A site in the Old City of Jerusalem, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, has been a flash point since the advent of modern Zionism.

Source: www.nytimes.com

There has been turmoil and violence in Jerusalem this month; at it’s core, much of the fighting has been around the political control of sacred spaces that are seen as critical to both groups’ cultural and religious identity.  This particular sacred place is intertwined with both Judaism as well as Islam, and understanding the current round of violence demands that we understand some of the historical geography of religion in Jerusalem.  To explore more about sacred sites in general as a spatial concept, visit this link. 

Tags: religion, culture, Islam, Israel, Palestine, territoriality, political, Middle East.