Contested Holiness

Contested Holiness
Author: Rivka Gonen
Publisher: KTAV Publishing House, Inc.
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2003
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780881257984

Sovereignty over the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is one of the most difficult problems in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Although it is a present-day bone of contention, its roots go back into the distant past. Israelites, Christians, and Muslims had fought over this holy site, and built on it a succession of shrines. The book leads the reader into the intricate history, geography, and politics of this unique site. It relates the roots of its holiness, describes the succession of temples built on it, and explains how in the twentieth century its sanctity became intertwined with the national aspirations of both Jews and Arabs. It explains why the Temple Mount is considered the holiest site for the Jews, and how it became holy also to the Muslims. The book also explores the role of evangelical Christians, who, alongside a segment of the Jewish population, see the Temple Mount as the center of messianic aspirations, fed by the myriad of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legends and myths which evolved around it. The book is richly illustrated with photographs, sketches, maps, and plans.

Contested Holy Places in Israel–Palestine

Contested Holy Places in Israel–Palestine
Author: Yitzhak Reiter
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 346
Release: 2017-04-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 1351998854

Religious leaders and political actors often use holy places to rally citizens to 'protect' or 'liberate' national territory as 'hallowed land.' The Holy Land, Palestine or Eretz-Israel, is the most obvious case of the process of 'religionizing' ethnic, national and territorial conflicts. This book analyzes fourteen case studies of conflicts over holy sites in the Holy Land, each representing a particular archetype of conflict. It seeks to understand the many facets of disputes and the triggers for the outbreak of violence in and around such sites. It also analyses the effectiveness of the conflict mitigation and resolution tools used for dealing with such disputes.

Contested Holy Cities

Contested Holy Cities
Author: Michael Dumper
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 221
Release: 2019-05-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0429673841

Examining contestation and conflict management within holy cities, this book provides both an overview and a range of options available to those concerned with this increasingly urgent phenomenon. In cities in India, the Balkans and the Mediterranean, we can see examples where religion plays a dominant role in urban development and thus provides a platform for conflict. Powerful religious hierarchies, the generation of often unregulated revenues from donations and endowments, the presence of holy sites and the enactment of ritualistic activities in public spaces combine to create forms of conflicts which are, arguably, more intense and more intractable than other forms of conflicts in cities. The book develops a working definition of the urban dimension of religious conflicts so that the kinds of conflicts exhibited can be contextualised and studied in a more targeted manner. It draws together a series of case studies focusing on specific cities, the kinds of religious conflicts occurring in them and the international structures and mechanisms that have emerged to address such conflicts. Combining expertise from both academics and practitioners in the policy and military world, this interdisciplinary collection will be of particular relevance to scholars and students researching politics and religion, regional studies, geography and urban studies. It should also prove useful to policymakers in the military and other international organisations.

The Contest and Control of Jerusalem's Holy Sites

The Contest and Control of Jerusalem's Holy Sites
Author: Marshall J. Breger
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 842
Release: 2023-07-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1108897703

The Holy Places of Jerusalem's Old City are among the most contested sites in the world and the 'ground zero' of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Tensions regarding control are rooted in misperceptions over the status of the sites, the role of external bodies such as religious organizations and civil society, and misunderstanding regarding the political roles of the many actors associated with the sites. In this volume, Marshall J. Breger and Leonard M. Hammer clarify a complex and fraught situation by providing insight into the laws and rules pertaining to Jerusalem's holy sites. Providing a compendium of important legal sources and broad-form policy analysis, they show how laws pertaining to Holy Places have been implemented and engaged. The book weaves aspects of history, politics, and religion that have played a role in creation and identification of the 'law.' It also offers solutions for solving some of the central challenges related to the creation, control, and use of Holy Places in Jerusalem.

Constructing and Contesting Holy Places in Medieval Islam and Beyond

Constructing and Contesting Holy Places in Medieval Islam and Beyond
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 408
Release: 2024-05-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 9004525327

This volume brings together thirteen case studies devoted to the establishment, growth, and demise of holy places in Muslim societies, thereby providing a global look on Muslim engagement with the emplacement of the holy. Combining research by historians, art historians, archaeologists, and historians of religion, the volume bridges different approaches to the study of the concept of “holiness” in Muslim societies. It addresses a wide range of geographical regions, from Indonesia and India to Morocco and Senegal, highlighting the strategies implemented in the making and unmaking of holy places in Muslim lands. Contributors: David N. Edwards, Claus-Peter Haase, Beatrice Hendrich, Sara Kuehn, Zacharie Mochtari de Pierrepont, Sara Mondini, Harry Munt, Luca Patrizi, George Quinn, Eric Ross, Ruggero Vimercati Sanseverino, Ethel Sara Wolper.

The Struggle for Jerusalem's Holy Places

The Struggle for Jerusalem's Holy Places
Author: Wendy Pullan
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2013-11-20
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1317975561

The Struggle for Jerusalem’s Holy Places investigates the role of architecture and urban identity in relation to the political economy of the city and its wider state context seen through the lens of the holy places. Reflecting the broad disciplinary backgrounds of the authors, this book provides perspectives from architecture, urbanism, and politics, and provides in-depth investigations of historical, ethnographic and policy-related case studies. The research is substantiated by fieldwork carried out in Jerusalem over the past ten years as part of the ESRC Large Grants project ‘Conflict in Cities’. By analysing new dynamics of radicalisation through land seizure, the politicisation of parklands and tourism, the strategic manipulation of archaeological and historical narratives and material culture, and through examination of general appropriation of Jerusalem’s varied rituals, memories and symbolism for factional uses, the book reveals how possibilities of co- existence are seriously threatened in Jerusalem. Shedding new light on the key role played by everyday urban life and its spatial settings for any future political agreements about the city and its religious sites, this book is a useful reference work for students and scholars of Middle East Studies, Architecture, Religion and Urban Studies.

Ghosts of a Holy War

Ghosts of a Holy War
Author: Yardena Schwartz
Publisher: Union Square & Co.
Total Pages: 379
Release: 2024-10-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1454949228

An award-winning journalist presents an even-handed, thoroughly researched examination of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and illustrates how a shocking yet little-known massacre one century ago in what was then Palestine became ground zero of a war that continues to devastate. "[A] compelling story. . . . If you are going to read one book to help you understand the current Middle East tragedy, this is it." —Yossi Klein Halevi, senior fellow, Shalom Hartman Institute, and author of the New York Times bestseller Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor In 1929, in the sacred city of Hebron—then governed by the British Mandate of Palestine—there was no occupation, state of Israel, or settlers. Jews and Muslims lived peacefully near the burial place of Abraham, patriarch of the Jewish and Arab nations, until one Saturday morning when nearly 70 Jewish men, women, and children were slaughtered by their Arab neighbors. The Hebron massacre was a seminal event in the Arab-Israeli conflict, key to understanding its complexities. The echoes of 1929 in Hamas’s massacre of October 7, 2023, illustrate how little has changed—and how much of our perspective must change if peace is ever to come to this tortured land and its people, who are destined to share it. Noted journalist Yardena Schwartz draws on her extensive research and wide-ranging interviews with both sides to tell a timely, eye-opening story. She expertly weaves the war between Israel and Hamas into a historical framework, demonstrating how the conflict today cannot be understood without the context of ground zero of this century-old war, which began long before the occupation, the settlements, or the state of Israel ever existed.

SCM Core Text: Religious Syncretism

SCM Core Text: Religious Syncretism
Author: Eric Maroney
Publisher: SCM Press
Total Pages: 221
Release: 2006-05-25
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0334040183

Even a quick scan of today's headlines makes clear that the growth of fundamentalist versions of Islam is having a vast impact on our world. For Americans the rise of Christian fundamentalism, especially the Evangelical movement, is also socially and politically shaping the country, as debates about abortion, stem cell research and other important issues are often driven by fundamentalist notions. In profound ways, orthodox versions of Judaism have altered the fabric of Middle Eastern politics through the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially regarding settlements in Gaza and the West Bank, making peace there all the more difficult, and further destabilizing an already unstable region. The rise of fundamentalism in the three monotheistic faiths is fully examined in this textbook. It is not about fundamentalism however, it is about its opposite trend: religious syncretism. Syncretism describes the phenomenon of one religion borrowing elements from another, and it is part of religion that fundamentalists will seldom acknowledge. This textbook explores Judaism, Christianity and Islam, using compelling examples of how syncretism works and looks, to show how these three religions have adopted customs and conceptions of other religions, most often acquiring practices from pagan predecessors and neighbours. The book shows how these three faiths - despite how modern media would have us believe - have been willing, at various times and places, to borrow.

Baptists and the Holy Spirit

Baptists and the Holy Spirit
Author: C. Douglas Weaver
Publisher:
Total Pages: 589
Release: 2019
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781481310291

The record is clear that Baptists, historically, have prioritized conversion, Jesus, and God. Equally clear is that Baptists have never known what to do with the Holy Spirit. In Baptists and the Holy Spirit, Baptist historian C. Douglas Weaver traces the way Baptists have engaged--and, at times, embraced--the Holiness, Pentecostal, and charismatic movements. Chronicling the interactions between Baptists and these Spirit-filled movements reveals the historical context for the development of Baptists' theology of the Spirit. Baptists and the Holy Spirit provides the first in-depth interpretation of Baptist involvement with the Holiness, Pentecostal, and charismatic movements that have found a prominent place in America's religious landscape. Weaver reads these traditions through the nuanced lens of Baptist identity, as well as the frames of gender, race, and class. He shows that, while most Baptists reacted against all three Spirit-focused groups, each movement flourished among a Baptist minority who were attracted by the post-conversion experience of the "baptism of the Holy Spirit." Weaver also explores the overlap between Baptist and Pentecostal efforts to restore and embody the practices and experiences of the New Testament church. The diversity of Baptists--Southern Baptist, American Baptist, African American Baptist--leads to an equally diverse understanding of the Spirit. Even those who strongly opposed charismatic expressions of the Spirit still acknowledged a connection between the Holy Spirit and a holy life. If, historically, Baptists were suspicious of Roman Catholics' ecclesial hierarchy, then Baptists were equally wary of free church pneumatology. However, as Weaver shows, Baptist interactions with the Holiness, Pentecostal, and charismatic movements and their vibrant experience with the Spirit were key in shaping Baptist identity and theology.

Women and the Holy City

Women and the Holy City
Author: Lihi Ben Shitrit
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2020-10-22
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1108618707

Jerusalem's Temple Mount/al-Haram al-Sharif is one of the holiest places in the world for Jews and Muslims and a constant feature in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This study addresses the gendered dimensions of inter-communal disputes over sacred space in Jerusalem and the role of women in these conflicts.