After reading the two articles regarding the history of Jerusalem I believe that in its early stages the biggest issue was more religious than secular. The main three religions getting involved of course being Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. There was a power struggle between the Islamic Caliphate and Christendom around 638 AD which ultimately led to an intellectual and cultural Islamic Renaissance. The next series of religious power struggles would take place in the form of the crusades where Catholics around the world gathered to March on Jerusalem.
The Ottoman Empire rebuilt the walls of the old city and controlled the region for a great deal of time following the crusades, until finally in the 16th century they were threatened once again by wealthy Christian churches. During the British Mandate, the Palestinian mayor was replaced by a Jewish one, and Jewish settlements were being established outside the city walls, giving the Jewish people a demographic majority. Up until this point the conflicts over Jerusalem have been primarily religious based.
We start to see a change in this around the time of World War II when the displaced Jewish peoples are given Western Jerusalem and the argument isn't as much about religion as it is a secular debate over who belongs in which geographic area of the religion. Israelis believe they deserve the land, while Palestinians believe that they are being cheated out of their land. This has become a major political issue, not just between the Israeli and Palestinian people, but for the whole world.
There's no doubt that Jerusalem has been the center of issues in regards to religion. In fact, although the religious aspect may not be as influential today, there's still undoubtedly religious problems amongst the inhabitants. I wonder why so much of the emphasis has been lifted from the religious debates and have changed direction towards territory rights. I'd be interested in finding out more about the transition from religious focal point, to that of a territorial one.
ReplyDeleteI think that there is more to this issue than any one person can understand. So much history, both religiously and politically has gone on surrounding Israel. I think that there is much more to the current situation than just Israelis believe they deserve the land while the Palestinians believer that they are being cheated out of their land. The media tends to show people what they think will be the most interesting and bring in the most viewers. I would be very interested in talking with people in Israel and the West Bank to see what they think and hear about the issue from a personal account.
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