Solutions to an Unsolvable Problem

Karen Armstrong, in Chapter 12 of Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths, states that once under Muslim control, “the coexistence of the three religions of Abraham, each occupying its own district and worshipping at its own special shrines, reflected their vision of the continuity and harmony of all rightly guided religion, which could only derive from the one God” (245). This suggests that Muslims, Christians, and Jews should’ve been able to successfully coexist, albeit separately. History, however, has proved this idyllic solution wrong. The separation of religions into districts has awkwardly divided people from some of their sacred places and created several war-like tensions in a very small piece of the world.

A central part of the issue is the Temple Mount. As you can see on the accompanying map, the piece of land that holds the first most holy site to Jews and the third holiest site for Muslims (as dictated in Sura 17) is not included in any established “quarter.” This leaves the Muslims and Jews fighting for ownership of a Biblically sacred space.

M.S. Indyk of The Brooking Institution writes: “If [the Jerusalem situation] cannot be resolved, and it will not be forgotten, Jerusalem somehow has to be managed so that the other issues that are more amenable to resolution can be dealt with.” He further suggests that the issue be addressed as an Israeli zoning issue, disregarding religious significance altogether. He argues that Israel’s president needs not only to tell Jews to discontinue encroaching on Arab land

but also, “for the sake of equity, Arabs would also have to be provided with sufficient permits to meet their… needs.”

I disagree with Indyk and many other people and politicians who continue to treat the Jerusalem issue completely objectively. I think Armstrong is right to assert that a peaceful coexistence of the religions, grounded in a shared Eliadean sacred place, should be successful. Although not a perfectly well-rounded solution, I think a reversion back to the ancient Muslim idea of sharing the area and its connection to God. Yes, it is an ideology based in pathos, but if such diverse people can all share a God, can they not share their connection with Him?