Encyclopedia of Islam

Jammu and Kashmir

---

See also  c

hristianity

 

and

  i

slam

; 

conversion

; 

e

Urope

; o

ttoman

 

dynasty

; 

slavery

; t

anzimat

.

Mark Soileau

Further reading: Geoffrey Goodwin, The Janissaries

(London: Saqi Books, 1994); David Nicolle and Christa 

Hook, The Janissaries (Oxford: Osprey, 1995)

Jerusalem

 

(known in Arabic as al-Quds 

[Holy] and Bayt al-Maqdis [House of the 

Holy])

Jerusalem is a holy city for followers of the three 

Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and 

Islam. For each, however, it is holy for different 

reasons. For Jews, it is the location of Mount Zion, 

the center of the world where the ancient Israelite 

Temple of Solomon once stood. For Christians, it is 

where J

esUs

 convened the Last Supper with his dis-

ciples and where he endured the Passion, was cru-

cified, died, resurrected, and ascended to heaven. 

For Muslims, it is where m

Uhammad

 prayed and 

entered into the heavens on his n

ight

 J

oUrney

and

 a

scent

. Most Muslims consider it to be Islam’s 

third most sacred city after m

ecca

 and m

edina

,

although they also recognize it is not exclusive to 

them alone as the other two cities are. Through the 

centuries, devout members of all three religions 

have lived and journeyed to Jerusalem on pilgrim-

age. They go to visit and worship at places that are 

held sacred by each of these religions. The Western 

Wall of the ancient Temple is a major focus of Jew-

ish prayer and piety. For Christians, its most holy 

places are the Church of the Resurrection (also 

called the Church of the Holy Sepulcher) and the 

Mount of Olives, where they believe Jesus ascended 

to heaven. Muslims visit and pray at the a

qsa

m

osqUe

 and the d

ome

 

oF

 

the

 r

ock

 in the Haram 

al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary, known as the Temple 

Mount to Jews and Christians). All three religions 

have traditions stating that Jerusalem will be the 

focal point of cataclysmic events that will signal the 

endtimes and the arrival of J

Udgment

 d

ay

.

prE-ISlAMIC JEruSAlEM

Jerusalem is among the oldest cities in the world. 

Archaeological evidence suggests human settle-

ment in its environs as early as the fourth mil-

lennium 

b

.

c

.

e

. Its early name, Rushalimum (or 

Urusalim), appears in ancient Egyptian and Syrian 

texts dated to the 19th and 14th centuries 

b

.

c

.

e

.

This name may have meant “foundation of the 

god Salim”; only much later, after the biblical 

period, was its name interpreted to mean “City of 

Peace.” Between 2000 and 1500 

b

.

c

.

e

., Jerusalem 

developed into a walled city located on the hill of 

Aerial view of Jerusalem’s Old City showing the Dome 

of the Rock and the Haram al-Sharif (top), and the 

Church of the Holy Sepulcher (the domed structure at 

the bottom) 

(National Geographic Magazine)