Holy Sites of the Abrahamic Religions
Jerusalem is home to important religious sites for the Abrahamic Faiths: Muslims, Jews, and Christians.
Holy Sites
Christianity
Judaism
- Jesus was presented at the Temple as a child
- Location of the Last Supper and Pentecost.
- Account of Jesus' cleansing of the Temple
- Usual place where the Apostles stayed in Jerusalem
- Jesus prophesied the destruction of the Holy Temple
- According to some it is the first Christian church.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
- Built over the location where Jesus was crucified.
- This location contains sites that are considered sacred to all 3 religions.
- Located at the foot of the Mount of Olives, where Jesus was last seen praying before he was betrayed by Judas.
- According to the Hebrew Bible the first Temple was built by King Soloman; all worshipping was practiced in only the Temple
- Also contains the place where Jesus is said to have been buried and resurrected.
- In Judaism it is regarded as the holiest site because this is the place where God's divine presence is manifested.
- The Temple was destroyed twice and the Western Wall is the only remaining part of the original Temple.
- Housed the Arc of the Covenant
Islam
- This is where Muhammad ascended into heaven.
- Muhammad stopped here on his nocturnal journey and this became the first direction of prayer for Muslims.
- Foundation Stone is the name of the rock at the heart of the Dome of the Rock.
- Contained inside the Temple Mount.
- Also contains the location of his ascent to Heaven.
- Muslims believe that Muhammad was transported from the Sacred Mosque to Al Aqsa during the Night Journey.
- Most important mosque in Jerusalem.
How can geography help settle longstanding conflicts between these religions?
Conflicts in these areas may arise over: threat of one religion expanding and taking over the territory of another, and which religion will control the area.
Johnah Langston
& Maddie Horinek
After mapping out various locations important to each of the Abrahamic religions, we believe that there is no way for geography to help settle the longstanding religious conflicts.
The religious sites are important because of events that took place on the land, and there is no way to move or relocate the land.
These sites are all located in close proximity to one another and there is not a clear way to section them off. This leads to the different religions fighting over control over the entirety of the land.
In essence, geography cannot help settle these conflicts because the location of the sites specific for the 3 religions intersect with one another.