Jerusalem is a very holy city held sacred to Palestinians, as well as Jews, Muslims and Christians alike across the world. Both sites, located in close proximity, commemorate the place where the Prophet Muhammad is believed to have prayed during his night journey and ascended into heaven Isra and Miraj. These sites are a popular pilgrimage destination for Muslims worldwide.
Ongoing conflict and occupation by Israel has prevented most Palestinians from being able to access such religious sites and cultural heritage. Foreigners generally have much greater and widespread access to Jerusalem than Palestinians — this can be a point of frustration or sorrow.
Islam in the Palestinian Territories. There is very little religious conversion from Islam or intermarriage between religions. Most Palestinians who are raised Muslim continue to identify with the religion into adulthood. Religious observance is quite strong in the Palestinian Territories.
Many people pray daily, participate in weekly worship and have found ways to continue to practice their religion despite the impacts of conflict. For example, Gazans will come together and share food for Ramadan despite serious food shortages. However, there are differences in observance across society, with those living in Israel, overseas and urban areas of the West Bank tending to be more secular in their practice.
For example, it was less common for Palestinian women to wear hijabs. The urban Palestinian elite has also been historically opposed to religious fundamentalism , being a force for ideological moderation. However, over the latter half of the 20th century, decreasing hope for independence amongst Palestinians led many to turn towards political Islam as a potential means for stronger leadership against Israeli occupation. As such, the visibility of Islam has been influenced by the rising ideology and changing political eras in the Middle East.
Today, Gaza is governed by Hamas, an Islamic militant group and political party. Hamas subscribes to moderate Islamism belonging to the Brotherhood Movement , meaning it adheres to a more conservative interpretation of Islam than that applied in the West Bank.
There are also other active Islamic factions and political parties, including some minor Salafist militant groups that practice an ultra-conservative interpretation of Sunni Islam. Such militants generally focus their actions on fighting a violent campaign against Israel that they believe to be religiously endorsed by God , rather than focusing on the religious practices of other Gazans.
Christianity in the Palestinian Territories. Many Christians consider the region of historic Palestine to be sacred, along with Muslims and Jews. They share some elements of their identities, if not the whole. For example, a secular nationalist Palestinian and an extremely religious, Salafi Palestinian in the Qassam Brigades of Hamas may share very similar views of Israel.
Much the same is true of some secularists, traditionalists, and fundamentalists in other Arab or Islamic societies. Systematic Abuse of Linkages to Wider Bases in Societies: Religious extremists in the Arab and Islamic world and in Israel, whether violent or not, have used deliberately the ideological and functional linkages to connect to wider bases in their respective countries.
Ideologically, links with the wider society are established by trying to radicalize elements that have this potential, either due to natural tendencies toward perceived communal self-defense, or to the superficial knowledge of their religions. For example, extremists would use an isolated incident of violence against the Jewish community to justify retaliation by their wider society. Functionally, extreme Imams have very strong tools at their disposals across the Arab and Islamic world to promote violence through their mosques and privately funded media, subjecting people repeatedly to the narrative and rhetoric of violence against Israel in particular and Jewish people in general.
To contribute to curbing the religious violence in this conflict, several interventions can be considered: interfaith dialogue; the remembrance of past fruitful cooperation between Jews and Muslims, ever since the seventh century; and focusing on religious texts asserting positive and tolerant religious values, and reinforcing these values in educational systems on both sides.
These are perhaps not new ideas. Policy Analysis Fikra Forum. May 31, Also available in Arabic. About the Authors. Mohamed Galal Mostafa. Brief Analysis. Why is religion at the core of this conflict?
Practical Consequences O n Negotiations If we take a closer look at the permanent status issues — borders, security, mutual recognition, refugees, the Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and the issue of authority over Jerusalem -- we find that the last two are directly linked to the faiths of Jewish people and Muslim people around the world.
Historical and Organizational Consequences As far back as the war, some Jewish extremist groups justified their contribution to the conflict as part of a divinely promised return to the holy land of Israel. This results from two major factors, as follows: Interest and Identity Overlap: Interests of religious extremists who are directly linked to the religious drivers at many instances overlap with other segments in the Arab and Islamic societies.
In territories which are considered Palestinian, there are Jews settlers who number about ,, who identify themselves as Palestinian Jews although they are considered Israeli citizens. There is no constitution for the state of Palestine, and the basic laws assume that Islam is the religion of the state and therefore secures the freedom of religion.
The principles of sharia law are integrated into the legislature. Birzeit, West Bank. Benjamin Elisha Sawe March 19 in Society. All About the "Stan" Countries.
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