The Holy LandJerusalemJudaism, Christianity,
and Islams relationship to the Holy Land of
Jerusalem as rooted in Scripture and Tradition

A Presentation by Aaron Cator, Molly Leaverton,
and Jessica Power
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Where is the Holy Land?
Ancient Israel
Modern Israel
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A Brief History of the Holy Land
Black Date has significance to all faiths of the
book Blue Significant to Judaism Red
Significant to Christianity Green Significant to
Islam

• ca.1800 BCE- God promises Abraham the Land
• ca. 1000 BCE- King David establishes Jerusalem as
  the capital of the United Kingdom of Israel
• 587 BCE- Destruction of the First Temple of
  Jerusalem
• 30 CE- Death of Jesus
• 70 CE- Destruction of the Second Temple of
  Jerusalem
• 621 CE- Muhammad descends into heaven from the
  city of Jerusalem during his night journey
• 633 CE- Islamic conquest of Palestine (beginning
  of 1300 years of the rule of more than 10
  different empires)
• 1918 CE- British control of Jerusalem
• 1948 CE- establishment of the modern day state of
  Israel.

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Scriptural/Traditional Attachment to the Holy
Land Judaism

• Jerusalem has been the holiest place in Judaism
  since the 10th century and the establishment of
  the Kingdom of David
• First Chron. 111-11
• Exile/destruction of Jerusalem as punishment from
  God and restoration of Jewish rule of Jerusalem
  as a divine reward
• Second Chron. 719
• Babylonian Exile
• Book of Lamentations
• Love/Mourning of Jerusalem throughout the Hebrew
  Bible
• "By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept
  when we remembered Zion." (Psalms 1371)
• "The builder of Jerusalem is God, the outcast of
  Israel he will gather in...Praise God O
  Jerusalem, laud your God O Zion." (Psalms
  1472-12)

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Scriptural/Traditional Attachment to the Holy
Land Christianity

• Significance in the Hebrew Bible, Christs Jewish
  identity
• Birth of Christianity in Jerusalem
• Place of some of Jesus teachings
• Place of the Last Supper, Death and Resurrection
  of Christ
• Site of Jesus burial at the Church of the Holy
  Sepulcher
• Jesus and the Temple of Jerusalem
• Jesus is presented as a child at the Temple (Luke
  222)
• Cleanses the Temple of Jerusalem (Mark 1115)
• Medieval Christians believed Jerusalem was the
  center of the World

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Scriptural/Traditional Attachment to the Holy
Land Islam

• Night Journey of Muhammad 621 CE
• In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most
  Merciful. Glory to (Allah) Who did take His
  Servant For a Journey by night From the Sacred
  Mosque Whose precincts We did Blessin order that
  We Might show him some Of Our Signs for He Is
  the One Who heareth And seeth (all things).
  -Surah 171
• Dome of the Rock
• believed by Muslims to be the site of where
  Muhammad ascended into heaven.
• Al-Aqsa Mosque
• So Sakariya came out to his people From his
  chamber He told them by signs To celebrate
  Allahs praises In the morning and the evening.
  Surah 1911
• Cite of the first Qibla before it was changed
  to the city of Makka.
• Shortly after Muhammads death, Muslims conquered
  Jerusalem.

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Worksheet 19b

• Question 2 Based on the assigned secondary
  readings, do you think the notion of Holy War
  is affirmed in any of the scriptures used by the
  three Religions of the Book?

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Common Beliefs about Jerusalem

• A Holy city, explicitly mentioned in all three
  religions holy scriptures
• The Temple Mount is the place that Abraham nearly
  sacrificed his son
• City that many prophets visited and prophesized
  in
• Abraham, Moses, Elijah, etc.
• Common Jewish heritage

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Current Relationship to Jerusalem Judaism

• Zionism
• Political movement that began in the 19th century
  for the state of Israel
• "The builder of Jerusalem is God, the outcast of
  Israel he will gather in...Praise God O
  Jerusalem, laud your God O Zion." (Psalms
  1472-12)
• Mainly secular, but rooted its legitimacy in
  biblical nationalistic claims
• Religious Zionism
• Jews have an inalienable right to the land of
  Jerusalem because God granted it to them
• Orthodox Jews tend to adopt this view, while many
  other branches of Judaism vary from finding it
  insignificant to being completely opposed
• The Modern State of Israel was established in
  1948

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Current Relationship to Jerusalem Christianity

• Site of the pilgrimage of thousands of Christians
  each year
• Around 2.5 of population is Christian (ca.
  150,000 people)
• Although Jerusalem is a Holy site for Christians,
  God is everywhere and can be found in any place

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Current Relationship to Jerusalem Islam

• Jerusalem is considered the third holiest city,
  next to Makka and Madinah
• Dominated by current conflict
• Most Arab Muslims believe that Israel belongs to
  the Palestinians
• Most Muslims believe that the Palestinians have
  been unfairly portrayed through the media and
  that their position is not fully understood

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Israeli/Palestinian Conflict

• Before WWI what is now the state of Israel was
  under the control of the Ottoman Empire.
• In 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement stated that once
  the Ottomans were defeated this land would be
  international territory
• Balfour Declaration 1917
• The British create plans for the creation of an
  Israeli state
• Palestinian Exile
• Flee to nearby Arab states
• Around 10 million people considered Palestinian
• 1948-Creation of the State of Israel and the
  Arab-Israeli War
• 1967 6-Day War
• Continued fighting over the West Bank, Jerusalem,
  Gaza Strip

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Worksheet 19b

• Question 3 What are your own thoughts regarding
  the ongoing struggle over the Holy Land? Do you
  think the media fairly represents the motives for
  each religions stake in the ongoing conflict?