TORAH FOR CHRISTIANS
SEASON EIGHT EPISODE FOUR
JERUSALEM IN ISLAM
To understand the current war in Gaza, we must understand the religious significance of the Land of Israel: to Jews and to Muslims alike. In this episode, we’ll look at the importance of Jerusalem in Islam, with a brief diversion to Christianity.
I’m Rabbi Jordan Parr and this is Torah for Christians.
MUSIC
Welcome to Torah for Christians. I’m Rabbi Jordan Parr.
We cannot understand the fighting in Gaza without understanding the importance of Jerusalem to the three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. To Jews, Jerusalem is the center of the universe, the place where Abraham nearly sacrificed his son, Isaac, the place where David built his palace and, most important, where Solomon built the First Temple. Jews pray daily in the direction of Jerusalem, with the prayer that the Messiah will come, announce himself in Jerusalem – and then, the righteous will be resurrected in Jerusalem and worship in the Third Temple, which will be built on the site of the First and Second Temples in the Messianic Age.
Christians know that Jerusalem is the location of Jesus’ Passion, the events that led to his eventual crucifixion and, for believers, his resurrection. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the spot where Jesus was crucified and entombed, is but a short walk on the Via Dolorosa from the Western Wall, the surviving retaining wall of Herod’s glorious Second Temple expansion.
And above the Western Wall is the Temple Mount, the site of the First and Second Temples. Somewhere on that mount stood the Holy of Holies, where the High Priest would pronounce God’s ineffable name on Yom Kippur. Were he to mispronounce the Holy Name or not be ritually pure, God would kill him. This moment was so fraught with danger that a rope was attached around the High Priest’s waist so that he could be pulled out of the Holy of Holies should he die.
This same mount is called in Arabic al-haram al-sharif, the Holy Mount in the Holy City of al-quds, translated simply as the Holy City, Jerusalem. Out of respect for Islam, we will use Muslim terminology whenever possible during the rest of this podcast.
To recognize the importance of al-quds, Jerusalem, in Islam, we go back to 7th Century Arabia. The man who became known as al-nabi, the Prophet Mohammed, was a caravan leader who led his camels from the Arabian Peninsula to Jerusalem. Mohammed though often secluded himself in a cave; that is where, in about 610 CE, the Prophet Gabriel visited him for the first time. In 613 CE, Mohammed began to receive direct revelations while in Makka, in what is now Saudi Arabia, prophecies which eventually became the holy Koran.
These prophecies forced Mohammed to flee in 622 CE to the city of Yathrib, now called al-Madina, the City. Muslims consider the flight, al-hijra, the beginning of Islam. In December 629, Muhammed returned to Makka with 10,000 supporters and peaceably occupied the city. By the time Mohammed died, most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam.
However, Muslims believe that Muhammed ascended to heaven in Jerusalem. Like Elijah in the Hebrew Bible, Mohammed ascended on a chariot, from the rock that gives the Dome of the Rock its name, the rock upon which Muslims believe that Ibrahim, Abraham, sacrificed his son Ishmael. Jews of course consider this the place where Abraham nearly sacrificed his son, Isaac. Ishmael, we should mention, is considered the ancestor of the 12 Arab tribes that eventually became the first Muslims.
Prior to ascending to heaven, Muhammad prayed in supplication to Allah, to God. The site where he prostrated himself is the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, after Medina and, of course, the Kaaba Stone in Makka. Originally, Muslims prayed towards Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque; later, Muslims changed the direction of prayer to face Mecca.
To greatly oversimplify, Jerusalem changed hands dozens of times in history. Scholars estimate the earliest settlements in what would become Jerusalem date to about 4,000 BCE. We first learn of Jerusalem in the Book of Genesis, when King Melchizedek of Salem, which we believe to be Jerusalem, praised El Elyon, Abraham’s God on High, following the latter’s successful military campaign against northern kings.
The Jebusites held Jerusalem until the time of King David, who conquered the city and built his palace outside the walls. His son, Solomon, was destined to build the First Temple, which stood until the early 6th Century BCE, when the Babylonians conquered the city. In turn, the Babylonians were conquered by the Persians.
Jerusalem then passed from Persian to Greek rule and then, after the Maccabean interlude of independence, passed to Roman, Byzantine and then Muslim rule. Aside from several times during the period of the Crusades, Jerusalem remained in Muslim hands, finally resting with the Ottoman Turks before the British captured Palestine during WWI.
We will discuss the modern history of Israel in the next few episodes. Suffice it to say though that throughout these turbulent centuries, Jews, Christians, and Muslims lived in Jerusalem, al-quds, in relative harmony. Certainly, there were times of tension, such as during the Crusades but adherents of all three Abrahamic faiths have been part and parcel of Jerusalem for millennia.
What does this have to do with the war in Gaza? Part of the Hamas charter is the elimination of Jews from today’s Israel and the establishment of an Islamic State. Hamas, and many other Muslims much less terroristic, believe that al-Quds, Jerusalem, will play a prominent role during the end of days – just as it will in both Judaism and Christianity.
Frankly, Hamas is trying to destroy the State of Israel for religious reasons, to return al-Quds to Muslim rule. While various Muslim rulers did lord over Jerusalem for centuries, Jews controlled Jerusalem well before then, during the time of the Hasmoneans, the Maccabees, and before that, during the reign of Kings David and Solomon, as well as their descendants, a dynasty that lasted for over 400 years – and
Knowing the importance of al-Quds, of Jerusalem, is essential if we are to understand the religious roots of this conflict. Even though their actions – murder, rape, kidnapping, and the like – are indefensible, Hamas has reasons for their actions. We must know why they do what they do if we are ever to resolve the conflict, a conflict that has been a continuous source of tension for over 2.000 years.
I want to thank you for listening to Torah for Christians. If anything I have said in this episode is inaccurate, please contact me through our Facebook page or in the comments section of our website, www.torahforchristians.net. I will surely make the necessary corrections. And I also apologize if something I have stated is offensive to Muslims or to their faith. I deeply respect Islam and the values which it puts forward. Islam has been a force for good in the world and I hope and pray that one day we will once again live together in peace.
Next time, we will begin looking at modern Zionism, how Jews from Europe and around the world created the Jewish State in 1948. We will probably take a few weeks studying this, with an eye towards comparing the Israeli narrative with the Palestinian one.
To that end, I say Hinei Mah Tov… L’hitraot, till we meet again. I’m Rabbi Jordan Parr and this is Torah for Christians.