The significance of Jerusalem to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam Essay

The significance of Jerusalem to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - Essay Example armed can defend the physical territory which cradled a religion, yet so as the one favored or preferred by people with the authority (thus making it political). One such city, undergoing fierce territorial pursuits in lieu of its three cradled religion -- Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, is the holy city of Israel, the Jerusalem. Jerusalem is central to the religion, Judaism. Geographically and historically, this city bore the city of David and its main Temple, of which existed the Ark of the Covenant (Prior 71). Inherent to almost all religions, the Judaism’s hold for Jerusalem as its holy city is primarily rooted by its being the place of origin and the existence of an important relic, the Ark of the Covenant. Symbolically, the Temple’s destruction and the Jew’s oppression have become events that were to be endured and triumphed over to be able to accomplish the â€Å"return of the Jews to Zion† (Hoppe 22). Indeed, the world had been witnessed to the Jew’s sufferings. Consequently, they view the return to their holy city, Jerusalem, of which they were repeatedly ousted, as the ultimate reward for refusing to give up in this religious-territorial battle. For the Christians, Jerusalem, as its holy city, lies on the fact that the place is the event for Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension, as well as the ‘descension of the Holy Spirit on the early Church’ (Prior 71). The Jerusalem City, cradling these important events, naturally marked its place in the Christian history and piety. However, what strengthened the city’s position in the Christian norm is the discovery of Jesus’ tomb in the city (Hoppe 22). The tomb’s existence in Jerusalem sealed its place in the Christian norm that even if pilgrimage was not considered the religion’s tradition, it was nevertheless encouraged. The Muslims consider Jerusalem to be one of its three holiest places, apart from Mecca and Medina (Prior 71). Jerusalem’s holiness in the Muslim context is based