World Religions: Jerusalem, Part 1

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While visiting the beautiful city of Jerusalem in Israel, we had the opportunity to visit some of the holiest places for Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. It was an eye opening experience and really interesting to learn about the different religions.  There is so much content, I split it into two posts.  Today’s post will focus on Islam and Judaism.

On Mount Moriah, King Solomon built a temple, which is why it is still known today as Temple Mount.  The most important religious item on the Temple Mount, and maybe in all of Jerusalem,  for the two religions is the rock inside the Dome of the Rock. In the Jewish faith, the rock is known as the foundation rock and was the first rock made at the creation of the world, with the rest of Earth shaped around it. It was also where Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac when told by God. In the Muslim faith, it is said the prophet Muhammed ascended to heaven on the rock.  This took place after his famous night journey when he rose to heaven, accompanied by the arch angel Gabriel, to speak to God.

Our Family in front of the Dome of the Rock

Like my mom said in her post, there is a lot of conflict between the two groups over this rock.  The Muslims think it should belong to them because it’s been under Muslim control since the 7th century AD.  The Jewish people think it should belong to them because their temples on Temple Mount were built over the rock before the Dome of the Rock was constructed.  A former leader of Israel, Sharon, went up onto Temple Mount and declared one day the land and rock would belong to the Jewish people.  After this, the interiors of the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque have been closed to non Muslims, and there is a lot of tension  between the two religious groups today.

The Dome of the Rock
The Dome of the Rock

It was an interesting experience to line up to visit the area.  We had to go through metal detectors, soldiers armed with machine guns, and had to remove any religious items like crosses.  We also couldn’t bring in religious texts, like the Bible, and were not allowed to say any prayers.  On the way up, we saw an Orthodox Jewish family who wanted to go and pray by the rock, and were waiting to be escorted up by an armed guard.  It is my understanding the Muslims feel like seeing Jewish people praying near their mosque is a provocation.  In the stairway up to the top of the mountain, there were riot shields stored close by in case of any violent protests.

When we were on the mountain with our tour group, a kind older man came to us and said we could look inside the Al-Aqsa mosque because a window was open.  But when we were looking inside, a younger man came and started yelling at us, saying we shouldn’t do this.  The older man tried to reason with him and tell him we were just tourists and were there to learn, but the younger man was very adverse to us looking in.  The argument didn’t escalate, fortunately, but it shows how quickly a fight can start.  This was an interesting experience which is different for us, as we have never seen anything like this before in Canada.

 

The inside of the mosque
The inside of the mosque

In the Muslim faith, it is said after descending from heaven back to Earth, Muhammed went and prayed at the site where the Al-Aqsa mosque is located.  This mosque is not as widely recognized as the Dome of the Rock, but is one of the most important places in Islam.  The name Al-Aqsa means “the edge” because it was believed the mosque was at the edge of the world.  This is the mosque we tried to look into through the open window.

There are 5 main pillars of Islam, which are:

  • To say Allah is God and Muhammed is his prophet
  • Pray 5 times a day
  • Give to the needy
  • Fast for one month during Ramadan
  • Make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia during their life if possible

During prayer times, there are no visitors allowed on Temple Mount.  As a result, we were asked to leave, so we went down to the Western Wall Plaza.

During the reign of King Solomon, the son of King David, the most holy site in the Jewish religion was the first temple. It was built on top of the rock currently inside the Dome of the Rock. Some say it also contained the Ark of the Covenant which held the 10 Commandments. The temple was eventually destroyed by the Babylonians and stayed as a pile of rubble for many years. Then, during the time of the Romans, King Herod the Great was on the throne. He was a puppet king and the Jewish people didn’t like him at all. To make their relationship better, Herod built a second temple. If someone built me a temple, I think I’d have a good relationship with them! He wanted to build it on top of the Temple Mount, but there wasn’t enough space for his design.  Since King Herod was a very smart man and an engineer, he knew how to solve this problem.  He had a retaining wall built around the area and filled the space between the wall and the mountain with dirt to make a flat surface. This temple took 70 years to complete, past Herod’s lifetime. Unfortunately, just as it was finished, the Romans came into Jerusalem, destroyed it, and stole the religious items, such as the menorah.  I think this would be terrible after so many years of building to have it all torn down.

The only part of this temple which remains is the Western or Wailing Wall. Contrary to some beliefs, it was not part of the temple itself, but rather the western retaining wall of King Herod’s temple. Today, it is visited by many people, Jewish and tourists alike, to pray and put notes to God in the cracks of the wall. It used to only be a Jewish tradition, but now other people do it too, like Pope John Paul and Pope Francis.

There are separate sections in front of the wall for men and women.  When I first saw the wall, my first question was: why is the men’s section so much bigger than the women’s?  We learned that in the Jewish faith, the women’s job is to clean, cook, and take care of the children, while the men’s job is to go to the synagogue (or in this case, the Western Wall) to pray for the souls of their families.  They pray a lot, so therefore, the men’s section is bigger to accommodate more people.

 

What both religions have in common is how devout they are and their passion and belief for their faith.  Although I wish the groups would share the rock, I also understand why they don’t want to.  It’s not just a religious matter, it’s also about sovereignty.

The past is behind us, so we should look forward to the future and try to figure out a solution to the problem for all groups concerned.


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Comments

10 responses to “World Religions: Jerusalem, Part 1”

  1. Your post is very thoughtful, insightful and has given a balanced well researched view of what you saw, heard and experienced. Well done. I look forward to Part two!

    1. Mikhaila Avatar

      Hi Herta,

      Thank you for your compliments! I feel I understand these two religions and how they relate to Jerusalem much better now after this experience.

  2. Hi, Mikhaila, I enjoyed your posting very much, especially since I watched a Special on PBS about the Holy Land just last week. In reading your post I was reminded that all the young people interviewed in this program voiced views similar to yours, about religion and politics in this divided country. There is so much history everywhere and I am glad that you add these wonderful photos and your comments to give me a better insight, since I most likely won’t see it for myself. Thank you for a great post. The photo of all of you in front of the Dome of the Rock is beautiful. How did you manage to be there without any people? And what great shots of the Western Wall! It must be very moving to be at all these historic places and thinking of the People that walked and lived there over many centuries. XOXOXO’s

    1. Mikhaila Avatar

      Hello Oma,

      You never know, maybe a trip to Jerusalem lies in your future? 🙂 We were able to get a picture at the Dome of the Rock with nobody in it because it was almost the time for prayers so all visitors were asked to leave.

  3. Hi Mikhaila,
    I really enjoyed Part 1 of your blog! It really would be wonderful for them to find a “win, win” resolution so that everyone could live in harmony!
    Love, Baba

    1. Mikhaila Avatar

      Hi Baba,

      I think it would be great if all the religious groups in the city got along, but I think it will take a lot of work and a few generations to make that happen.

  4. Thank you Mikhaila for such an informative post. I found it interesting that it was an older person who was helping you to look inside the mosque and then a younger man thwarted your attempt…..I hope the younger people feel as you do though I am not so sure they areall as insightful. Looking forward to reading your next blog. Love Teta Doreen

    1. Mikhaila Avatar

      Hello Teta Doreen,

      I think it depends on how the person has been brought up, and what the views of their family are. I really appreciated the older man’s kindness and I think he is more open minded about teaching others about his faith.

  5. Mikhaila,
    I am learning so much from your writing! It is wonderful that you have access to insights only available by being there! I really enjoy all the pictures included as well! Looking forward to reading more!
    Ginny

    1. Mikhaila Avatar

      Hi Ginny,

      Being in Jerusalem was an amazing experience that taught me a lot. It was a very beautiful city and was incredible to see everything there in person.