Christian History of Jerusalem

•Most Sacred place on earth for Christians

•Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built by Constantine’s mother

•Place of the crucifixion of Jesus

•Burial place of Jesus

•Jerusalem had been in Christian Hands for 300 years.

Holy Sepulcher Church

Roman Catholicvs.

Eastern Orthodox

• East and West had a difference of opinion and caused a religious split

• Roman Catholics follow the Pope

• Eastern Orthodox=“correct belief” and does not follow the Pope, but the Emperor of Byzantine who was considered divinely inspired and therefore, never wrong

Justinian

• Byzantine Emperor from 527-565 A.D.• Tried to re-conquer Roman Empire to the West• Had laws simplified and written down (Justinian

Code)• Massive building program in Constantinople

• Justinian Code and building program had long-lasting positive effects

• Wars for the West wasted lots of money and lost many men

Muslim History of Jerusalem

• Most sacred place on earth for the Muslims

• Place of the ascension of Mohammad into paradise

• Rock of ascension found in 637 A.D. covered in garbage and dung made Muslim’s furious

• Muslim’s swore they would slain Christian’s on this spot for disrespect

Key Muslim Terms

• Islam

• Muslim

• Koran

• Mecca

• 5 Pillars

• Jihad

Islam & Muslim

• Islam: “surrender to God”

• Muslim: “the surrendering ones”

The Koran

• The book of Mohammad’s words written down after his death

• Written in Arabic and ONLY Arabic version considered to be word of God

• Arabic is the ONLY language used in Muslim worship

The Koran

Mecca

• City on Saudi Arabia

• Birthplace of Mohammad in 570 A.D.

5 Pillars of Islam

• Faith

• Prayer

• Alms

• Fasting

• Pilgrimage

Faith

Must make this statement,

“I testify there is no god but God, and Muhammad is his prophet.”

Prayer

• Must pray 5 times a day.

• Remove shoes

• Turn to Mecca

• Kneel with forehead on the ground

• Recite a formal prayer

Alms

• Must give a portion of wealth to help the needy

• Same idea as Tithing (as practiced in the Christian and Jewish faiths)

Fasting

• During month of Ramadan, followers expected to fast from sunrise to sunset.

• Then a family dinner would occur at sunset.

Pilgrimage

• Once in a lifetime, those who could afford to, were expected to make a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Jihad

• War for God is just

• If killed during a Jihad, you receive immediate entry to paradise

Holy Wars

Arab Rule

• Arab Rulers were tolerant

• All non-Muslims had 3 choices– Convert to Islam– Pay a reasonable tax– Die

2 Class System

• Mohammad preached that ALL Muslims were equal, but…

• A 2 class system emerged• Upper Class= Arab Muslims• Lower Class= non-Arab Muslims

• Christians and Jews ranked below both, but not treated too differently b/c they were monotheists

Judaism

2000 B.C.

Christianity

33 A.D.

Islam

632 A.D.

God God God

Abraham, Moses

Abraham, Moses, Jesus

Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Mohammad

Torah: Old Testament

Bible: Old and New Testaments

Koran (Qur’an):

Bible and book of Mohammad

Synagogue

No after –life

Church

Heaven

Mosque

Paradise