Transcript L'Islam in Marocco

Religion
and the Arab-Israeli Conflict
IAFS/JWST 3650
Outline
• Intro to religions (cont)
• Muslim-Christian-Jewish relations
Intro: Christianity
• 2000 years old
• Monotheistic, based on scripture
Intro: Christianity
• Based on teachings of Jesus Christ
• Christ both divine and human
• Christ’s death and resurrection provided
salvation and eternal life
Intro: Christianity
• 1st three centuries: spread into W Asia, N
Africa, and Europe
• Bible = Old and New Testament
Intro: Christianity
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Holy Land and esp. Jerusalem sacred
Birth in Bethlehem
Miracles at Galilee
Death and resurrection at site of Church of
Holy Sepulchre
Countries with
Largest Muslim Populations?
2009 Muslim Percentage of
Country
Population
Muslims
Indonesia
202,867,092
88.2%
Pakistan
174,082,000
96.3%
India
160,945,000
13.4%
Bangladesh
145,312,000
89.6%
Egypt
78,513,000
94.6%
Nigeria
78,056,000
50.4%
Iran
73,777,000
99.4%
Turkey
73,619,000
~98%
Algeria
34,199,000
98.0%
Morocco
31,993,000
~99%
Intro: Islam
• God’s multiple revelations
• Moses, Abraham, Jesus revered as prophets
Intro: Islam
• ~1300 years old
• Monotheistic
• Koran revealed to Prophet Muhammad in 7th
c. CE
Intro: Islam
• Spread from 7th c. on through W Asia, N
Africa, parts of Europe
• Five central requirements:
– Faith
– Prayer
– Zakat [alms]
– Fasting
– Hajj [pilgrimage]
Islam
• Jihad = ‫“ = جهاد‬struggle, striving”
British Perceptions of Islam
• British concerns about Muslim violence
• Fears of fanaticism and jihad
• But Islam not monolithic
Islam
• Allah ‫= هللا‬
= “the God”
http://www.al-islam.org/gallery/photos/d8.gif
Jewish Rule and Roman Wars
• 1000-925 BCE: United Kingdom of Israel in
Canaan
• 8th/6th c conquest of Israel and Judah
– Origins of Jewish diaspora
(scattering/dispersion from ancestral
homeland)
Similarities and Differences
• Similar beliefs in one God, judgment day, and
prophets
• Differences re conversion
• Similar emphasis on Jerusalem
Jewish Rule and Roman Wars
• 66-74 CE: First Jewish revolt vs Rome
– Brutally suppressed
– Mass sucide at Masada
– Destruction of Jewish temple in Jerusalem
(only Western Wall remained)
Jewish Rule and Roman Wars
• 132-135 CE: Second Jewish revolt vs Rome
– Bloody supression
– Jews banned from Jerusalem
– Major contribution to Jewish diaspora
Jewish Rule and Roman Wars
• Harms:
– “Israel and other Canaanites lived in relative
peace”
– “Both Jews and Palestinian have viable
ancient claims to the land”
Early Jewish-Muslim Relations
• Muhammad and the Jewish clans of Medina
– Harms: Muhammad’s initial deference
– Recognition of Jerusalem as qiblah
(direction of prayer)
– Expulsion and murder, after bid for support
failed, fit pattern of clan warfare
The Caliphate
• Muhammad’s successors known as caliphs
• Spread of Islam through W Asia, then Arab
Empire reaching from Spain to Asia
• Construction of Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa
Mosque in Jerusalem
The Caliphate
• Sunni/Shia schism over rightful caliph
– Sunnis: caliph should be elected
– Shi‘atu ‘Ali (followers of Ali): caliphate
should remain within Muhammad’s house
– Today ~12% of Muslims are Shia
Christian Relations
with Muslims and Jews: The Crusades
• 1095-1291: eight crusades, mostly failures
• European military expeditions justified via
appeals to Christian duty
• Extremely bloody
Christian Relations with Jews:
European Expulsions
• 1290 expulsion
of Jews from
England
• Later expulsions
elsewhere in
Europe
Christian Relations with Jews
• Longstanding anti-Jewish feeling and action in
Europe
• Further scattering of European Jews
• Context for Jewish-Muslim relations in Holy
Land
Relations in the Holy Land
• Arab discrimination vs Jews
• But not Eur-style mass violence
• Morris on Jewish life: “harrassment . . .
insecurity”
Conclusions
• Today’s Arab-Israeli conflict:
– Mainly about secular issues
– Modern roots, not ancient origins
• Religious narratives about this conflict retain
power