Geography Of Jerusalem Research Paper

To Muslims, Jerusalem is where Mohammed was taken to heaven. At the time of the crusades, their focal prayer point was at Jerusalem, but later on, they moved the focal point of prayer to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. But they still considers Jerusalem their Holy Land.

There are two parts in Jerusalem. There is the New City and the Old City. In the Old city there are many temples, one of the most important being the Haram esh-Sharif, or "Venerable Sanctuary." In the Old City there is also the Christian Church of Holy Sepulchre, which is the place where they believe Jesus Christ was buried after coming off the Cross. There is also the Wailing Wall that the Jews go to pray at. The Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque are there for the Muslim community. Jerusalem is the third holiest site for the Muslim population behind Mecca and Medina.

All the major religions of the world have cities that hold special significance to their religion. It

One of the many reasons European Christians fought in the crusades was to have control of The Holy Land and Jerusalem. Jerusalem was very important to the christians because it was where christ was crucified and rose again (previous knowledge). This was very important to the christians because Christ and God were the center of their religion

Two religions that are more related than any other religions are Christianity and Judaism. Both religions have similar beliefs. They also both believe in God and Jesus. This is where there is a difference: Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah and died to save its followers from sin. Jews believe that Jesus is only a prophet, and the Messiah has not yet arrived. Another similarity is the sacred site. Jerusalem is a sacred city for three religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In addition to Jerusalem, Islamic people travel to Mecca and the city of Medina to pray as well. Another important site for Christians is Bethlehem—the birthplace of Jesus.

The Dome of the Rock is located in the city of Jerusalem and stands upon the land of the main three sacred religions of the world: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. To them, Jerusalem was their holy city, a place for pilgrimage and an area for devotion.

Despite having no seemingly admirable qualities with location, Jerusalem is a greatly influential city that shapes beliefs and religious views of people, even in this modern time. Jerusalem is a shared central place representing three major religions: Christianity, Islam and Judaism, making this city a place that is highly revered by many. This well-regarded city has proven to be a sacred space through the way it is set apart, ever changing and connected to other times and events. Over centuries, Jerusalem developed from a small town into a political center by David’s reign and decision to make it his capital, while it evolved into a religiously important space with the addition of the Ark of the

The crisis in Jerusalem dragged both Israel and Palestine into a vortex of violence and a religious conflict. Both Israelis and Palestinians had claim the city as a sacred religious site and their political capital. The conflict became quite violent causing the closure of holy sites, a deadly terrorist attack caused the Palestinian's to end all contact with Israel. Despite the peace efforts between the states, societies continued to rupture along ethnic and religious lines. Israel's continued unfolding with religious conflict and persisted in illegal actions causing living conditions for Palestinian civilians to become unlivable. Jews have formed the largest religious group in the city and have been in the majority. However, the Arab and Jewish communities in Palestine were in mortal dispute. Under an agreement approved by the United Nations, Jerusalem was meant to become a separated body but due to Arab forces sieging Jerusalem, and withdrawing of the British mandate, Jerusalem became a huge battleground. Jewish settlers pushed Muslim Arabs out of their homes and established the state of Israel on their land during the middle of the 20th century. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are extremely tied to the ancient city due to them recognizing Jerusalem as a holy place. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is over which gets what land and how that land is

Jerusalem is the main reason why The First Crusade ever happened. It is an extremely important place of worship for multiple religions, including Christianity and Islam. Christianity puts great importance in Jerusalem because shortly after birth Jesus was taken to this city. Jesus also had his last supper here, and was crucified and buried right outside of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is also significant to Christians because it is the site of various saints or profits like Abraham, Solomon, David, Zachary and others (“The Importance of”). But Jerusalem is also valuable to Muslims for multiple reasons too, so much so that the Arabic translation is even “The Noble, Sacred Place.” Jerusalem was even the first Qiblah, the direction Muslims turn towards in prayer, meaning that they would turn to face Jerusalem when praying. It was also the location that Muhammad, messenger and prophet of God, took Muhammad from the Sacred Mosque in Mecca to the Furthest Mosque (Al-Aqsa) in Jerusalem. He was then “taken up to the heavens to be shown the signs of God” (Dodge). The Prophet met with previous prophets and led them in a prayer. The entire journey lasted only a few hours (Dodge). It becomes obvious why the Christians and Muslims would go to such great lengths to possess this once city.

Architecture comes with many significant meanings, including religious significance. The Pantheon, built from 118 to 125 CE in Rome, Italy, was a temple made to worship the Roman gods and goddesses. This temple is one of the most important buildings both in history and architecture, influencing many other monuments with its form, such as The Dome of the Rock. The Dome of the Rock, built from 687 to 692 CE, was the first great Islamic building. Located in Jerusalem, it is a shrine still very significant to many religions, such as Judaism and Christianity, today. Though not resembling each other in appearance, these buildings are extremely similar, in terms of religious meaning. The Pantheon and the Dome of the Rock, through their own distinctive form and similar location backgrounds, illuminate religion as the most important factor in each society, as these monuments symbolize a sense of unification throughout the city.

The city is holy for Christians because it has the Church of Holy Sepulchre, it is “located on a site which in central to the story of Jesus, his death, crucifixion and resurrection.”(bbc.com) in other words, it is believed that Jesus was crucified there. Jerusalem is of importance to the Muslims as it contains the shrine of the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in islam. “It is believed that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) travelled here from Mecca during his night journey and prayed with the souls of all the prophets. A few steps away, the shrine of the Dome of the Rock is where the Prophet then ascended to heaven.”(bbc.com) The western Wall, a “remnant of the retaining wall of the mount in which the Holy temple once stood,” is the most sacred site in Judaism. Jews believe that this was where the foundation stone which created the world, and where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac. “Today, the Western Wall is the closest place Jews can pray to the Holy of the

To the Jews, Jerusalem was considered God's own city. To the Christians, it was where Jesus was crucified and resurrected, and the Muslims viewed it as their third holiest city. As all three of them disagreed on who Jerusalem truly belonged to, Pope Urban

While there are many religions that have a religious connection the the city, Judaism has by far the strongest connection because of the Western Wall, the two temples, and the Torah. As stated before, Jerusalem is mentioned many times throughout the Torah, while in the Quran, Jerusalem is not mentioned once. (in text citation). Israel is a religious state, specifically a Jewish state. It would make sense to make the holiest site of Judaism the capital of the religious state. Even though Israel is a religious state, there is religious freedom in the country under the Knesset Law. The law states, “places holy to the peoples of all religions shall be protected from any desecration and from any restriction of free access to them.” (in text citation) Since the 1860s, the Jewish people have been the largest ethnic group in Jerusalem and has not yet been interrupted. (in text citation). Splitting Jerusalem into East and West Jerusalem will separate and cause Jewish people to leave their homes on the East side, since the majority of the city is Jewish people. In Israel, as well as all over the world, there is an ideology called Zionism. Zionists believe, “Judaism is a nationality as well as a religion, and that Jews deserve their own state in their ancestral homeland,” (in text citation) Zionism creates a feeling of nationalism and pride. After the persecution of the Jewish people during the Holocaust, many Jewish people felt the need to have a home and a safe place. A reason Israel was established as the homeland for the Jewish people was because of this persecution, persecutions throughout history, and the innate connection between the Jewish people and

Around 1800 BCE is when Judaism or Jewish religion began with Abraham in Israel. Then 2,436 years in 636 AD the Arabs came to Israel and conquered it and destroyed a Jewish temple and built the Dome of the Rock. The Jewish people were there 2,436 years before the Arabs yet thy still are persecuted for being there ridiculed for “stealing” the Arabs “Holy Land”. That isn’t the end of it either because after that the Jewish were from 636 to 1948 by other countries. During those times it was the Persians, Roman, Babylonian, and Hellentheistic peoples, all who tormented them causing them to scatter all over the world. The Jewish people had nothing since 636 AD and during biblical times people have the tendency to dismiss that fact like the Arabs today. Jerusalem was once the direction for all Muslim people to look to when they prayed because Muhammed had wanted it to be an important land mark in the religion. Yet, he changed his mind in the end for some reason. One of the reasons it is also Holy because Muhammad had lived there for a short amount of time Jerusalem would not be there only holy land if they had kept it, they would have 3 Holy sites leaving the Jewish with none. The Dome of the Rock is in Jerusalem so that would be a reason to keep it and call it the Holy Land. Yet the Arabs still have more land unlike the Jewish. They still have Mecca and Medina, it is also a belief

Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in the world. Located in between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, It is the main destination for those tourists that have a desire of getting a grasp of the Western East Countries, and for many, a unique religious experience. However, Jerusalem: also called the "Holy Land" has by its name a very controversial meaning: " The City of Peace". Once ago in this place, according to the Hebrew Bible (The Tanakh), the Temple of Solomon was built. According to the Muslim Bible (The Quran), also the location of the Dome of the Rock. From the Christian point of view and The Bible, It was once the place where the trial, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus took place. This series of religious events have brought up along with it a conflict in between Middle Eastern Countries for more than 50 years long with one main question on the plate: Who fairly and ethically deserves to live in the Holy Land?