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For Muslims, Jerusalem
is the third most holy site in Islam. The name of Jerusalem derived
from its original
Jebusite name Ur-Salem or Urishalim. For Muslims the name suggests
"peace" and corresponds
closely to the Muslim concept of the sacred; a place where
peace reigns and
conflicts is excluded.
Going back to
Jerusalem's history we find that it marked more by conflict than by
peace.
Hadrian destroyed the
city, replacing it by a Roman creation from which Jews were banned.
Then the Sassanids came
and laid it waste. Under the Islamic era, Jerusalem enjoyed 13
years of peace until the
Seljuk Turks came between 1070 and 1090 AC, in addition to the
Crusader Kingdom between
1099 and 1187AC. All that led to a sort of chaos and it
brought a constant
conflict between the conquerors in the city.
So the question that
comes is how did Jerusalem become important in Islam, and to
Muslims? Jerusalem was
in the middle of Trade routes. Most of the merchants used to
pass from there heading
towards Asia Minor and the west. Not to forget Arabs from
Mecca too. Islam holds a
great estimation as the location of many vents associated with the
life of Jesus. From
that day, Jerusalem has had a very important spiritual meaning for
Muslims, not only being
the first Qibla but also the mystical experience of the prophet's
ascendance to heaven.
Jerusalem tried to be focused by Muslim Pilgrimage, but the
significance of
Jerusalem thereafter declined in favor of Mecca and Medina.
When Saladdin recaptured
the city from the Crusaders, Jerusalem regained once again its
glory, where Christians
were guaranteed rights of worship, Muslim places of worship which
had been desecrated were
restored, even a small Jewish community returned to the city,
and Jewish culture has
seldom flourished as they did under Muslim rule, that's how the
spiritual significance
of Jerusalem has been absorbed by all three religions.
Muslims on the other
hand have an obligation to honor other religions. There is
recognition,
a respect for both
Judaism and Christianity as people of the book, mentioned in the
holy
Quran. I guess it would
be a pity for Jerusalem, the supposed city of peace, were to be
transformed into a city
of war as a result of Israeli plans, which ignore its significance
for
Muslims.
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