Jerusalem Needs Three Lovers

The name “Jerusalem” occurs 660 times in the Hebrew Bible. But Jerusalem existed as a pagan city for centuries before David conquered it a decade or two after 1,000 BCE; and it became known as the City of David. In the historical account of the Book of Samuel: after the death of Saul, David was made king of the entire nation of Israel, and led his army to capture the pagan city of Jerusalem from the Jebusites (2 Samuel 5:6-7). Upon winning the city, Prophet David “took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David… He became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him” (2 Samuel 5:9–10).

The phrase “City of David” (Hebrew: עיר דוד, Ir David; Arabic: مدينة داوود, Madina Dawud) is used of Jerusalem 45 times in the Hebrew Bible. The City of David is very small; it covers only about 15 acres of land. The first mention in the Hebrew Bible of Jerusalem of the “City of David” is found in 2 Samuel 5:7: “David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David.” (Hebrew: עיר דוד, Ir David; Arabic: مدينة داوود, Madina Dawud,

When God first ordered Prophet Mohammed and the Muslim Umma to offer their daily prayers, they prayed facing Jerusalem. This was the practice in Makkah for more than a decade; and continued in Medina until 17 months after Muhammad came to Medina. For Muslims Jerusalem’s Baitul-Maqdis encloses 35 acres of buildings and open spaces. At its southernmost end is the Al-Aqsa Mosque; and 200 yards north is the Dome of the Rock.

The entire area is often regarded as Baitul-Maqdis or Al-Qudus and comprises over one seventh of the ancient walled city of Jerusalem. However it is clear that the silver domed Mosque, the Masjid al-Aqsa and the golden Dome of the Rock are two separate buildings, and not synonymous with each other; as is often believed by some Muslims. However, for Muslims both these buildings are within the enclosure of Al-Haram al-Sharif referred to in the Qur’an as “the Furthest Mosque” (Qur’an 17:1).

For Muslims, the city of Jerusalem is an important site. As the home of numerous prophets of Islam such as Dawud (David), Sulayman (Solomon), and ‘Isa (Jesus), the city was a symbol of Islam’s past prophets. When Prophet Muhammad made the miraculous Night Journey from Makkah to Jerusalem where he ascended into Heaven (known as the Isra’ wal-Mi’raj), it acquired an added importance as the place where Prophet Muhammad led all the earlier prophets in prayer and then ascended to Heaven. When Muslims conquered Iraq and Syria in the 630s, Jerusalem became a Muslim city, and the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem would become one of the most important mosques in the Muslim empire.

For Muslims, Islam was not a new religion that began in the early 600s. Instead, Islam is itself as a continuation and further development of the teachings of earlier prophets that are revered by all three monotheistic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The message of Muhammad only continues and further develops the messages of Ibrahim, Musa, Dawud, and ‘Isa, which had been corrupted over time by some of their followers.

Thus, for Muslims, the Temple of Solomon that was built on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount in Biblical times; was in fact a part of their own religious history. Indeed, a Hadith declares that the original pre-Abrahamic northern sanctuary was built just 40 years after the pre-Abrahamic Ka’ba.

When ‘Umar entered the city he went to see where his religious forefathers such as Prophets Dawud, Sulayman and ‘Isa had worshiped; he found the area filthy and unusable as a mosque.

So he decided to clean the area and built the al-Aqsa Mosque about 200 yards south of the site of Sulayman’s Temple. As was his custom, he worked alongside average Muslims in cleaning and purifying the area. They erected a basic mosque that could contain about 3,000 people at the southern end of the Temple Mount, now known by the Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif, the Noble Sanctuary.

A contemporary Christian pilgrim described the mosque as a large wooden structure built upon earlier ruins. The Muslims did not see this as trampling on the holy sites of other religions since the site of the al-Aqsa Mosque was 600 feet away from the Jerusalem Temple site. Since the same prophets that are mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible are accepted as Muslim prophets, the new mosque was seen as a continuation of those earlier places of worship.

For decades, this simple structure built by ‘Umar remained the main building on the Haram. In 690, however, the caliph ‘Abd al-Malik of the Umayyad Dynasty rebuilt the al-Aqsa Mosque, into a much larger and more stable structure than the mosque ‘Umar had built.

‘Abd al-Malik’s real architectural achievement however, was what was constructed about 200 meters to the north of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and above the rock from which some Muslims believed Prophet Muhammad ascended to Heaven, ‘Abd al-Malik built the magnificent Dome of the Rock, the first Muslim building (it is not a mosque) to use a dome.

It was not a separate house of worship, nor was it meant to compete with the al-Aqsa Mosque, but was meant as a complement to it. Using the architectural traditions and mosaics that the Umayyads had learned from the Byzantines who ruled the area before them, the Dome of the Rock immediately became one of the focal points of Islamic architecture in the 700s.

The Dome of the Rock was built at the very summit of the Haram complex, and is thus one of the most impressive and notable buildings of the city of Jerusalem. It has an octagonal footprint, from which rises a 20 meter dome. Calligraphy adorned both the inside and outside of the building, with some of the oldest existing Qur’anic inscriptions being inside the dome of the building.

Jerusalem today is home to 550,000+ Jewish and 332,000+ Palestinian residents, who rarely mix. Palestinians live mostly in the east, and Jewish residents live mostly in the western areas.

As cousins Arabs and Jews should live together; but it will take at least a generation or two for the painful wounds that both sides have suffered, to heal. Until both sides heal, they should separate and live in peace near and even next to, each other.

The area within the old city walls should be under Israeli jurisdiction. The area within the walls of the Temple Mount Al-Aksa Mosque should be under Palestinian jurisdiction.

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib says, “From the river to the sea is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate.” I say we can make it truly aspirational by making it focus on both people first and the land second. “From the river to the sea Palestinians and Israelis should be freed of hatred and suffering by ‘a two state for two peoples sharing of the land peacefully solution.’”

For 83 years political nationalist leaders in Israel and Palestine have failed to find a way to end the conflict between their two peoples. Perhaps it is time for religious leaders who understand the religious importance of repentance, humility, forgiveness, compromise and hope for peace in overcoming more than eight decades of pain and anger.

As the Qur’an states: “Perhaps Allah will put, between you and those to whom you have been enemies among them, affection. And Allah is competent, and Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”  (60:7) Then the words of the Qur’an will be for-filled “From the depths of Darkness into the Light; for Allah is very kind and merciful to you.” (Qur’an 57:9)

And we all will benefit from “Righteousness is not in turning your faces towards the east or the west. Rather, the righteous are those who believe in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Books, and the prophets; who give charity out of their cherished wealth to relatives, orphans, the poor, ˹needy˺ travelers, beggars, and for freeing captives; who establish prayer, pay alms-tax, and keep the pledges they make; and who are patient in times of suffering, adversity, and in ˹the heat of˺ battle. It is they who are true ˹in faith˺, and it is they who are mindful ˹of Allah˺” (Qur’an 2:177)

Prophet Muhammad said: “Should I not tell you what is better in degree than prayer, fasting, and charity.” They (the companions) said: “Yes.” He said: “Reconciling people, because grudges and disputes are a razor (that shaves off faith).” (Ahmad, Abu Dawood, and At-Tirmithi)

This is an excellent guide to dealing with the three-generation old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Rather than focusing mostly on what the other side did to us, all of us should focus on how the conflict has hurt all of us, and how much better our future would be if we could live next to each other in peace.

If the descendants of Prophets Isaac and Ishmael negotiate a settlement that reflects the religious policy that “…there is no sin upon them if they make terms of settlement between them – and settlement [reconciliation and peace] is best.” (Quran 4:128)

There is open land on the Temple Mount, and a small Jewish house of worship “hologram”, which is a 3D projection created with lasers, could be built adjacent to the Dome of the Rock and 600 feet north of the Al-Aksa Mosque, provided that Muslims would agree to cooperate. Anyone who could arrange such Jewish-Muslim cooperation would really be the Messianic Ruler of Peace (Isaiah 9:5).

Christian support for such a cooperative venture would be very important, and anyone who can bring Jews, Christians and Muslims together in mutual respect and cooperation would surely fulfill the greatest of all Messianic predictions, “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning knives; nation shall not take up sword against nation, they shall never again teach war.” (Isaiah 2:4)

Indeed, Jewish/Christian/Muslim agreements establishing world wide peace would not be possible without great spiritual leadership in all three communities. Thus, each Jewish-Christian-Muslim community could consider its leadership to be essentially Messianic. Indeed, such Jewish/Christian/Muslim cooperation would not be possible without great spiritual leadership in all three communities. Thus, each religious community could consider its own leadership to be essential Messianic aids as is foretold: “Saviors [plural] will come up on mount Zion” (Prophet Obadiah 1:21) and this would fulfill the culminating verses of Isaiah’s Messianic prophecy as enlarged upon by Prophet Micah (4:3-5):

“They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning knives. Nation shall not take up against nation, they shall never again teach war, but every man shall sit under his grapevine or fig tree with no one to disturb him, for it is the Lord of Hosts who spoke. Though all peoples walk, each in the name of its God, we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.”

If each people truly follows the best of its own religious teachings; the Messianic Age of world wide peace will surely have arrived, and then-and only then-will the Jerusalem Temple of Solomon be rebuilt, and God’s Holy Kingdom established on earth.

I say we need to focus on people first and land second. “From the river to the sea Palestinians and Israelis should be free of hatred and suffering’ with ‘a two state for two peoples sharing the land peacefully.’ The goal of both Israelis and Palestinians should be the realizing of a shortened and by me adapted poem from the Hebrew poet Shaul Tchernichovsky: (1875–1943)

Laugh, laugh at all my dreams!
What I dream shall yet come true!
Laugh at my belief in mankind
And at my belief in you.

For my soul is not yet sold
To the golden calf of scorn
And I still believe in mankind
And the spirit in them born.

And in our future I still believe
Though it be distant, come it will
When our nations shall bless each other,
And peace our homelands fill.”

Though the time be dark with hatred,
I believe in years beyond
Love at last shall bind two peoples
In an everlasting bond.