Joint Jewish and Muslim Holy Places, Religious Beliefs and Festivals in Jerusalem between the Late 19th Century and 1948

Menachem Klein

doi:10.3390/rel9070220

Abstract

Whereas the conflict over Palestine’s’ holy places and their role in forming Israeli or Palestinian national identity is well studied, this article brings to the fore an absent perspective. It shows that in the first half of the 20th century Muslims and Jews in Jerusalem shared holy sites, religious beliefs and feasts. Jewish–Muslim encounters of that period went much beyond pre-modern practices of cohabitation, to the extent of developing joint local patriotism. On the other hand, religious and other holy sites were instrumental in the Jewish and Palestinian exclusive nation building process rather than an inclusive one, thus contributing to escalate the national conflict.

Highlights

Historians debate when the Israeli/Zionist-Palestinian conflict started
Beyond debating on the formative event and its date, the two views agree that a Jerusalem holy site is the place where the conflict started and that religion is inseparable from exclusive Zionist or Palestinian national claims
The escalating Jewish–Arab conflict in Palestine changed the way holy places function from platforms for inclusive local identity to places of exclusion and conflict

Summary

Introduction

Historians debate when the Israeli/Zionist-Palestinian conflict started. The 1929 Wailing Wall riots (Intifadat al-Buraq as the Palestinians call it) that spread from Jerusalem to other mixed cities and Zionist settlements, argues Hillel Cohen, changed both the function and the perception of Palestine holy sites in general and those in Jerusalem in particular from shared platforms to areas of national struggle. Beyond debating on the formative event and its date, the two views agree that a Jerusalem holy site is the place where the conflict started and that religion is inseparable from exclusive Zionist or Palestinian national claims. Without declining these conclusions, this article brings to the fore different perspective. Instead of studying the evolution of the Zionist/Israeli-Palestinian divide, this article asks if a joint identity existed It shows that in the first half of the 20th century Muslims and Jews in Jerusalem shared holy sites, religious beliefs and feasts.

Holy Shrines

Sharing Beliefs and Festivals

Nebi Musa

Conclusions