The Holy Land, not so holy…
Infront of the Damascus Gate, an entrance to the Old City.
Jerusalem- (n.) an ancient holy city and a center of pilgrimage for Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
Jerusalem is said to be one of the holiest places ever. Not just for one religion, but for 3 religions, that often get into conflict with eachother. The home of three centralized religions: Christianity, Judaism, and Muslims. All believing in one God, but with different viewpoints of who God is exactly. In the Christian faith, they believe that God is the father of Jesus. They believe in God, the Trinity, and the holy spirit. In the Jewish faith they believe in Yahweh. Yahweh is the supposedly the same idea as what the Christians believe in, but they beileve Yahweh is the one true God who delievered Israel from Egypt and gave the Ten Commandments. In the Islamic faith they believe in Allah, another name for God. They believe that you should not worship anything or anyone but Allah. They all believe in one centralized God. So why are they fighting so much?
In the Old city of Jerusalem, you run into people of those three main faiths. You see Jewish Orthodox men walking past Islamic women with Hijabs, and then you see the Catholic Nuns walking into a Muslim owned store to pick up groceries. That city is full of diversity, but at the same time full of tension. They are also full of fear. Jerusalem has a long history of religious conflicts. Between the Jewish people, The Christian Crusaders, and the Muslims. They all have fought for this city claiming that it is the true religious spot for their particular religion. It’s funny that they all think that, since they all have a share in this city for thousands of years. They have the Christian Quarter, the Jewish Quarter, and then the Muslim Quarter. It’s not unusual for this Holy city to have a different reigning power. The Christians have ruled this city, the Muslims ruled this city, and the Jews have ruled this city…all once upon a time.
So right now, i’m sure how you could imagine how diverse it is in religion and race. So you might think it’s a loving place. Maybe for the tourist, they might look all innocent and loving, but between themselves their is a whole lot of discrimination and prejudice. If you are Muslim and you try to walk into the Wailing wall, they will arrest you and throw you in jail. They are being prejudice. In the Dome of the Rock, if you are of the Jewish religion and sometimes even the Christian religion, you are not welcomed, but since the Jewish have the permission to use big machine guns, they walk in there anyway. In the Catholic Churches, its a sort of a different story. If you are a tourist and try to walk into the church without descent clothes (i.e. Shorts, shortsleeves, sleeveless), you are kicked out and humilated infront of everybody. Way to be a religious figure, right?
These people that claim they are so holy, don’t act so holy. You are supposed to love thy neighbor, whether they are your faith or not. If they have real evidence that they are going to harm you, then i’m all for you to not allow them in, but you have to have clear evidence! You can’t just say, “oh well his name is Mohammed, so he must be a terrorist.” No that’s not how it should go. If that Mohammed guy looks suspicious and you see a weapon on him, then you can judge, but you can’t judge him because of the name on his passport. That is not Holy what-so-ever, and i’m sure that all of those religions don’t allow anybody but him to judge a person. Jerusalem is supposed to be the most holy place in the world, but is centered towards the sins that all religions condemn: Greed, Racism, Discrimination, and Hatred.
The Priest’s, Rabbi’s, and Imam’s all use their life in religious context. They all read the books and the scriptures and spend their whole life studying their own religion. They are full of religion and know so much about it, but one thing they certainly are lacking in that city, are social skills. They don’t know how to act with people and think they are better than other people because they are so “wise” and “holy”.
If that city is so “holy” as it claims it is, how come the people don’t act so holy? It can’t be just the tension between the different religions and races that are going on in that land, but the religious people must think they are superior than everybody else. What would God, Yahweh, or Allah think about this?
Inside Palestine 