By Colleen Messina
From the time we are toddlers, people tell us to "share and share alike."
Unfortunately, this lesson hasn't been learned very well by three major world religions. Christians, Jews, and Muslims have fought for hundreds of years over the Holy Land, or modern-day Israel. These religious wars have caused a great deal of suffering and loss of life.
The Holy land has mountains, fertile plains, and deserts. The beautiful blue
Mediterranean Sea lies to the west of it, and a dry, barren desert lies to the east.
The Jordan Valley runs down the center of the Holy Land, and rugged mountains jut up on either side. Rain from the mountains feeds the black, rich soil. This abundance of water, good soil, and access to the sea made this valley desirable to many ancient peoples. Everyone wanted to live in the Holy Land!
Like toddlers tussling over toys, members of three faiths fought furiously over the Holy Land. It's not because they never learned to share, but they all felt this land was important to their history. They defended their right to control this area as fiercely as a toddler screams "MINE!"
Jews felt that Abraham, one of the founding fathers of Judaism, was there first. He had traveled from present-day Iraq to present-day Israel. He called this new land Canaan. Many of the Jews of the
Holy Land later went to Egypt because of a famine. They became Pharaoh's slaves, but the Pharaoh finally decided to let the people go because of the ten Biblical plagues. This freeing of the slaves has been called the Exodus. According to the Bible, God gave Moses 10 commandments, and he led the people back to the Holy Land (after a forty year detour, but that is another story).
The Jews built a magnificent temple under the direction of King Solomon. This temple was called
(not surprisingly) Solomon's Temple. Jews believe that it was built on the exact spot that God had asked Abraham to sacrifice his son. It took 30,000 men seven years to build this Temple, which was described in detail in the Bible. Gold overlay decorated the inner sanctuary. Carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and flowers also decorated the outer cedar walls. In 953 B.C., the Jews had a great celebration to dedicate the Temple. They sacrificed 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep! The Jewish people felt overjoyed with their Temple. However, other faiths also wanted the Holy Land, like the
Christians.
The Jewish holy books had always promised a messiah, or leader, who would lead them as a king.
Some Jews believed that Jesus, who was born in Nazareth in about 4 B.C., was this messiah. Others did not believe in him and turned him over to the Romans to be crucified. The Roman Empire at this time included the Holy Land. Those who believed in Jesus as the messiah began to spread his message.
They became the first Christians, and many lost their lives as a result of their beliefs. Later,
Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in 325 A.D. which is why Christians feel they have a claim on the Holy Land.
Muslims also wanted control of the Holy Land. The Arabs who lived southeast of the Holy Land worshipped many different gods until the seventh century A.D. Muhammad changed that when he received his message about Allah as the one god. He then wrote down the holy book of Islam, the
Koran. The Muslims invaded Jerusalem in 638 A.D. and many lives were lost as a result. The Muslims built a monument called the Dome of the Rock where Solomon's Temple stood. They believed that this spot was where their Prophet ascended to heaven. Jews were devastated by the destruction of the
Temple.
The Christians decided they wanted the Holy Land back in 1095 A.D. Pope Urban addressed a large crowd in France. He called for a "war of the cross" or a Crusade to take over Jerusalem. Many died in the Crusades, even children. A young shepherd boy led the disastrous Children's Crusade. None of the children actually reached Jerusalem. Sadly, thousands died of hunger along the way. Others became slaves.

Four enormous French armies recaptured Jerusalem in 1099 A.D. During the next century, a
Muslim leader named Saladin recaptured Jerusalem from the English king who led the Crusaders at that time, Richard the Lionhearted. Later, Turks conquered the area. Ironically, after all the fighting between Christians and Muslims, turmoil in that part of the world continues to this day. Unfortunately, many lives have been lost in these religious wars over the centuries, and much suffering has been inflicted upon innocent people.
It is hard to imagine a solution to religious wars, but maybe we can learn something from the relationship between Saladin and Richard I. They had a great, mutual respect for one another in spite of their different faiths. At one point Richard even suggested that Saladin should marry his sister...an interesting twist on the idea of "share and share alike!"
Copyright © 2009 edHelper
Name: _______________________________ Date : __________
______/16
Directions: Read the title of the selection. Next, read all questions then use the reading to answer the questions. Highlight or underline key information in the reading.
Eliminate the answers you think are incorrect by crossing off those choices ( this is NOT optional - you must cross off answers you do not believe to be correct--your grade will be a “0” if you do not do this for all questions ).
Fill in the bubble to the best answer. Go back and check your work.
1. Which people have not fought over the
Holy Land?
Christians
Buddhists
Muslims
Jews
2. Which country is the Holy Land today?
Israel
China
Egypt
Nepal
3. Which monument did Jews build in
Jerusalem?
The Leaning Tower of Pisa
The Coliseum
The Garden of Eden
Solomon's Temple
5. What did Muslims build in the place where Solomon's Temple stood?
The Ark of the Covenant
A pyramid
An arch
The Dome of the Rock
7. What is the meaning of the word
"crusade?"
War of the roses
Pilgrimage
War of the cross
Battle
4. What were the members of different religions and their wars compared to in the article?
Toddlers
Lunatics
Mad elephants
Hissing snakes
6. Which Pope started the Crusades?
John Paul
Gregory
Richard the Lionhearted
Urban
8. Which historical figure might give us clues about how to solve religious wars?
Pope Urban
Richard the Lionhearted
Saladin
Joan of Arc