Part 2 of my essay! “All great religions advocate peace, love and unity. All of us who trust our religion's specific ideals of peace and unity can nourish hope in our minds, words and interactions with others. “(Zed par. 7) There are many differences when it comes to religion views and values between the Israelis and Palestinians. The Dome of the Rock is built on top of the Foundation Stone, and now houses Al-Aqsa mosque, which is sacred to both Jews and Muslims. According to Jewish tradition, the stone is the “navel of the Earth”—the place where creation began, and the site where Abraham was poised to sacrifice Isaac. For Muslims, the stone marks the place where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to the Divine Presence. Due to this the Mosque was attacked this year on May 7 by Israeli police officers. What we known today as Israel, a nation controlled by the Jewish, conflicts with their Palestinian neighbors who preside over Gaza and the West Bank. Both entities believe they have the right to Israel, which is seen as a holy land for Jews and Muslims.
The Temple Mount is home to the third-holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina and is at the center of one of the most important moments in Islam. The Muslim religion started with the Mohammad around the 17 century in the area that we know as Saudi Arabia. Muslima believe in only one god and that Mohammad is gods’ messenger. During his Night Journey, Mohammad traveled to Jerusalem, the farthest holy land from Mecca and Medina, to bring messages from the god Allah. They also believe that Jerusalem is where Mohammad ascended to heaven. Jerusalem was also the first place that Muslimas turn to pray.
Jews consider Jerusalem holy land for many reasons. “Judaism is characterized by a belief in one transcendent God” (Baron par. 1) They believe that Jerusalem is where god made his presence among the Jews known. The Temple Mount, on a hilltop compound that is also revered by Muslima, is where the biblical Jewish Temples stood thousand s of years ago and is considered the holiest site in Jerusalem. When Jews pray, they face Jerusalem. The Jews that live in Jerusalem face the Temple Mount during prayer. They also believe that god had promised Jerusalem to them and their children forever. Due to this the Jews believe that all of Jerusalem should belong to them and only them.
In next few paragraphs I will be talking about religious holy sites in Jerusalem. Today the Temple Mount, a walled compound within the Old City of Jerusalem, is the site of two magnificent structures, the Dome of the Rock to the north and the Al-Aqsa Mosque to the south. In the southwest stands the Western Wall—a remnant of the Second Temple and the holiest site in Judaism. The Muslim authorities claimed the new site, named the El-Marwani Mosque, was needed to accommodate additional worshipers during Ramadan and on rainy days that prevented the faithful from gathering in the open courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. At the center of the Dome of the Rock sits a large rock, which is believed to be the location where Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son Ismail. Today, Muslims believe that the Rock commemorates the night journey of Muhammad. One night the Angel Gabriel came to Muhammad while he slept near the Kaaba in Mecca and took him to al-Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem. From the Rock, Muhammad journeyed to heaven, where he met other prophets, such as Moses and Christ, witnessed paradise and hell and finally saw God enthroned and circumambulated by angels.
Western Wall, also called the Wailing Wall, in the Old City of Jerusalem, a place of prayer and a holy site to the Jewish people. It is the only remains of the retaining wall surrounding the Temple Mount, the site of the First and Second Temples of Jerusalem, held to be very holy by the ancient Jews. Because the wall now forms part of a larger wall that surrounds the Muslim Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jews and Arabs have frequently disputed control of the wall and, often, right of access to it. That conflict has been particularly heated since the Israeli government took full control of the Old City in the wake of the Six-Day War of June 1967. Jewish devotions their date from the early Byzantine period and reaffirm the rabbinic belief that the Presence of god will never leave the Western Wall and it will never be destroyed.
i will also post part 3