I recently watched the film “Kingdom of Heaven,” and I was struck by one of the final lines spoken by the character Saladin, a Muslim leader who battled to take over Jerusalem during the era of the Crusades. When questioned by Orlando Bloom’s character, Balian, a valiant defender of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, on the significance of Jerusalem, Saladin responds, “Nothing.” He walks away but turns back once more to say, “Everything.” My mind instantly turned toward our modern-day Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the question of sacred land.
Both Israelis and Palestinians have suffered profoundly in the fighting that was recently reignited. The world has seen firsthand that missiles and bullets have the same devastating effect on the flesh of Muslims as of Jews. Yet the recent attacks have produced little more than a tenuous cease-fire agreement, fashioned with the aid of outside mediation, and both sides still cling to their land.
Today, Jerusalem is equally revered by Muslims, Jews and Christians as it was during the time of the Crusades. Old Jerusalem is in fact still divided among them: the Muslim Quarter, the Christian Quarter, the Jewish Quarter and the Armenian Quarter. While such destruction and death strikes me as quite godless, this place maintains a level of sanctity unmatched by any other place on Earth.
But can God live in a place? Obviously, the answer depends on whom you are asking, but the consensus of many believers is likely yes — consider the pilgrimage to Mecca or Bethlehem or even the common formulation, “God lives in your heart.” I grew up learning that God was omnipresent — but apparently, he/she hangs out a little more in some places than in others. Location, location, location.
What I do not understand is how a faith-filled believer can justify murder and violence in an area that allegedly possesses this divine quality. Let’s consider a comparison with the real estate market. When any crime is committed within a house, especially violent crimes, the value of the home usually decreases if this history is known to the buyer. According to this logic, why do some insist that God is closest to humankind in a place of such great bloodshed?
And of course there are political motivations when declaring a site holy or sacred, but the politics are only one part of the equation. During my trip to Israel last summer, I was absolutely shocked by the tears, prayers and outward devotion that many locals and tourists alike took to in front of the Wailing Wall, on the Via Dolorosa or near the Dome of the Rock. The experience of God amplified in one specific place is very real for some people, and I suspect this notion continues to contribute to the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians today.
For those of us who do not link our religion or our spirituality to one locale, I think this experience of something greater has been felt at one time or another by everyone, sometimes in the strangest of places. It may even be as simple as an acute feeling of insignificance when standing next to the ocean. I often sense some type of holiness, for lack of a better word, when I’m in nature. Whatever it may be, the Earth, or a god, does have a funny way of giving the impression that a place has power.
This power may be real, symbolic or imagined, but it is no less invigorating for the person in its midst. So while it may be tempting to scoff at a population that claims such a force in a certain place, mocking that assertion does not make it any less true for that population, nor does it make it any less attached to that place.
The “everything” that Saladin refers to in the film is elusive, but understanding what that means is essential to resolving conflict around it. I am neither pro-Palestine nor pro-Israel, but I do see a potential common ground in this concept of sacred land. Even though land is notorious for causing disagreement, a “holy land” could be used and shared as a site of peace. Look no further than Jerusalem itself to see that co-existence and mutual respect, though not always perfect, is possible.
Of course, solutions to problems such as these are complicated. I do not claim to have all the answers, but we can only get closer to resolution by thinking critically about and engaging with the subject matter. Over this past semester, these columns have been my place to wrestle with a vast array of issues and problems related to religion and spirituality. At times, I know my opinions have inspired, angered, frustrated and confused. But I am most proud that they have opened a dialogue. And while I doubt there is anything holy among these words, I do hope that they have possessed some power that is bigger than one columnist to create a deeper understanding among people of all faith backgrounds.
Contact Hannah Brady at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter: @brady_hm.
Comment Policy
Comments should remain on topic, concerning the article or blog post to which they are connected. Brevity is encouraged. Posting under a pseudonym is discouraged, but permitted. The Daily Cal encourages readers to voice their opinions respectfully in regard to the readers, writers and contributors of The Daily Californian. Comments are not pre-moderated, but may be removed if deemed to be in violation of this policy. Click here to read the full comment policy.
FYI, God doesn’t live in Jerusalem or spend any extra time there compared to other places. He made that clear before the destruction of the temple.
“I am neither pro-Palestine nor pro-Israel, but I do see a potential common ground in this concept of sacred land.”
The only reason Jerusalem is sacred to Muslims is that supposedly Mohammed had a dream about it one night and then after his death somehow ascended into heaven directly from Jerusalem. Is there some sort of celestial stairway to heaven from Jerusalem’s Temple Rock? Ever since Mohammed forced his followers to pray to Mecca instead of Jerusalem the latter city had no religious significance to Islam but Muslims wanted it anyways. Recently Palestinians in Hamas fired rockets at the city of Jerusalem. Is that how Muslims show their veneration for truly sacred ground? Muslims already have Mecca and Medina. How many holy cities do they need?
Every single one.
Incredible that we get our history from the movies. That explains a lot.
Jerusalem is mentioned in Jewish holy texts something like 3,000 times and in Muslim holy texts less than a dozen. Muslims are no less interested in Jews living in Jerusalem than they are in Jews living. Sadly this is the true nature of the conflict.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
On page 369 (554 in the Arabic) of the earliest Muslim
biography of Muhammad, Muhammad says “kill any Jew who falls into your
power”:
It’s a “charming” story of two brothers,
Muhayyissa and Huwayyisa: (To avoid confusing the two brothers, keep in mind
that the brother whose name begins with M is the Murderer in the story.)
“The apostle [Muhammad] said, ‘Kill any Jew that falls
into your power.’ Thereupon Muhayyisa bin Masud leapt upon Ibn Sunayna, a
Jewish merchant with whom they had social and business relations, and killed
him. Huwayyisa was not a Muslim at the time though he was the elder brother.
When Muhayyisa killed [the Jewish merchant] Huwayyisa began to beat [his
brother Muhayyisa], saying, ‘You enemy of God, did you kill him when much of
the fat on your belly comes from his wealth?’ Muhayyisa answered, ‘Had the one
who ordered me to kill him ordered me to kill you I would have cut your head
off.’…[Huwayyisa] replied, ‘By God, if Muhammad had ordered you to kill me
would you have killed me?’ [Muhayyisa] said, ‘Yes, by God, had he ordered me to
cut off your head I would have done so.’ [Huwayyisa] exclaimed, “By God, a
religion which can bring you to this is marvellous!’ and [Huwayyisa] became a
Muslim.”
You say Muslims are bad because their Prophet tells them to kill people. Their Prophet also says to not murder people. If people choose to interpret Islam in a violent fashion, then those people are themselves violent. They justify their violence using divine text.
“Look no further than Jerusalem itself to see that co-existence and mutual respect, though not always perfect, is possible.” I found this statement of Hannah’s odd after she pointed out that the area is divided into quarters, and then she used a real estate analogy that would indicate that God wouldn’t be found in the area. Somehow I think the army’s guns are the only thing keeping the residents from going at each other.
I enjoyed reading your column. Here is a little more from Kingdom of Heaven that may interest you:
Saladin: Will you yield the city?
Orlando Bloom: Before I lose it, I will burn it to the ground. Your holy places – ours. Every last thing in Jerusalem that drives men mad.
Saladin: I wonder if it would not be better if you did.
As you can see, Saladin recognized that perhaps some holy places are not worth dying for and the world would be more peaceful if religious people didn’t have such contentious places to defend. Jerusalem meant everything to Crusaders and Jihaddis as long as it existed. But if it didn’t, then it would mean nothing because it would just be a memory referenced by holy texts, no more real than the Garden of Eden, Valhalla, or the ever-elusive Rose Bowl.
You write real good. And so inspiring.
Hannah, your columns this semester were much better reads than Nadia Cho’s Sex on Tuesday politicking.