How does Jerusalem cause conflict between Muslims and Christians?

Answer 1

This is a complex subject but, I will try my best to explain.

One of the reasons has to do with religion, the other territorial.

The first reason is religious. According to The Bible and other religious text, God made a promise to Abrahan of a blessing. It consisted of multiplying his inheritance like the gains of sand on the seas, and that his descendants would inherit the kingdom of the heavens.

Sara was the name of Abraham's wife, and she gave him a son by the name of Isaac. Agar war Sara's slave that became Abraham's concubine and had a son by the name of Ismael.

God promise that both will be blessed, according to religious writings.

Jews believe that the promise was for Isaac, because he was the son of Sara, the legitimate wife. That they are the descendants of Isaac the son of Sara, because hi was the son of the legitimate wife, and therefore are the recipients of the promise. Also that the promise was made directly to Sara by God's angel. Which by the way is also what Christians believe.

Muslims on the other hand, believe that the promise was for Ismael, the son of Agar, because he was the first born. According to tradition the first born is the receiver of the inheritance. Also that God's angel spoke of the promise directly to Agar in the dessert. That they are descendants of Ismael the son of Agar, and therefore the recipients of the promise.

The second reason is territorial. The ancient Roman legions inflicted a genocide of the Jews in 70 AD. Due in part to the indomitable spirit of the people of Israel, that despised the Roman rule, and created an unstable control in the region.

According to the historian Josephus: "Josephus claims that 1,100,000 people were killed during the siege of Israel, of which a majority were Jewish, and that 97,000 were captured and enslaved."[4]

Those who survived where taken captive and sent to Rome to serve as slaves.

Many fled to other Mediterranean countries; such as Egypt, Turkey, Spain

(then Iberia) , Syria Jordan, North of Africa, France (then Gaul), Greece, Cyprus, Crimea, etc.

After the genocide, the Romans introduced people from different surrounding nations, (mostly Arabic) and called the area, Palestine.

If you want further information about this go to Wikipedia under:

"Siege of Jerusalem (70)".

The Jews believe the land was given to them by God through Moses, when they escape from the ancient Egyptian (Pharaohs) rule, and have God given right. The Palestinian believe they have been there for thousands of years, that they are the rightful owners of the land, and are bitter to be taken from their land.

Hence, these two events are still today the major reasons of conflict between Israel, Palestine and other (Muslim) Arabic nations.

1) They both believe to be the descendants of the son of the promise made to Abraham by God, and therefore have the right to the kingdom of the heavens.

2) They both believe to be the rightful owners of the land due to historic events.

I believe that both have a certain degree of truth in their point of view. However, I believe the two should live together in harmony and share their homeland together. As far as religion is concern, I wont comment on the subject.

I hope this is useful, you could make further research on the subject.

Answer 2

Answer 1

The cause of friction between Muslims and Jews in Jerusalem is the Israeli activities in Al-Aqsa Mosque where they are digging underneath claiming to find the ruins of the Jewish temple underneath as well as the restrictions that the Israeli are imposing on Muslims regarding their praying in this holy mosque.

Answer 2

There are several causes of the friction between Jews and Muslims in Jerusalem.

1) Access to Holy Sites: When the Old City of Jerusalem was under Jordanian control from 1949-1967, all Jews (not just Israelis) were barred from going to the Western Wall, which was the holiest site in Judaism. Under Israeli control, there are restrictions on how many Muslims can visit al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest site, especially on Jewish holidays due to security concerns. Each side sees the other as being biased against its desire to access their holy sites.

2) Neighborhood Development: Jerusalem is a de jure divided city according to International Law, but that does not change the fact that the city is gentrifying. This has led to Jewish Israeli citizens seeking to expand into prime Palestinian neighborhoods on the eastern side of the city. Jews see this as a natural change as the city Demographics change. Muslims see it as a deliberate attempt to prevent East Jerusalem from becoming a viable Palestinian capital.

3) Economic Disparaties between Neighborhoods:Although the Palestinians of East Jerusalem have Israeli citizenship and officially live within Israeli territory (according to Israeli definitions), they do no receive the quantity or quality of public services that Jewish Israelis in West Jerusalem and the Settlements receive. Muslims have complained of having to buy and install their own sewer lines because Israeli sanitation would not get around to it. The schools and roads are also in worse shape. Israeli Jews argue that eventually, the city would have gotten around to making the improvements, while the East Jerusalemnite Muslims argue that the Jerusalem City Counsel does not concern itself with Israeli citizens who wouldn't vote for them.

4) Archaeology & Nationalism: Israel is probably one of the few countries where Archaeology is tied to political legitimacy. The argument, accepted by most Jews and Muslims, is that if the archaeologists find evidence proving the historical Judean Kingdoms, this would grant further legitimacy to Israel. Consequently, Israeli archaeologists have performed numerous excavations especially in the Old City of Jerusalem and Silwan (the City of David), hoping to find evidence. (This is not to say that they would not be interested just to find out history, but this adds motive.) Muslims argue that these archaeological digs are designed to destablize the area or to add more nonsense to "Jewish Propaganda" on their Right to a State. The Jews argue that the underground excavation areas have good structural support and that destablizing Jerusalem would be to their detriment as well.

5) Separation Fence: The Separation Fence, which surrounds East Jerusalem as a concrete barrier, prevents easy commuting between East Jerusalem and the West Bank. This has led to the estrangement of Muslim Palestinian families, difficulty for daily commutes. Jews say that the Security Fence is necessary to protect Jerusalem from the innumerable suicide bombings in Jerusalem during the First and Second Intifadas. Muslims argue that the barrier is an attempt to set the Palestinian State borders and to make Muslims' lives more difficult in a bid to get them to leave.

Answer 3

It is the Holy city for both religions. When the Muslims took over Jerusalem, the Christians viewed it as their obligation to re-take it, which is the main reason for the Crusades.

Answer 4

the final obstacle is that many arabs are un-willing to recongize ISRAELS RIGHT TO EXIST