Jerusalem, Chapters 8-10

There were several principal themes that I found significant from this week's reading of Karen Armstrong's Jerusalem: the loss of the Temple and what this meant for Judaism, the birth and spread of Christianity, as well as the ways in which this new faith affected Judaism, and finally, how the idea of  'sacred geography' manifested itself in both of these religions. Over all, these chapters highlighted the huge amount of change that was taking place within religion during this time, not only in terms of the relationship between God and his people, but also relating to physical representations of the sacred and divine.

It is interesting to note how both the Jews and the Christians reacted to the loss (for the Jews) or the gain (Christians) of their sacred geography. When the Temple was destroyed, the Jews found consolation in studying the Torah, and they believed that God's presence would follow them wherever they were, as long as they studied religious texts in groups. They also replaced animal sacrifice with acts of charity and compassion, for they began believing that they could experience God's presence in other human beings. Therefore, it seems like at this point in time, physical space representing divinity ceased to be important, but rather they saw human beings representative of sacred space.

Sacred geography was sort of the opposite for the Christians. They believed Jesus' main objective had been to remind them of the "spiritual nature of religion," so that they would focus more on the invisible, indescribable facets of religion, rather than physical structures which had been typical of Judaism. However, once the Christians tore down the pagans' Temple of Aphrodite and found Jesus' tomb underneath, the importance they placed upon sacred geography changed completely. Armstrong explains that "an unexpected reunion with one of the physical symbols of our faith and culture can reawaken this enthusiasm for sacred space," which is precisely what happened in the Christian mindset. Suddenly, Jerusalem become a city of great significance for Christianity because they now had concrete landmarks representing milestones in their faith (i.e. Jesus' birthplace, his agony in the garden, his resurrection, etc.).

The religious evolution of Jerusalem throughout the centuries has been interesting to read about, moving from paganism to Judaism to Christianity to paganism again, and so on. I can't wait to see how much more confusing things get once Islam is brought into the picture...

How to End the Arab-Israeli Conflict...

In first reading the instructions for this assignment, my mind went blank. I have no idea where to even start when attempting to address this issue. It is so overwhelmingly complex and deep-rooted in a variety of issues that I feel I have nowhere near to a comprehensive understanding of the matter or what it would take to bring a resolution to the conflict.

After reading the Pressman article, I was shocked by the sheer number of agreements / accords that have been created in an effort to bring an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Many of these were extremely close to being signed by one or both parties. However, in every case, it seems like there was always one faction that wasn't entirely satisfied, or events would suddenly change (violent attacks, for example) causing the parties to change their minds about ending the violence.

If none of these diplomatic plans or resolutions could bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian violence, let alone come to an accord about settlements and land, what will it take now? It seems that with time, hatred of the opposite culture or ethnicity have only had more time to brew and grow stronger, but hopefully this also means that creative solutions have had more time to form. I have no idea what it will take to resolve this deep-rooted conflict; however, I do believe it will take creativity, patience, and sacrifice from both sides. Until both the Arab/Palestinian population and the Israeli population are willing to compromise and accept that they will not be 100% satisfied with the end results, I don't think a resolution will ever be made.

With the issue of the "ownership" of Jerusalem, I think it is pretty obvious that it will need to be made an international zone, since all three monotheistic faiths have religious claims to the area. How could we decide which religion has had more historical precedence in the area, and would it be fair for an outside party to do so? Of course not. Therefore, I think individuals of all religious and ethnic backgrounds should be able to visit the city without fear of attack or persecution. However, as my group and I discussed in class, there are many issues with this: for example, how do we decide which military should be present in the city while still remaining representative of the entire inhabitant population? Obviously, this is a complex part of the Arab-Israeli conflict that will also require compromise and sacrifice from all parties involved.

I hate to admit it but I am rather pessimistic about the conflict being resolved anytime in the near future. This is a cultural and religious issue so deep-rooted in history that it seems like if there hasn't yet been a proposal both sides will accept, why would there be one in the future? My only answer to this is that insha'allah both sides will become so tired of the violence and pointless destruction that they will be willing to listen to and compromise with one another.

Random Thoughts: Chapters 5-7

Why is Jerusalem gendered as female? Karen Armstrong depicts the city at one point as being unclean, "her garments covered in menstrual blood." Why aren't cities depicted as male figures? They are often grandiose physical structures ruled by economics and politics, typically male-dominated social activities. Therefore, I think it is significant that the comfort and safety (female qualities) a city can offer its people is of higher value than its political and economic wealth. Perhaps this is why cities are usually, if not always, depicted as female.

"People inside the family were regarded as acceptable marriage partners, while those outside were undesirable." This concept of the Torah decreeing it is better to marry within one's  family unit reminds me of the public vs. private dichotomy that I studied in numerous Middle East history classes while in Egypt. In pre-colonial Middle East, for example, the public sphere was associated with being of lower status and the working class, while if someone (especially women) was mainly to be found in the private sphere, i.e. their homes or also harems, this portrayed their elevated statuses and wealth since they could afford to have others provide for them.

Within the harem specifically, only those of noble blood or relatives of the women were allowed to spatially move deeper within the palaces (harem comes from the Arabic root meaning "forbidden," i.e. the women were off-limits to anyone unrelated to them. This also has a purely visual connotation, not sexual.) Anyway, this concept of public vs. private relates to the harem in that "holiness" or "sacredness" (for lack of better words) is found when moving deeper into the private sphere. We can see this here in terms of marriage: Remaining within the smallest unit, or marrying within one's family circle, was the most desirable option for retaining one's cultural, religious, and economic heritage.

"The history of religion shows that in times of crisis and upheaval, people turn more readily to myth than to the more rational forms of faith." I find this quotation perplexing. What are the more rational forms of faith? Isn't all religion rooted in myth, even its traditional customs, practices, and stories? In my opinion, religion serves to relieve the stress of people in times of despair and to give them hope, regardless of whether they turn to myths or "rational forms" of faith to do so.

Just some thoughts I had while reading chapters 5-7. I would love to read any comments or critiques you may have.

An Eye-Opening Perspective

In beginning Karen Armstrong's book Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths I was expecting rather dry, historically-focused writing that would be difficult to read. However, I was extremely taken aback by her introduction and viewpoints shared only within the first fifteen or so pages. This prompted me to look her up on the internet because it became obvious that she had had quite extensive religious education, and I was totally shocked to find out that she is a former Catholic nun. I actually went to a Catholic high school, so I found it odd to imagine one of the sisters who taught there to write scholarly books relating to Islam and Judaism, such as Karen Armstrong has. I find it quite amazing that she has taken such a non-biased approach (at least in what I have read of the novel so far) in researching and analyzing Jerusalem's ancient and near history, as well as the undeniable forces of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity in shaping what the city has become today.

Armstrong's introduction brought up a very good point about the importance, or rather lack thereof, of who arrived in Jerusalem first. I have noticed that even in discussions with my friends about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this question of who were the first inhabitants is always brought up as sort of solution for who should  have political and geographical rights over Jerusalem. Sometimes I even find myself getting sucked into this historical conversation of ancient Israelites and Arabs pre-WWII, however Armstrong reiterated a great point: this question is of little importance, and furthermore, it will not help in resolving the conflict. All sides are going to have to accept putting the past out of their minds and focusing upon the present if the conflict is ever to be resolved.

I found Armstrong's discussion on the importance of myths and legends to be something that I often discredit in terms of the validity or reliability of a source, but her take on it was quite eye-opening. She says that myths relating to "sacred geography," or the geographical places which form a part of a people's or culture's identity, "express truths about the interior life," and that even if they themselves are not entirely factual in nature, there are elements of emotional truth within them. Furthermore, she argues that for these reasons, myths are important exactly because they are myths.

While reading Chapter 1-4, I kept her viewpoints of myths and sacred geography in mind, because personally, I too easily discredit stories from the Bible because of the fact that they are myth-like in nature and couldn't possibly be based on fact or evidence. I really like Armstrong's way of thinking because the importance does not come in the literal acceptance of every single statement in these types of religious stories (concerning Moses, Abraham, and Isaac, for example), but they are still very significant in themselves and can tell us many things about the people and culture at the time the text was written.

Over all, I have enjoyed reading Karen Armstrong's book. At times, it is difficult to get through due to a large amount of ancient historical names, dates, and facts, but I thoroughly enjoy learning about the formation of Israel, Judaism, and Christianity through entirely factual and text-based means, instead of through a lens of religious bias.

First Weblog Assignment: Thoughts About the Course

I had heard about this course from a very good friend of mine who took it during the spring semester of 2012, and by talking to me about the goals of the course and how it was set up, she convinced me to take it. Therefore, I felt like I knew more than most about this class coming into it, however I have definitely been pleasantly surprised by what we have done during these past two weeks. I love the fact that this course is set up rather informally and unlike a lot of other university courses, yet one could say that it is more significant or relevant than some of these classes because we are attempting to understand and come up with innovative ideas that could ultimately lead to the resolution of this longstanding political and cultural conflict. That in itself is absolutely amazing to me, and I am so excited to communicate on a face-to-face basis, albeit through the use of technology, with experts on the subject.

I think the blog is a great way to encourage free expression of our opinions and ideas, but it is also important to be aware that sometimes written words can be misinterpreted or that the author may have had difficulty in expressing what he or she actually meant (I often have this problem). For these reasons, I think it's also important to have discussions in class. However, the blog is great for responses to which we may not be comfortable speaking about in front of others, or for issues to which time is needed to collect one's thoughts and think about how to put them down in writing. This class is a great mixture of both, so I think we will be quite successful in hearing ideas and opinions from everyone.

Reading Response #2: Jerusalem throughout History

Looking at Jerusalem's chronology and the multiple empires that at one time or another controlled it, it is extremely overwhelming to comprehend a city with such a vast amount of historical significance. Not only does it hold extreme importance for Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, it has also passed through the hands of many great empires (the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Ottomans). No wonder Jerusalem is such a fought over city. I wonder if there are any other major cities in the world that are important to Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, and if so, why aren't they so severely fought over like Jerusalem?

I thought Dumper did a good job of not coming across as biased in his article. For example, he describes the importance of Jerusalem to each monotheistic religion instead of focusing solely on one. However, I do not think he provided enough detail when it came to certain historical events, which made it difficult to understand the full extent of change (and destruction from war) that the city has experienced over the centuries. But over all, for a relatively short article, Dumper balanced the cultural complexities of Jerusalem well, without obvious biases, and he covered a vast amount of history in a way that was interesting to read.

I found it interesting that Dumper described Jerusalem as becoming "a place for tourists rather than daily living." I never thought about Jerusalem as being a "touristy" city, yet I suppose this makes sense since there are so many important buildings and historical sites to Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike. This also made me think of Egypt because there are numerous cities throughout the country that are solely functioning as tourist attractions, so if Egyptians are not in the tourism industry, there would be no point for them to live in that particular city. It is important to be aware that there are a good amount of cities like this all over the world, whose economy relies mostly on wealthy foreigners and whose conditions are not necessarily suitable for people to live in.

I like that Khalidi's article was more historically-oriented because, although a little boring at times, it provides a significant  amount of context to understand why Jerusalem has been so contested over throughout the centuries. I was also interested to read his explanation of the significance of the Dome of the Rock because I heard mention of it several times throughout my stay in Egypt, but I was unsure of why it is so important. Does it hold special significance to Jews and Christians, as well?

In contrast, I did not really care for Rubin's article. Even though his writing was primarily historical like that of Khalidi, I found his rhetoric to be very dry and boring, and it was especially hard to follow towards the beginning. Personally, I find it hard to comprehend historical events when numerous years and names are listed without much explanation; therefore, I did not really learn too much from this article.

Media Project Interests

I'm very interested in political science and law, so I think it'd be interesting to examine either the United States' role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (obviously this is rather general so it could go in a variety of directions), or the Israeli government and Hammas' views and/or opinions surrounding the conflict (one way to look at this could be through media representations).

I also really like the idea about examining both Israeli and Palestinian fashion in order to determine how this relates to their respective cultural identities. 

Reading Response 1: Initial Impressions

I did not expect Suad Amiry's article "Researching East Jerusalem" to portray so realistically the cultural and political problems that Palestinians were facing (and still do face) on a daily basis. Even despite her need to communicate with various East Jerusalem inhabitants for her research, she was oftentimes unable to arrange meetings or reach certain areas due to all the chaos and unpredictable circumstances. Yet, I found her perseverance and dedication to the project quite inspiring. It's such a shame that the project was never able to take place because I am sure it would have inspired some great dialogues and new ideas. In the interview with Suad Amiry, she stresses the numerous cultural complexities that would have been difficult to convey at the festival in Washington. For example, how could they realistically portray the military scene and the separation barrier so that the festival would be representative of life in Jerusalem? Obviously, it's impossible to create a comprehensive imitation of society in another country, especially one as complicated as Jerusalem, so I wonder how effective the festival would have actually been. Yet, even if the reinterpretations were not dead on, it still would have been a huge leap forward to shed so much public light on the religious and cultural issues, as well as bringing together such a large variety of people for a common cause.

In the article "Dialogue as Ethical Conduct: The Folk Festival That Was Not," I noticed that the author seemed to portray the Palestinian researchers and the Israeli researchers in competition to and separate from one another, instead of working together on the same festival for the mutual desire to increase cross-cultural dialogue. Were they actually not working with one another, or did the author perhaps intend for this often automatic cultural separation to carry over into his/her writing?

I surprised but pleased that from the beginning of Dr. Horowitz's paper, she mentioned "the American partner whose role complicates the already existing asymmetry and ambiguity" of Jerusalem. I have found that in talking to others about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they are usually unaware of the major role that the United States has played and continues to play, and therefore I think it's an extremely important part of the conflict that is oftentimes ignored or left out. I also found this sentence to be quite intriguing: "A Jerusalem festival program would require public acknowledgment of the political, cultural, and religious controversies that characterize the city and underlie the traditional practitioners who create there." ...Perhaps this is one of the reasons for which the festival was never carried out. 

A Brief Introduction

My name is Elizabeth Panahi (but please feel free to call me Ellie) and I'm a junior at Indiana University. I'm double majoring in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures (with an Arabic language track) and International Studies (with a thematic concentration of Global Health and Environment) and am minoring in French. I recently returned to the U.S. after spending a semester studying abroad in Cairo, and I never expected to miss living in the Middle East as much as I do right now. After all, it is not easy to live in such a politically and economically unstable area, especially as a woman. However, living in Egypt during these tumultuous yet significant years since the revolution has exposed me to different political views and ideologies concerning the Middle East, which is the main reason why I am so interested in taking this class: I want learn more about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and how it undeniably affects the stability of the entire region. I look forward to communicating with and learning from you all!