JERUSALEM AND ITS ROLE IN ISLAMIC SOLIDARITY pdf

Jerusalem and Its Role in Islamic Solidarity Yitzhak Reiter

JERUSALEM AND ITS ROLE IN ISLAMIC SOLIDARITY

Book Contents

• Introduction
•  The Elevation in Sanctity of al-Aqsa and al-Quds
•  Denial of an Authentic Jewish Connection to
• Jerusalem and Its Holy Places
•  Creating a New Islamic Ethos of Jerusalem
•  Islamizing the Conflict
•  Actors, Disseminators, and Achievements
•  Conclusion: The Religious Barrier  

The study asks whether the issue of Jerusalem and the holy places is irresolvable. To what extent do religious symbols and religion, in general, pose an obstacle to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

The monograph attempts to answer these questions by investigating contemporary Islamic and Arab perspectives. This study begins with a discussion of the changing status of holy sites in a particular religion engaged in a political dispute with the people of another religious conviction.

The most conspicuous point in this regard is the elevation of the al-Haram al-Sharif/al-Aqsa compound from being regarded as the third holy mosque in Islam to a higher status.

 A significant method the Muslims use in this process is linking the Jerusalem and Mecca shrines. One of the recent manifestations of linking Jerusalem and Mecca appears in the chapter “Mecca and Jeru Salem” of The Rock, Kanan Makiya’s historical novel.  Makiya chose to highlight an erotic connection between the two sacred rocks in Mecca and Jerusalem—a connection that is rooted in an Islamic apocalyptical tradition—as a literary device to describe the relationship between these two holy cities: