“As a holy city it serves as symbol, vehicle and embodiment
of spiritual beliefs and aspirations..”
I
have studied the formation of the State of Israel countless times in many
different classes. I learned about the mandate, the struggle, and the wars. However,
I never looked specifically at Jerusalem and the rich history that it possesses
just as a city itself. After
reading Dumper’s article Jerusalem Then
and Now, I learned a lot about why this holy city is seen as holy and
sacred to three different religions. I found it interesting that originally
Jerusalem was seen as the city that Muslims would make their holy pilgrimage
to, until Muhammad changed it to Mecca. I bet Jerusalem would be in a very
different place both socially and politically if the change to Mecca never
occurred. I also did not realize that a lot of the religious influence came to
Jerusalem due to western support during the mandate and formation of Israel. I
thought that the religious atmosphere/ cultures were always due to the
religions that historically existed, not based on modern, outside influence.
As
I read the second article I learned the importance of the Temple Mount and the
Dome of the Rock to the Islamic faith. The movie we watched in class talked
about these spiritual places but never having studied the importance of Islam
in Jerusalem I was clueless about what they were. I am starting to realize that
it is important to learn about all faiths, not just mine when studying a place
that is so spiritually rich.
When
studying Jerusalem most people focus on faith and religion. However, the third
article mentioned that not every building has a religious significance; some
have political significance as well. I never viewed Jerusalem as being a center
of political power, only its’ religious significance.
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