Islamic Jerusalem

(February 24)


This lecture begins the topic of Jerusalem transforming from a Christian city into an Islamic one. Before this took place however, we discussed what happened to the Byzantine Jerusalem. The Sasanians take Palestine and Jerusalem in 614 to 628 CE and allowed the resettlement of Jews who have not been admitted to stay in Jerusalem since the Bar-Kokhba revolt. However, when Heraclius, the Byzantine Emperor, retook Jerusalem in 628 CE, he permitted the massacres of Jews. This demonstrates that the Persians were the ones that allowed the Jews to come back to Jerusalem, but the Byzantine Christians were the ones that continued their hatred towards them.

Muhammad did not leave an heir, so caliphs (or delegates) are established to lead the Islamic community. After the first three caliphs, who were Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman, a division was created among the leaders,  Ali (Muhamad's son-in-law) and Mu'awiya (Uthman's cousin). Mu'awiya is the Umayyad Dynasty. There are also sectarian divisions, and they are the Shi'ites and Sunnis.
So in 638 CE, Caliph Umar takes Jerusalem and so begins the rule of an Islamic Jerusalem from 638 to 1099 CE. At first he does not allow the settlement of Jews due to an agreement with the Christians, however he later changes his mind and permits them to, which then begins the steady growth of Jews back into Jerusalem.
The name Haram al-Sharif was now used for the Temple Mount. This means "the noble sanctuary."We also discussed the Five "Pillars" of Islam, which are: shahada, salat, zakat, sawm, and hajj. The first means "testimony" where a Musim must recite the profession of faith. Salat means prayer, and a person must pray five times a day facing Mecca. The next, zakat, means to give alms to the needy. Sawm is the fasting during the month of Ramadan, and hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca that a person must make at least once in his/her life. In addition, we also learned about the hajj door decorations. A person would paint the outside of his/her house with beautiful colors to show that they are going on a hajj to Mecca, and of someone is to rob them it would be considered triple sin.
In 691 CE, Abd al-Malik builds the Dome of the Rock. Other important structures are the Haram al-Sharif, the Dome of the Chain, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.