Introduction
The conflict about Jerusalem had been going on for a long time and has led to the loss of many lives in the Israel-Arab conflict. There has been a bitter conflict between the two sides since the formation of the state of Israel and the consequence repatriation of all Jews after the Second World War in 1948. The issue of legal and moral ownership of the land is further complicated by the religious relevance attached to the city by the two states. The conflict has turned into a religious war between Muslims and Jewish religions. It has turned to be a bitter war between the newly established state of Israel and the Palestinian state which resolves that Israel is an illegal state which occupies land previously considered to be Palestinian land.
According to Fiona Symon, (2001), the Jews were resettled in their motherland Israel after their brutal execution by the Nazi regime during the Second World War. It is recorded that Jews had fled their motherland running away from Arabs aggression in their bid to spread their Islam religion after conquering Jerusalem. According to Daniel Pipes (2001), after the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 and the consequential resettlement of all Jews in their motherland, all Muslim nations started series of wars against the nation of Israel but Israel has remained firm in defending their motherland and has won all the wars. This row is still to be resolved with Israel claiming Jerusalem as their capital city and Palestinians claiming it to be their future state.
Historical view of Jerusalem
Israel became a nation in 1312 B.C.E. which was about 2000 years before the rise of Islam religion. It is recorded that King David is the one who founded the city of Jerusalem. The city was conquered in 1227 B.C.E. and the Jews had dominated the land for one thousand years and were present in the land for the past 3,300 years. The only Arab dominion since the conquest in 635 C.E lasted for only 22 years. For over 3,300 years the city had been the Jewish capital. When Jordan occupied Jerusalem, it did not make it capital. Under the Jordan rule, Jewish holy sites were desecrated and the Jews were not allowed to access their places of worship. Arab refugees in Israel started identifying themselves as part of Palestine state in 1967, long after the Jews had been resettled in the land. They had been encouraged to leave the land in 1948 by Arab leaders who were promising to purge the land of Jews. They asked the civilian to abandon their land to make way for the army to invade the Jews. Eventually, the army of 7 Arab countries failed and the fleeing immigrant Arabs were left as refugees in camps. It is estimated that 630,000 Arab refugees which were approximately 68% of the Arab population in Israel left in 1948.
According to Emanuel Winston (2002), Israelites were resettled in the land in 1948 but the United Nation’s resolution left the city under British rule giving neither side authority to govern the city. Before the partition, the area around Jerusalem has not attached any importance to the Arab countries and it was only after the partition that the area became very important to them. Egypt claimed the Gaza strip and Trans Jordan attached to its kingdom the areas of the west bank. However, it is amazing that in 1949 and 1967 when Jordan ruled the west bank, some 400 000 Arabs packed and left for other Arab countries. The conflict has spread to other regions of the nation of Israel. The recent conflict has been surrounded the west bank region which Israel had earlier conquered. After a series of wars and the loss of many lives, Israel gave the land back to Palestine and the process of withdrawal continues.
The west bank region was captured from Jordan in 1967 and Israel took it as an opportunity to reunify East and West Jerusalem. It removed the walls and barriers that divided the two regions and put the Arab east Jerusalem under the Israel civil law distinct from the military rule in the Wes bank and the Gaza strip, both regions of contention. Upon the formation of Israel, Arab leaders pledged to push the Jews into the sea and reclaim the land partition by a United Nations resolution in 1947. They occupied historic sites for the Jews in Judea and Samaria until the 167 capture of the west bank.
Israel right to the land
According to Daniel Pipes (2000), Israel claims to the land are a result of strong history spanning over 4000 years ago. It is claimed that God made a covenant with Abraham and his descendants where they were granted the land of Canaan from the river of Egypt as far the great river of Euphrates. This covenant was later made to Isaac and Jacob. It is claimed that King David built his famous temple dedicated to God in the City and the Western Wall of the city remains in Jerusalem. They also claim that according to their religion and ancient history, it is their motherland and their promised land. It is where God made the covenant with their ancestor or their founding father, Abraham and it is the same place that Abraham Sacrificed to God.
According to Shmuel Sokol, (2004), the Jewish connection to the region of Jerusalem is an ancient and powerful one. Judaism, the religion of Israelites, made Jerusalem their holy city over 3000years ago and it had remained occupied by the Jews since then. While praying Jews pray to face in its direction and mentions it in their prayers. They also attach great importance to it such that they close their Passover service with a mention “Next year in Jerusalem” They also recall the city while blessing their meals. While digging into the history of Jews it was found and associated that it is common to find unfinished houses, uncompleted jewels, smashed glasses during the wedding day, and others which are all attributed to the mourning days due to the destruction of the temple. Jerusalem is the city with the majority of Jews in the past centuries and has served as their capital city for many years. Hence their claim to Jerusalem may not be only religious but also historical as their ancestral land. In the Jewish bible, Jerusalem appears 669 times and Zion 154 times. It is understood that Zion means Jerusalem. The Christian Bible mentions Jerusalem 154 times and Zion 7 times. Hence Jewish claim to Jerusalem is not only religious but also their ancestral home. Every community in this world has an ancestral land to which they can claim their origin.
Muslim Claim to Jerusalem
The Muslim claim to the land is purely religious. From the Arabic literacy sources, it is claimed that in 622 a.d., Muhammad fled his town of Mecca for Medina. Medina was then a city with many Jewish settlers. On arrival to medina, it is claimed that the Quran, the holy book of Islam religion, made adoption to some significant practices from the Jewish people. Some of these adoptions are the Yorn Kippur-like fast, a synagogue-like place of prayer, permission to eat kosher food, and approval to marry Jewish women. It is also claimed that the Quran discarded the pre-Islamic practice, Qibla, of the Meccans to pray toward the Kaba, the small stone structure at the center of the main mosque in Mecca, and instead adopted the practices of facing the Temple Mount in Jerusalem during prayer which was a Judaic practice. This direction of prayer was criticized and rejected by the Muslims and was replaced with friendly Islamic gestures. This is dictated in the Quranic verse which instructs the faithful to no longer pray toward Syrian but instead prays toward Mecca. It is claimed that Muslims accepted the point and adopted Jerusalem as Qibla to win over the Jews. “He chose the Holy House in Jerusalem so that the People of the Book (Jews) would be conciliated” (At-Tabari, early Muslim commentator on the Quran).
The second interest in Muslims to Jerusalem came in the time of the rule of the Damascus-bases Umayyad dynasty (661-750). Abdullah B. as-Zubayr, who was a dissident leader in Mecca, began revolting against the dynasty in 680 which lasted until he died in 692. The dynasty sought to aggrandize Syria at the expense of Arabia which also helped to recruit an army against the Byzantine Empire. They sanctified Damascus with efforts to glorify Jerusalem. They had strived to make it more or less equal to Mecca. The first ruler of the dynasty Mu’awiya ascended the caliphate in Jerusalem. His successors build roads, a palace, and religious edifices in the city. They treated Jerusalem as their capital city and also their administrative center. This was hampered by the fact that Jerusalem remained a religious city more than an administrative city. Umayyad caliph built the first Islam grand structure which was the Dome of the Rock, right on the spot of the Jewish Temple in 688-91. This is the first and the only standing monumental sacred to the Islam religion.
In 715, the Umayyad built a second mosque in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount and was called Furthest Mosque. This is what Muslims claim to be the importance of the city to Mohammed’s life. It is to be known that this mosque was built after the Quran was written and hence it could have been intensively targeted to give the Quran its meaning. The Quran verse which says that “glory to He who took His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Furthest Mosque” must have not been relevant at the time it was written since historically there was no mosque named the furthers mosque at that time. When this verse was revealed in 621, there was a place called the Sacred Mosque in Mecca. The furthest mosque was a turn of phrase and to a place. In the early Muslim religion, it was understood as a metaphor meaning a place in heaven.
Even if the furthest mosque existed on earth, Palestine would not have been the location because Palestine had not yet been conquered by Muslims and is historically recorded as not having a single mosque at that time. In the Quran, Palestine is called the ‘closest land” which sharply contrasts the name Furthest Mosque.
Furthermore, the earliest accounts on Muslims in Jerusalem came after the Muslims conquest in 638 and there is nowhere the furthest mosque is identified. In the Dome of the Rock, there are early Quranic inscriptions with the story of the night journey by the prophet which suggests that as latest as 692 the idea of Jerusalem as the lift-off for the night journey had not yet been established. Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiya (638-700), who was a close relative of Prophet Muhammad quotes the notion that Prophet never set foot on the Rock in Jerusalem, “these damned Syrians pretends that God put His foot on the Rock in Jerusalem, though one person ever put his foot on the rock, namely Abraham.” It is argued that this building and the actual Al-Aqsa Mosque gave reality to the figurative names used in Quran and also inserted Jerusalem central to Islam. The Umayyads’ motivation to assert the presence of Muslims in the sacred city is thought to have a strictly utilitarian purpose which led to the Islamic sanctification of Jerusalem.
After the fall of the Umayyads, Jerusalem was left in shambles and it lost all its glory. From 1099 to 1150 there were efforts to retake Jerusalem by Muslims leaders who used jihad sentiments and heightened emotions about the city. They urged about the sanctity of the city and called for its return to Muslims. They re-conquered the city and ruled it but interest in the city dropped. The city proved to be expendable. When Europeans invaded the city, Muslim rulers build a wall around the city. They killed everybody they met which made people fled the city. At the same time Muslim rulers of Egypt and Palestine, al-Kamil accepted to trade the city to the European if they accepted to leave Egypt. The deal was sealed and the city was handed to Europeans. Christians occupied the city and turned the Temple Mount into churches. This angered Muslims who invaded the city and brought it under the rule of Muslims again. According to Muhammad Hourani (2007), the city became valuable to Muslims again when only Christians invaded and sanctified the city. The same history could be repeating itself even now since it is amazing how the city has not been of interest to Islam and only its occupation by Christians.
During the rule of Mamluk, the city again became dilapidated and lost its glory. All the worship places and churches were dilapidated and it lost its glory as a religious city. People fled the city and at the end of their rule it a merged population of 4000 people. The Ottoman rule took over and rebuilt the city walls. They brought Jerusalem to life again and people started resettling in the city again. The Turkish authorities made a lot of money from the residents as they imposed heavy fines and taxes on them. The city started exporting soap. By 1850 the city had lost its grandeur and it turned to a pauper village. The Turkish rulers abandoned Jerusalem in 1917 in advance of the British troops. The Turkish ruler even wanted to destroy the city rather than surrender it to the British.
According to Judy Lans Balint (2002), the city turned to be an important religious and political Arab center at the beginning of the twentieth century. British ruled the city from 1917 to 1948 and renewed the passion of Jerusalem. The Arab politicians made it a prominent destination during the British mandatory rule. There was heightened Arab interest and activity on the soil of Jerusalem and even King Faysal of Iraq visited the city and made a ceremonial entrance to the Temple Mount. Iraq pledged to raise funds for Islamic University in Jerusalem. It was at this time of heightened Arabs interest in the city that it was said that prophet Muhammad had tethered his horse to the western wall of the Temple Mount. After Jordan’s captured the city and ruled in 1948, many Arabs left the city as the prosperous economy under British rule started to disintegrate. The religious standing of Jerusalem declined as mosques lacked sufficient funds. At this time Muslims showed little interest in the city and it was only after the capture of the city by Israel in 1967 that their passion for the city once again arose. Pictures of the Dome of the Rock were hanged everywhere from the president’s office to the grocer’s stores. In 1968 the PLO made a constitution that mentioned Jerusalem sat the seat of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
As before, they started to mention the sanctity of Jerusalem in the Islamic faith. It suddenly became a subject of conflict between the Jewish people and the Muslims. Almost all the rulers in the Arab countries claimed that Jerusalem is the property of Muslims and must be returned to them. According to James Inhofe (2002), Muslim interest n the city has surged with Muslim pilgrimage adding up four-fold in recent years. Jerusalem day has been celebrated by Muslims as well as Jewish people all over the world. It is reckoned that Jerusalem is the only issue that seems to unite the Arabs in recent times. Jerusalem has been likened to the city of Mecca by Muslim leaders.
Recently there have been claims that the Islamic connection to Jerusalem is older than the Jewish connection. It is argued that it has been under Muslim sovereignty and it holds a special place in the heart and mind of Muslims than other cities in Islam. It is claimed that Muslim attachments to the city do not begin with the prophet Mohammed but begin with the prophet Abraham, David, Solomon, and Jesus all of who are prophets in Islam. This draws a Muslim conclusion that central figures of Judaism and Christianity were all pro-Muslims.
This has been coupled with the claim that the Koran mentions Jerusalem. The story of Night Journey associates the furthest mosque to Jerusalem. This has repositioned the earlier claim of the furthest mosque to be in Jerusalem, the further mosque itself being metaphorical for Jerusalem. This has further sanctified the city with its association to the Koran.
The other claim is that Muhammad visited Jerusalem. There are contradicting views to this claim. Prophet Muhammad’s life bibliography is very complete and there is nowhere it is claimed that the prophet voyaged through Jerusalem. Muslims also claim that Jerusalem has not important connection to Jews. They fir deny the connection of the Western wall also referred to as the Wailing Wall to be remains of the ancient Temple dedicated to God by David. It is reported that throughout the Islamic occupation of Jerusalem, Jews were denied access to the wall which was claimed scared to Muslim
Collusion
The claims of both sides to the city are highly religious. But the turn of events shows that in recent times it has been highly politicized. Muslims cannot accept Jerusalem to be their secondary city while at the same time Christians and Jews cannot accept it either. However, from the analysis, it seems that the interest of Muslims in the city has remained changing throughout history and their interest is heightened when the city falls under the hands of other people. It seems that the interest of the Muslims is not to claim the city as theirs but rather to deny it access by others.
Arguing from the religious point of view, every religious group has some particular area of interest and in which special attachments are given. Depending on the turn of religious events in history, I would argue that Mecca is a holy city of Islam religion same as Jerusalem is holy and relevant to the Jewish religion. From the historical analysis of the two sides, it is understood that Muhammad is claimed to have visited the Rock on which the Dome mosque is built. This same rock has relevance attached to Christianity and Jewish religions in that Jesus is claimed to have been there.
There are striking similarities between the two sides which further complicates the situation. Jews pray thrice to Jerusalem while Muslims prays five times daily to Mecca. It brings so much conflict on the two religions which shows that somewhere down the historical line of development of the two religions, there was some kind of integration of the two or their origin could be one. Jews believe that Abraham sacrificed his son Isaac in Jerusalem while Muslims believe that he did it in Mecca. This clearly shows that the claims by both sides are legitimate and arise from the same belief. Both sides believe that Abraham existed and made a sacrifice and at the same point. This can be interpreted as a common understanding of history from both sides.
But why is it that one side will feel to have more rights to the city than the other? If the history of the two religious groups shows the same believes, then both should come to a common agreement and accept the city as a common heritage for both. It would be faulty and the highest point of misunderstanding for one side to try and deny others access.
References
- Balint, L. (2002). Fear vs. Justice at the Temple Mount. Whose Jerusalem? Whose Land Articles.
- Hourani, M. (2007): A Muslim approach to Dialogue in Jerusalem in the new millennium. Trialogue in Jerusalem: Jew, Christians, and Moslems. Toward the Third Millennium lecturer articles
- Inhofe, J. M. (2002). Seven Reasons why Israel is entitled to the Land: Peace in the Middle East. Senate Floor Statement by U.S. Sen. James M. Inhofe, March 4, 2004
- Pipes, D. (2000): Jerusalem means more to Jew that to Muslims. Los Angeles Times, 2000
- Pipes, D. (2001): The Muslim Claim to Jerusalem. Middle East Conflict Review
- Sokol, S. (2004): Jerusalem: Capital of the Jews? Middle East Conflict Review
- Symon, F. (2001): Jerusalem: Crucible of the Conflict. BBC News World Edition, Tuesday, 2001.
- Winston, A. E. (2002). Who Wanted to Occupy the Land? Review Article on Whose Jerusalem? Who’s Land