Chapter 9-11

In the chapter “Bayt- Al-Maqdis” I found the section that discussed Muslim policy really interesting.

 “The vision of the essential unity of the religious quest of humanity would profoundly affect Muslim Policy in Jerusalem.  Muslims had a rather different sacred geography from their predecessors.  Because everything came from G-D, all things were good, so there was no essential dichotomy between the “sacred” and the “profane” as in Judaism.  The aim of the ummah was to achieve such integration and balance between divine and human, interior and exterior worlds, that such a distinction would become irrelevant.”

Prior to this reading assignment I haven’t been exposed to the beliefs of Muslims in great detail.  I was surprised by the fact that there isn’t an “essential dichotomy between the sacred and the profane as in Judaism.” I had assumed that all three faiths (Judaism, Islam and Christianity) placed Jerusalem on a pedestal and viewed it as a more sacred than every other place throughout the world.  However, since it had been expressed that there was no dichotomy between sacred and profane I didn’t understand the Muslim connection to Jerusalem.  How can a group of people feel so passionate about a city that they viewed as was no more “holy” than the next city?  As I continued to read I wondered whether or not I was taking this section too literally. I am looking forward to talking to some of the students in class whom have a Muslim background about this topic.  

In the chapter “Al-Quds” my interest was captured in the first sentence ,“The Muslims had established a system that enabled Jews, Christians, and Muslims to live in Jerusalem together for the first time….The experience of living together in a city that was sacred to all three faiths could have led monotheists to a better understanding of one another.”  However as I continued to read my hope was shattered when a tone that depicted reality was expressed. It was stated that the difficulty of obtaining coexistence existed because  “each faith assumed that it- and it alone- is right, the proximity of others making the claim becomes an implicit challenge that is hard to bear.” Like I said before, I am not too familiar with Muslim beliefs, however this sense of openness continuity was extremely impressive.  I want to continue to explore material about these beliefs in order to understand why religions such as Judaism and Christianity do not express this same desire to achieve harmony, and how things would change if they did. 

I sensed an immediate shift when I began the chapter “Crusade”.  This section resembled the stories I read when studying the Holocaust way too closely.  I started to feel very upset when I came across the quote “Whoever first entered a house, whether he was rich or poor, was not challenged by any other Franks.  He was to occupy and own the house or the palace and whatever he found ti it as if was entirely his own.  The streets literally ran with blood. Piles of heads, hands and feet were seen….Muslims and Jews were cleared out of the City the Vermin”.  I can not get over the fact  that the land in which Jews and Muslims called “home” was also the land that their dead bodies filled the streets.