Part II

In the early years of Islam, Jerusalem was called IIiya, with Muslims using the name even in the 10th century, notes historian Moshe Gil. It was also known as Madinat Bayt al-Maqdis, city of the temple. The Arabs began to use the name al-Quds only in the 11th century. The city did not become sacred to the Muslims until the Umayyad period (661-750). Until then, it was holy only to the Jews.

The transformation of Jerusalem into a Muslim holy city began after Caliph Abd al-Malik built the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, completed in four years in 692, Gil adds. The al-Aqsa mosque, which was also built on the Temple Mount by Abd al-Malik’s sons, took about 10 years to construct, from 706-717. Once completed, the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque attracted thousands of Muslims en route to Mecca, conferring a religious and spiritual quality to them. In turn, traditions around this holy site were born, tied to the Koran and the hadith (Muslim tradition of pronouncements and decisions alleged to have originated from Muhammad himself). According to the hadith, the angel Gabriel carried Muhammad to Jerusalem from where he ascended to heaven.

Eventually, the whole city of Jerusalem became sacred. An extensive literature of traditions ascribed to Muhammad, known as the eulogies of Jerusalem, was produced. The holiness of the city required Muslims to come and pray at these holy shrines. Uttering one prayer in Jerusalem was 500 times more valuable than in any other place, according to one calculation. Jerusalem, along with Mecca and Medina, were the three places that Muhammad gave the Koran. Jerusalem would be where all the mosques would gather at the End of the Days, and where the trumpet for the resurrection of the dead would be blown. Palestine also warranted praise because the Koran calls it the sanctified land.

Arab sources differ about the purpose of these magnificent buildings, Gil points out. Several objectives have been suggested: Abd al-Malik wanted to redirect attention from Mecca to Jerusalem where he reigned; to show the religious importance of Jerusalem to Muslims; to surpass the Christian churches and monasteries in beauty, and thus convey the superiority of Islam. One recent study avers the objective was to influence the Jews and Christians to become Muslims.

At the time of the Crusaders, Jews and Christians were the dominant inhabitants in Palestine. The Arab tribes lived in the border areas. There were large Jewish communities in Tiberias, Tyre, Acre, Haifa, Ascalon, Gaza, Hebron, Rafiah and Eilat. Jewish communities also existed in Safed, Jaffa, the Galilee and the Golan. There were more Jews in Ramla than Jerusalem. Tiberias was the site of the Sanhedrin, also known as the yeshiva of Palestine, and Jewish spiritual life. Rural areas were predominantly Christian, while Jerusalem was mainly inhabited by Christians and Jews. Muslims residing in the city were mostly religious personalities or individuals who had come from faraway lands because they believed in its sanctity.

In Gaza there was an institution of learning of some kind, although its exact nature is unknown. The presence in the region of the indigo plant used for dyes in textiles made this an important area for Jewish merchants.

Hebron, where an organized Jewish community existed with a synagogue near the tomb of the patriarchs is “almost never” referred to in Muslim literature before the 10th century, an indication that the city was not considered that significant, Gil notes. Hebron is not mentioned either in any of the Muslim traditions about the Crusades. In the 10th century, Muslim geographers described the graves of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as well as an inn, supported with funds from the Waqfs (religious endowments), that offered hospitality to those who came to pray at the graves in keeping with Abraham’s tradition of providing assistance to guests. During the Crusades, many Jews fled to Ascalon and to Egypt.

Even before the Crusades, the Jews of Palestine experienced a number of invasions and internal conflicts. In 969, the Fatimids, who had controlled most of northwest Africa and claimed to be descendants of Fatima, Muhammad’s daughter, captured Egypt and then went on to Syria and Ramla in their quest to conquer the whole Muslim world. The war in Palestine, conducted in a number of phases and with different adversaries, devastated the country and especially the Jews. Synagogues were destroyed, Jews were forced to wear distinguishing attire, and they were taxed to the point of impoverishment. Those residing in villages and small towns were compelled to find sanctuary in the cities after the Bedouin uprising in 981. Other groups followed, Gil said, bringing further destruction and killings in their wake. From 634 to 1099, Palestine was a land of continual unrest and turmoil.

Crusades End 465 Years Of Muslim Rule

In 1099, the First Crusades and the conquest of Jerusalem ended 465 years of Muslim rule in Palestine. Jews were expelled, sold into captivity or killed all across Palestine. Synagogues and institutions of learning were ransacked and burned. The synagogue in Hebron was converted into a church.

The Crusades lasted until 1291. Throughout the period of the Crusades, Jews still longed for the land of their forefathers. Historian Martin Gilbert quotes Spanish-born Judah Halevi, the foremost Hebrew poet of his era, who expressed this deep feeling when writing about Jerusalem: “Beautiful heights, Joy of the world, City of a great king, For you my soul yearns, From the lands of the west, My pity collects and is aroused When I remember the past: Your story in exile, Your temple destroyed. I shall cherish your stones and kiss them, And your earth will be sweeter Than honey to my taste.”

Halevi left for the land of Israel in 1140, but was killed, according to legend, as he approached the walls of Jerusalem. From 1099 to 1187, Jerusalem was under Crusader rule. Gilbert adds that Jews were brutally forced out of the Jewish quarter of the city, and Christian Arab tribes from the east side of the Jordan River were brought in to reside in their homes.

In 1187, Saladin, the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt, captured Jerusalem and all the Crusader cities and strongholds. Saladin invited Jews throughout the world to return to Jerusalem. Historian Aryeh Morgenstern said Jews viewed these events as the realization of the divine promise that the land of Israel would not allow any outside conquerors to possess the land, and that this clash between Christians and Muslims would inevitably allow Jews to “return to Zion.” The Muslim rulers were perceived as having contributed to this process.

Dr. Alex Grobman, a Hebrew University-trained historian, is senior resident scholar at the John C. Danforth Society and a member of the Council of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East.