1. Muslim Perspectives Three Faiths Summer School 2006
Ammerdown Centre     Jerusalem in the Three Faiths  
Muslim Perspectives

2. Faith

3. Faith
Interfaith

4. Faith
Interfaith
Conflict

5. Jerusalem – The Holy House
Iliya madinat bayt al-makdis „Aelia, the City of the Temple“
Al-Bayt al Mukaddas „the Holy House“
Al Bayt al Maqdis „the House of the Sanctuary“
Al-Quds „the Holy One“
Prophet Muhammad praying in front of the Kaaba in Mecca

6. Changing the qibla „... take then the place wheron
Abraham once stood as your
place of prayer ...“
(Qur‘an 2:125)

7. The journey to the farthest mosque
„Limitless in His glory is He who
transported His servant by night
from the Inviolable House of Worship
(al-masjid al-haram )
to the Remote House of Worship
(al-masjid al-aqsa) ...“
(Qur‘an 17:1)

8. Jerusalem as a holy place for Muslims
- Isra „Night Journey“ and
Miraj „Ascension“ of the Prophet Muhammad
- Prophets like David, Salomon, Zacharias and John
- Mary and Jesus
- the Day of Resurrection

9. Qubbat al-Sakhra - The Dome of the Rock
Completed 72 AH / 691 CE
on the ancient Temple platform
60 years after Jerusalem was taken by the Muslims.

10. The Dome of the Rock – it's mission?
Commemoration of Muhammad‘s ascension?
Diverting pilgrims from Mecca to Jerusalem?
Demonstration of Islam's superiority?
Trying to win converts?
Muslim equivalent to the Holy Sepulchre?
Caliph Abd al-Malik

11. The Dome of the Rock – it's inscriptions
"Say: He is God, One,
God the Everlasting,
who has not begotten
and has not been begotten.
He is without equal."
There is no God but God alone, without partner.
Muhammad is God's messenger.
The Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, is only a messenger
Blessings on Muhammad and Jesus.

12. Haram Al-Sharif "the Noble Sanctuary"
Qubbat al-Sakhra and Al-Aqsa Mosque

13. Hebron – city of Abraham, Khalil al-Rahman, "the friend of the merciful (God)

14. "... ours is the creed of Abraham"
"And they say, 'Be Jews'
– or, 'Christians'
– and you shall be on the right path.'
Say: 'Nay but ours is
the creed of Abraham,
who turned away
from all that is false,
and was not of those
who ascribe divinity
to aught beside God. "
(Qur'an 2:135)
Maqam Ibrahim, "Place of Abraham"
in front of the Kaaba in Mecca

15. "... we make no distinction between any of them"
"Say: We believe in God, and in that
which has been bestowed from on high
upon us, and that which has been
bestowed upon Abraham and Ishmael
and Isaac and Jacob and their
descendants, and that which has been
vouchsafed to Moses and Jesus,
and that which has been vouchsafed
to all the other prophets by their
Sustainer: we make no distinction
between any of them. And it is unto
Him that we surrender ourselves."
(Qur'an 2:135)
Tree of Prophets

16. Ahl al-Kitab "The People of the Book"
"Unto every one of you have
We appointed a law and way of life.
And if God had so willed,
He could surely have made you all
one single community:
but [He willed it otherwise] in order to test you
by means of what He has vouchsafed unto you.
Vie, then, with one another in doing good works!
Unto God you all must return;
and then He will make you truly understand
all that on which you were wont to differ."
(Qur'an 5:48)

17. Fighting for Muslim superiority
"Fight against those who - despite having been vouchsafed revelation - do not believe either in God or the Last Day, and do not consider forbidden that which God and His Apostle have forbidden, and do not follow the religion of truth till they pay the exemption tax with a willing hand, after having been humbled [in war]."
(Qur'an 9:29)
Arab Cavallry

18. Muslims and Jews Close contacts since the times of early Islam
Severe confrontations during the stay of the Prophet in Medina
Religious and cultural autonomy was respected
"Convivenza" in Andalusia and Ottoman times
Anti-semitism imported from the west
Israeli-Arab conflict tends to be presented as a Jewish-Muslim conflict
Sephardi Synagogue in Jerusalem 1836

19. Jesus Christ – Isa "al-Masih„
“The Christ Jesus, son of Mary, was but God's Apostle - [the fulfilment of] His promise which He had conveyed unto Mary - and a soul created by Him.
Believe, then, in God and His apostles, and do not say, ‘[God is] a trinity’".
(Quran 4:171)

20. Christian apologetics
Islam not as a religion of it's own but a Jewish or Christian heresy
Muslims as "the Children of Ishmael"
Muslims as forerunners of apocalyptic events
Muhammad as a false Prophet
Critic of Muhammad's and Muslims moral compared with Christian chasity
St John of Damascus
( 676 – 749 )

21. Muslims and Christians
High esteem: Christian spiritual and ascetic practises
Acceptance: birth of Jesus, his mission, certain teachings and miracles
Refutation: trinitarian doctrines and death on the cross
Irritation: refusing to accept Islam a continuation of former revelations
Christian delegation in Medina
at the times of the prophet

22. Muslim apologetics Accusations against Jews and Christians:
                                                 
Accusations against Jews and Christians:
Altering the divine relevation
Accusations against Christians:
Propagation of errant doctrines
Grievous mistakes in religious practice
Opening the frontiers to polytheism and pagan practises

23. The Covenant of Umar
"This is a letter to the servant of God Umar, Commander of the Faithful, from the Christians of such-and-such a city. When you came against us, we asked you for safe-conduct for ourselves, our descendants, our property, and the people of our community, and we untertook the following obligations toward you: ..."
"We shall not build ... new churches."
"We shall not manifest our religion publicly."
"We shall not seek to resemble the Muslims."
Patriarch Sophronius
of Jerusalem

24. Living side by side – everyday life
Jerusalem 1883

25. Festivities and rituals of faith communities
Greek Orthodox Easter procession
Greek Orthodox wedding in Christian Quarter

26. Qubbat al-Khidr on the Haram
Saint George
St George
Khidr – "the Green One"
Qubbat al-Khidr on the Haram
16. century

27. Procession of "Nabi Musa" in front of Al-Aqsa around 1920
Festival of "Nabi Musa"
Procession of "Nabi Musa" in front of Al-Aqsa around 1920

28. Ottoman imaret (soup kithcen)
Charity
"The Turkish … are just enough not to deprive poor Christians who come there, and these later receive the same amount as the Muslims, but as they go there only rarely the director of the place is not bothered by them."
(French traveller 1705)
Ottoman imaret (soup kithcen)

29. Tomb of Mary in Kidron Valley
Praying side by side
Tomb of Mary in Kidron Valley
"Do not come to the Church of Mary … nor go into the two pillars into the church of the Mount of Olives, for they are both idols and whoever enters there in a spirit of devotion, his act shall be annulled."
(Muslim tradition)

30. Russian Pilgrims entering Jerusalem 1905
Medieval Pilgrims entering "Outremer"
Russian Pilgrims entering Jerusalem 1905
"No day passed without foreigners" (Al Muqaddasi – 10. century)

31. The shade of the Crusades
Richard Lion Heart (London)
Salah al-Din
(Damascus)
George W. Bush (Washington) - as seen by Al-Jazeera

32. Crusades
"In the long sequence of interaction and fusion between Orient and Occident out of which our civilization has grown, the Crusades were a tragic and destructive episode"
(Stepen Runciman: The Crusades. 1951)

33. 19. Century – conquest, colonialism and civilization
Napoleon in Egypt 1798
French iIllustration 1837

34. Ottoman dilemma
Ottoman coat of Arms

35. Ottomans recruiting soldiers in Jaffa - 1888
Ottoman dilemma
Ottomans recruiting soldiers in Jaffa

36. Christians under Ottoman rule
Kawass of Anglican bishop
Representatives of Christian denominations in Palestine

37. Tanzimat-i Hayriye – Salutary Reforms
Hatt-i Humayun All Ottoman citizens equal under law
Greek Newspaper illustration – Athens 1858

38. Jewish immigration in Jerusalem
Jewish quarters in Jerusalem 1920

39. Jewish dilemma: integration or separation
Jewish soldiers
in Ottoman army 1910
Shomerim (guards) of a Zionist settlement 1920

40. British troops in Jaffa Road, Jerusalem, 1929
British rule
British troops in Jaffa Road, Jerusalem, 1929

41. Dome of the Rock and Western Wall 1937
Jerusalem in 20. century
Dome of the Rock and Western Wall 1937
Dome of the Rock and Western Wall today

42. Israeli-Arab confrontation in Jerusalem

43. Jerusalem – her future – two Muslim perspectives
"Ultimately if the entire world truly strives for peace in the city of al-Quds, Muslims must retake the upper hand and regain its rule, as they alone would provide continuously the guarantee of freedom of worship and safety for the citizens of the City and they will re-implement Umar's Covenant for a third time. Only then will al-Quds be, as it is meant to be, a City of Peace."
(Mohammed Abdul Hameed Al-Khateeb. Al-Quds. 1998)

44. Jerusalem – her future – two Muslim perspectives
"The shared heritage and belief in one God summons all believers to be peace-makers. We should affirm the holiness of the Jerusalem for all three faiths and recognize the rights of all to worship in their own way. We should affirm that claims made in the name of tradition cannot exclude or nullify the claims of others."
(Muhammad Hourani: A Muslim Approach to Dialogue in Jerusalem in the New Millennium. 2000)

45. ... and in the end ... wa Allah a'alam and God knows best
and God knows best
Wilhelm Sabri Hoffmann
German Muslim League Bonn