JERUSALEM IN ISLAM
Rev. W.J.J. Glashouwer
In the Old Testament, Jerusalem is called by name 667 times. In the New Testament 144 times. In the holy books of the Jews and Christians, Jerusalem is the city of the great King and in that capacity a central theme. But what about Islam? Why there is so much commotion about Jerusalem in the Islamic world today? The impression being created is that Islam is as close to Jerusalem as Judaism, yes even more. But that doesn't hold true.
In the Koran, Jerusalem is not mentioned one single time. Although the name Al-Quds (the Holy place) is mentioned, but is has been disputed – as we have seen - if this means the original Jerusalem. It could very well refer to one of the other Islamic holy cities in Arabia. It was 6 years after the death of Mohamed that the city of Jerusalem was conquered by Caliph Omar Ibn al-Khattab in 638 and made an Islamic city.
The Arab cities Mecca and Medina are traditionally the pilgrim cities of Islam, because that was where the life and struggle of the prophet took place. The direction for praying is also Mecca. Originally Mohamed joined the habit of the Jews of praying in the direction of Jerusalem – probably to win the Jews over for himself – but this was soon changed to the direction of Mecca. Which made retired mayor Teddy Kollek once say: “ They show so much respect for Jerusalem, that while praying they turn their backs on it!”
As long as the city was totally or partly in Muslim hands– and that was with a few interruptions from 638 until 1967 – Jerusalem has never been the capital of an Islamic state or even a province. On the 2nd of June 1964 the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) was founded in a hotel on the Mount of Olives. The old city of Jerusalem (and that is what this is all about) with all the holy places was then under Arab (Jordanian) sovereignty. Nevertheless nobody thought of claiming Jerusalem or proclaiming it as the capital of a Palestinian State. Even in the foundation document of the PLO, Jerusalem is not mentioned once! As a matter of fact, during the 19 years of Jordanian sovereignty over the city, not a single member of the Saudi royal family, the keepers of the Islamic holy places, has ever been on pilgrimage in Al-Qoeds.
“ They show so much respect for Jerusalem, that while praying they turn their backs on it!” |
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Why is Jerusalem now so important for Muslims, even so far that many are prepared to give their lives for it? Why did Arafat repeatedly call for 'jihad' for holy Jerusalem? Why are children being indoctrinated to give their blood for the liberation of Al-Qoeds? Why did Arafat keeping on insisting that first of all the battle is about Jerusalem? And how could he in 1994 go so far, clearly contrary to the Koran and the Islamic traditions, as to name in a mosque in Johannesburg, Al-Qoeds-- the holiest place of the Islam and all Muslims? I can only find one reason for this: it is not so much about the city as about the fact that she is once more undivided in Jewish hands!
The Jerusalem law, accepted on the July 30th 1980 by the parliament of Israel, confirmed Jerusalem, which has been united since 1967 as the one and undivided capital of the state of Israel. As a reaction the Saudi crown prince Fahd (who never even took the trouble to visit Jerusalem!) called for the holy war for the protection of the holy places. Evidently Jerusalem has been upgraded a thousand times for the Muslims, since Israel is in charge. To put it in biblical terms: for the Arab world, Jerusalem is the heavy stone and the cup of poison, to which she is eagerly stretching out her hands. Apparently the Arab propaganda works so well that almost the whole world and great parts of the church think that Israel has to give up the claim to Jerusalem and should bow to the Islamic demands.
Meanwhile the meaning of Jerusalem for the Jews is crystal clear. One prays in the direction of Jerusalem. At least three times a day all faithful Jews pray: “ Build Jerusalem, the holy city, quickly, in our days.” On every Pesach you hear: next year in Jerusalem. All of life, all of the liturgy, the whole annual cycle of biblical celebrations has been marked by homesickness to Jerusalem. The thinking of faithful Jews has been saturated with awareness of Psalm 137: ”…If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget me…”
