Three Faiths Summer School 2006
Ammerdown Centre
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths
Muslim Perspectives
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Faith
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Faith
Interfaith
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Faith
Interfaith
Conflict
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Jerusalem – The Holy House
Iliya madinat bayt al-makdis „Aelia, the City of the Temple“
Al-Bayt al Mukaddas „the Holy House“
Al Bayt al Maqdis „the House of the Sanctuary“
Al-Quds „the Holy One“
Prophet Muhammad praying in front of the Kaaba in Mecca
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Changing the qibla
„... take then the place wheron
Abraham once stood as your
place of prayer ...“
(Qur‘an 2:125)
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
The journey to the farthest mosque
„Limitless in His glory is He who
transported His servant by night
from the Inviolable House of Worship
(al-masjid al-haram )
to the Remote House of Worship
(al-masjid al-aqsa) ...“
(Qur‘an 17:1)
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Jerusalem as a holy place for Muslims
- Isra „Night Journey“ and
Miraj „Ascension“ of the Prophet Muhammad
- Prophets like David, Salomon, Zacharias and John
- Mary and Jesus
- the Day of Resurrection
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Qubbat al-Sakhra - The Dome of the Rock
Completed 72 AH / 691 CE
on the ancient Temple platform
60 years after Jerusalem was taken by the Muslims.
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
The Dome of the Rock – it's mission?
Commemoration of Muhammad‘s ascension?
Diverting pilgrims from Mecca to Jerusalem?
Demonstration of Islam's superiority?
Trying to win converts?
Muslim equivalent to the Holy Sepulchre?
Caliph Abd al-Malik
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
The Dome of the Rock – it's inscriptions
"Say: He is God, One,
God the Everlasting,
who has not begotten
and has not been begotten.
He is without equal."
There is no God but God alone, without partner.
Muhammad is God's messenger.
The Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, is only a messenger
Blessings on Muhammad and Jesus.
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Haram Al-Sharif "the Noble Sanctuary"
Qubbat al-Sakhra
and
Al-Aqsa Mosque
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Hebron – city of Abraham,
Khalil al-Rahman, "the friend of the merciful (God)
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
"... ours is the creed of Abraham"
"And they say, 'Be Jews'
– or, 'Christians'
– and you shall be on the right path.'
Say: 'Nay but ours is
the creed of Abraham,
who turned away
from all that is false,
and was not of those
who ascribe divinity
to aught beside God. "
(Qur'an 2:135)
Maqam Ibrahim, "Place of Abraham"
in front of the Kaaba in Mecca
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
"... we make no distinction between any of them"
"Say: We believe in God, and in that
which has been bestowed from on high
upon us, and that which has been
bestowed upon Abraham and Ishmael
and Isaac and Jacob and their
descendants, and that which has been
vouchsafed to Moses and Jesus,
and that which has been vouchsafed
to all the other prophets by their
Sustainer: we make no distinction
between any of them. And it is unto
Him that we surrender ourselves."
(Qur'an 2:135)
Tree of Prophets
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Ahl al-Kitab "The People of the Book"
"Unto every one of you have
We appointed a law and way of life.
And if God had so willed,
He could surely have made you all
one single community:
but [He willed it otherwise] in order to test you
by means of what He has vouchsafed unto you.
Vie, then, with one another in doing good works!
Unto God you all must return;
and then He will make you truly understand
all that on which you were wont to differ."
(Qur'an 5:48)
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Fighting for Muslim superiority
"Fight against those who - despite
having been vouchsafed revelation
- do not believe either in God or
the Last Day, and do not consider
forbidden that which God and His
Apostle have forbidden, and do
not follow the religion of truth till
they pay the exemption tax with a
willing hand, after having been
humbled [in war]."
(Qur'an 9:29)
Arab Cavallry
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Muslims and Jews
Close contacts since the times of early
Islam
Severe confrontations during the stay
of the Prophet in Medina
Religious and cultural autonomy was
respected
"Convivenza" in Andalusia and
Ottoman times
Anti-semitism imported from the west
Israeli-Arab conflict tends to be
presented as a Jewish-Muslim conflict
Sephardi Synagogue in Jerusalem 1836
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Jesus Christ – Isa "al-Masih„
“The Christ Jesus, son of Mary, was but God's Apostle - [the fulfilment of]
His promise which He had conveyed unto Mary - and a soul created by
Him.
Believe, then, in God and His apostles, and do not say, ‘[God is] a trinity’".
(Quran 4:171)
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Christian apologetics
Islam not as a religion of it's own but a Jewish
or Christian heresy
Muslims as "the Children of Ishmael"
Muslims as forerunners of apocalyptic events
Muhammad as a false Prophet
Critic of Muhammad's and Muslims moral
compared with Christian chasity
St John of Damascus
( 676 – 749 )
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Muslims and Christians
High esteem: Christian spiritual and
ascetic practises
Acceptance: birth of Jesus, his
mission, certain teachings and
miracles
Refutation: trinitarian doctrines and
death on the cross
Irritation: refusing to accept Islam a
continuation of former revelations
Christian delegation in Medina
at the times of the prophet
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Muslim apologetics
Accusations against Jews and Christians:
Altering the divine relevation
Accusations against Christians:
Propagation of errant doctrines
Grievous mistakes in religious practice
Opening the frontiers to polytheism and
pagan practises
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
The Covenant of Umar
"This is a letter to the servant of God
Umar, Commander of the Faithful,
from the Christians of such-and-such
a city. When you came against us, we
asked you for safe-conduct for
ourselves, our descendants, our
property, and the people of our
community, and we untertook the
following obligations toward you: ..."
"We shall not build ... new churches."
Patriarch
Sophronius
of Jerusalem
"We shall not manifest our religion
publicly."
"We shall not seek to resemble the
Muslims."
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Living side by side – everyday life
Jerusalem 1883
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Festivities and rituals of faith communities
Greek Orthodox Easter procession
Greek Orthodox wedding in Christian Quarter
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Saint George
St George
Khidr – "the Green One"
Qubbat al-Khidr on the Haram
16. century
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Festival of "Nabi Musa"
Procession of "Nabi Musa" in front of Al-Aqsa around 1920
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Charity
"The Turkish … are just enough not
to deprive poor Christians who come
there, and these later receive the
same amount as the Muslims, but as
they go there only rarely the director
of the place is not bothered by
them."
(French traveller 1705)
Ottoman imaret (soup kithcen)
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Praying side by side
Tomb of Mary in Kidron Valley
"Do not come to the Church of Mary … nor go into the two pillars into the
church of the Mount of Olives, for they are both idols and whoever enters
there in a spirit of devotion, his act shall be annulled."
(Muslim tradition)
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Pilgrims
Medieval Pilgrims entering "Outremer"
Russian Pilgrims entering Jerusalem 1905
"No day passed without foreigners" (Al Muqaddasi – 10. century)
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
The shade of the Crusades
Richard Lion Heart (London)
Salah al-Din
(Damascus)
George W. Bush (Washington) - as seen by Al-Jazeera
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Crusades
"In the long sequence of interaction and fusion between Orient and
Occident out of which our civilization has grown, the Crusades were a
tragic and destructive episode"
(Stepen Runciman: The Crusades. 1951)
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
19. Century – conquest, colonialism and civilization
Napoleon in Egypt 1798
French iIllustration 1837
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Ottoman dilemma
Ottoman coat of Arms
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Ottoman dilemma
Ottomans recruiting soldiers in Jaffa - 1888
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Christians under Ottoman rule
Kawass of Anglican bishop
Representatives of Christian denominations in Palestine
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Tanzimat-i Hayriye – Salutary Reforms
Hatt-i Humayun 1856
All Ottoman citizens
equal under law
Greek Newspaper illustration – Athens 1858
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Jewish immigration in Jerusalem
Jewish quarters in Jerusalem 1920
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Jewish dilemma: integration or separation
Jewish soldiers
in Ottoman army 1910
Shomerim (guards) of a Zionist settlement 1920
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
British rule
British troops in Jaffa Road, Jerusalem, 1929
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Jerusalem in 20. century
Dome of the Rock and Western Wall 1937
Dome of the Rock and Western Wall today
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Israeli-Arab confrontation in Jerusalem
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Jerusalem – her future – two Muslim perspectives
"Ultimately if the entire world truly strives for peace in the city of al-Quds,
Muslims must retake the upper hand and regain its rule, as they alone
would provide continuously the guarantee of freedom of worship and
safety for the citizens of the City and they will re-implement Umar's
Covenant for a third time. Only then will al-Quds be, as it is meant to be, a
City of Peace."
(Mohammed Abdul Hameed Al-Khateeb. Al-Quds. 1998)
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
Jerusalem – her future – two Muslim perspectives
"The shared heritage and belief in one God summons all believers to be
peace-makers. We should affirm the holiness of the Jerusalem for all three
faiths and recognize the rights of all to worship in their own way. We should
affirm that claims made in the name of tradition cannot exclude or nullify
the claims of others."
(Muhammad Hourani: A Muslim Approach to Dialogue in Jerusalem in the
New Millennium. 2000)
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives
... and in the end ...
wa Allah a'alam
and God knows best
Wilhelm Sabri Hoffmann
German Muslim League Bonn
Jerusalem in the Three Faiths - Muslim Perspectives