Religion and the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Religionand the Arab-Israeli Conflict

IAFS/JWST 3650

Outline

• Intro to religions (cont)• Muslim-Christian-Jewish relations

Intro: Christianity

• 2000 years old• Monotheistic, based on scripture

Intro: Christianity

• Based on teachings of Jesus Christ• Christ both divine and human• Christ’s death and resurrection provided

salvation and eternal life

Intro: Christianity

• 1st three centuries: spread into W Asia, N Africa, and Europe

• Bible = Old and New Testament

Intro: Christianity

• Holy Land and esp. Jerusalem sacred• Birth in Bethlehem• Miracles at Galilee• Death and resurrection at site of Church of

Holy Sepulchre

Countries withLargest Muslim Populations?

Country 2009 Muslim Population

Percentage of Muslims

Indonesia 202,867,092 88.2%Pakistan 174,082,000 96.3%India 160,945,000 13.4%Bangladesh 145,312,000 89.6%Egypt 78,513,000 94.6%Nigeria 78,056,000 50.4%Iran 73,777,000 99.4%Turkey 73,619,000 ~98%Algeria 34,199,000 98.0%Morocco 31,993,000 ~99%

Intro: Islam

• God’s multiple revelations• Moses, Abraham, Jesus revered as prophets

Intro: Islam

• ~1300 years old• Monotheistic• Koran revealed to Prophet Muhammad in 7th

c. CE

Intro: Islam

• Spread from 7th c. on through W Asia, N Africa, parts of Europe

• Five central requirements:– Faith– Prayer– Zakat [alms]– Fasting– Hajj [pilgrimage]

Islam

= “struggle, striving” • Jihad = جهاد

British Perceptions of Islam

• British concerns about Muslim violence• Fears of fanaticism and jihad• But Islam not monolithic

Islam

http://www.al-islam.org/gallery/photos/d8.gif

= الله = “the God”

• Allah

Jewish Rule and Roman Wars

• 1000-925 BCE: United Kingdom of Israel in Canaan

• 8th/6th c conquest of Israel and Judah– Origins of Jewish diaspora

(scattering/dispersion from ancestral homeland)

Similarities and Differences

• Similar beliefs in one God, judgment day, and prophets

• Differences re conversion• Similar emphasis on Jerusalem

Jewish Rule and Roman Wars

• 66-74 CE: First Jewish revolt vs Rome– Brutally suppressed– Mass sucide at Masada– Destruction of Jewish temple in Jerusalem

(only Western Wall remained)

Jewish Rule and Roman Wars

• 132-135 CE: Second Jewish revolt vs Rome– Bloody supression– Jews banned from Jerusalem– Major contribution to Jewish diaspora

Jewish Rule and Roman Wars

• Harms:– “Israel and other Canaanites lived in relative

peace”– “Both Jews and Palestinian have viable

ancient claims to the land”

Early Jewish-Muslim Relations

• Muhammad and the Jewish clans of Medina– Harms: Muhammad’s initial deference– Recognition of Jerusalem as qiblah

(direction of prayer)– Expulsion and murder, after bid for support

failed, fit pattern of clan warfare

The Caliphate

• Muhammad’s successors known as caliphs• Spread of Islam through W Asia, then Arab

Empire reaching from Spain to Asia• Construction of Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa

Mosque in Jerusalem

The Caliphate

• Sunni/Shia schism over rightful caliph– Sunnis: caliph should be elected– Shi‘atu ‘Ali (followers of Ali): caliphate

should remain within Muhammad’s house– Today ~12% of Muslims are Shia

Christian Relationswith Muslims and Jews: The Crusades

• 1095-1291: eight crusades, mostly failures• European military expeditions justified via

appeals to Christian duty• Extremely bloody

Christian Relations with Jews: European Expulsions

• 1290 expulsion of Jews from England

• Later expulsions elsewhere in Europe

Christian Relations with Jews

• Longstanding anti-Jewish feeling and action in Europe

• Further scattering of European Jews• Context for Jewish-Muslim relations in Holy

Land

Relations in the Holy Land

• Arab discrimination vs Jews• But not Eur-style mass violence• Morris on Jewish life: “harrassment . . .

insecurity”

Conclusions

• Today’s Arab-Israeli conflict:– Mainly about secular issues– Modern roots, not ancient origins

• Religious narratives about this conflict retain power