Essay about Coexistence: Islam and Jerusalem

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
(Shakespeare)

“When Jews, Christians, and Muslims all worship on their different holy days, are they worshipping the same divinity?” “While few religious leaders and scholars would doubt the commonalities that exist among the various religious groups, the followers of these religions unfortunately struggle in their effort to peacefully coexist.” Jews, Christians, and Muslims cannot co-exist because of the ongoing dispute over Jerusalem, their history of violence against each other, and their overlapping similarities which are misinterpreted by each religion. Jews, Christians, and Muslims all lay their own claim to Jerusalem. They each regard Jerusalem as a holy place but for different reasons. Muslims have a profound connection to Jerusalem because they believe that their prophet, Muhammad, ascended into the heavens where he met Moses, Jesus, and Abraham. The location from where he is ascended into the heavens is known as Dome of the Rock which is in Jerusalem. The Christians also have a very deep rooted connection to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and he is believed to be buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Thousands flock to the site every year to pay homage to their spiritual leader. Similarly the site is considered sacred to Jews because it is the site where Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac in accordance to G-d’s commandment. It is also believed to be the burial site of the Holy of Holies which includes the Tablets of the Covenant and other sacred artifacts. The claim of all three religions to Jerusalem is so fundamental to each of them that none of them will ever be able to compromise or give up their right to Jerusalem. “The fundamentalist wings of Middle Eastern religions seem to have one thing in common - violence. All born from the same founder, Abraham, they appear to have a particularly destructive way of relating to anyone who doesn't believe as they do, or who refuses to follow their customs.” The history of violence between these three religious groups has been going on for centuries. Over the years there have been countless battles between all three religions. The Muslims, Jews, and Christians fought over possession of Jerusalem during the time of the Crusades. The Edict of Expulsion which expelled all Jews from Spain was preceded by the Christian vs. Muslim battle in which the Christians restored possession of Spain to the Christians. The Christians have a history of restricting the rights of Jews for many years before the Edict of Expulsion even occurred. More recently the conflict between Muslims and Jews over the right to claim Israel as their own dates back to early in this century. Due to their absolute conviction that theirs - Jews, Muslims, Christians - is the only true religion, they are committed to wipe the

Show More

Medieval Civilization Clifford Backman Analysis

Religion - Good or Bad? Essay example

Nestor's The Primary Chronicle

ONE RELIGION PER PAGE Essay

Questions On Creole Language

Muslim Spain (711-1492) Essay