Islamization of Jerusalem

The second wave of Islamization occurred after the fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, a Christian state that was established after the First Crusade, at the Battle of Hattin in 1187.

Beginning in the late Ottoman era, Jerusalem’s demographics turned increasingly multicultural, and regained a Jewish-majority character during the late-19th and early-20th centuries that had not been seen since the Roman period, which largely ended the Jewish presence in the region.

[1] The remodulation was grounded on a foundational narrative in early Islamic texts, themselves drawing on Persian, Jewish and Christian traditions[2] that emphasized the city's cosmological significance within God's creation.

[7] After 13 years (or 16 months,[8] depending on the source),[9] due to both divine guidance[10] and practical matters (souring of relationship with the Jews[7] and/or Muhammad’s frustration with the city and its people[11]) the direction of prayer was changed to Mecca in present-day Saudi Arabia.

[12] The Umayyad construction of the Dome of the Rock was interpreted by later hostile Abbasid historians as an attempt to redirect the Hajj from Mecca to Jerusalem.

[17] According to several Muslim scholars, including Mujir ad-Din, al-Suyuti, and al-Muqaddasi, the mosque was reconstructed and expanded by the caliph Abd al-Malik in 690 along with the Dome of the Rock.

However, some of the most prominent Orientalists and historians of Early Islam, such as Heribert Busse, Moshe Sharon and Oleg Grabar, doubt that caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab had ever visited Jerusalem.

[23] According to the Gaullic bishop Arculf, who lived in Jerusalem from 679 to 688, the Mosque of Umar was a rectangular wooden structure built over ruins which could accommodate 3,000 worshipers.

[25] The 10th century historian al-Muqaddasi writes that Abd al-Malik built the shrine in order to "compete in grandeur" with Jerusalem's monumental churches.

[28] Under the Ayyubid dynasty of Saladin, a period of huge investment began in the construction of houses, markets, public baths, and pilgrim hostels as well as the establishment of religious endowments.

However, for most of the 13th century, Jerusalem declined to the status of a village due to city's fall of strategic value and Ayyubid internecine struggles.

[31][32] Under Jordanian rule of East Jerusalem, all Israelis (irrespective of their religion) were forbidden from entering the Old City and other holy sites.

[34][31] East Jerusalem was Islamized during the Jordanian annexation of the West Bank between 1948 and 1967, as Jordan sought to alter landscape of the city to enhance its Muslim character at the expense of its Jewish and Christian ones.

[citation needed] Ghada Hashem Talhami states that during its nineteen years of rule, the government of Jordan took actions to accentuate the spiritual Islamic status of Jerusalem.

[38][39][40] Oesterreicher, a Christian clergyman and scholar, wrote, “During Jordanian rule, 34 out of the Old City’s 35 synagogues were dynamited.” [41] The Western Wall was transformed into an exclusively Muslim holy site associated with al-Buraq.

[38][39] This was all in violation of the Israel-Jordan Armistice Agreement Article VIII - 2 "...; free access to the Holy Places and cultural institutions and use of the cemetery on the Mount of Olives;...."[45]

[47] Abdullah el Tell, a commander of the Arab Legion, remarked:For the first time in 1,000 years not a single Jew remains in the Jewish Quarter.

This makes the Jews' return here impossible [48] In his memoirs, Col. Abdullah el Tell outlined the reasons behind his decision to attack the Jewish Quarter:"The operations of calculated destruction were set in motion.

Throughout the entire period of the Muslim conquest until the capture of Jerusalem in 1099, various structures were built on the mount including memorial sites and gates.

[18] Between 1995 and 2001, the Islamic Waqf carried out extensive construction work in order to build the biggest mosque in the region named Marwani prayer hall, with a capacity of 10,000 worshippers in an area of about 5,000 square meters.