Islam in Palestine
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During the 7th century, the Arab Rashiduns conquered the Levant, succeeded by subsequent Arabic-speaking Muslim dynasties like the Umayyads, Abbasids and the Fatimids.[3] marking the onset of Arabization and Islamization in the region. This process involved both resettlement by nomadic tribes and individual conversions.[4][5] In the case of the Samaritans, there are records of mass conversion due to economic pressure, political instability and religious persecution in the Abbasid period.[6] Sedentarization facilitated a more rapid Islamization compared to the slower pace of individual conversions among the local populace.[4][5][7] Sufi activities[5] and changes in social structures and the weakening of local Christian authorities under Islamic rule[8] also played significant roles.
Some scholars suggest that by the arrival of the Crusaders, Palestine was already overwhelmingly Muslim,[9][10] while others claim that it was only after the Crusades that Christianity lost its majority, and that the process of mass Islamization took place much later, perhaps during the Mamluk period.[6][11]
History
Early Islamization
Islam was first brought to the region of Palestine during the Early Muslim conquests of the 7th century, when the Rashidun Caliphate under the leadership of ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb conquered the Shaam[note 2] region from the Byzantine Empire.[15]
The Muslim army conquered Jerusalem, held by the Byzantine Romans, in November, 636. For four months
Having accepted the surrender, Caliph Umar then entered Jerusalem with Sophronius "and courteously discoursed with the patriarch concerning its religious antiquities". When the hour for his prayer came, Umar was in the Anastasis, but refused to pray there, lest in the future the Muslims should use that as an excuse to break the treaty and confiscate the church. The Mosque of Omar, opposite the doors of the Anastasis, with the tall minaret, is known as the place to which he retired for his prayer.
According to the historian James Parkes, during the first century after the Muslim conquest (640–740), the caliph and governors of Syria and the Holy Land ruled entirely over Christian and Jewish subjects. He further states that apart from the Bedouin in the earliest days, the only Arabs west of the Jordan were the garrisons.[20]
Bishop Arculf, whose account of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the 7th century, De Locis Sanctis, written down by the monk Adamnan, described reasonably pleasant living conditions of Christians in Palestine in the first period of Muslim rule.[
Islamization under Abbasids and Fatimids
Some scholars believe that Islam became the majority religion in Palestine in the 9th century, with acculturation of the locals into
Rival dynasties and revolutions led to the eventual disunion of the Muslim world. During the 9th century, Palestine was conquered by the Fatimid dynasty, centered in Egypt. During that time the region of Palestine became again the center of violent disputes followed by wars, since enemies of the Fatimid dynasty attempted to conquer the region. At that time, the Byzantine Empire continued trying to recapture the territories they previously lost to the Muslims, including Jerusalem.
During the Fatimid era, the cities of Jerusalem and Hebron became prime destinations for Sufi wayfarers.[24] The creation of locally rooted Sufi-inspired communities and institutions between 1000 and 1250 were part and parcel of the conversion to Islam.[24]
The sixth Fatimid caliph, Caliph Al-Hakim (996–1021), who was believed to be "God made manifest" by the Druze, destroyed the Holy Sepulchre in 1009. This powerful provocation started the near 90-year preparation towards the First Crusade.[25]
The Samaritan community dropped in numbers during the various periods of Muslim rule in the region. The Samaritans could not rely on foreign assistance as much as the Christians did, nor on a large number of diaspora immigrants as did the Jews. The once-flourishing community declined over time, either through emigration or conversion to Islam among those who remained.[26] According to Milka Levy-Rubin, many Samaritans converted under Abbasid and Tulunid rule.[26]
Early Crusades
In 1099, the Christian
Ayyubid rule and Late Crusades
In 1187, the
The Christian defeat led to a
Mamluk domination
In 1250, the Ayyubid Egyptian dynasty was overthrown by slave ("Mamluk") regiments, and a new dynasty - the
In 1291, the forces of the
The Mamluks were to rule Palestine for the following two centuries (1291–1516). The Muslim population became the majority, and many Muslim shrines were built such as
The Mamluks, ruling from Damascus, brought some prosperity to the area, particularly to Jerusalem, with an extensive programme involving the building of schools, hospices for pilgrims, the construction of Islamic colleges and the renovation of mosques. Mujir al-Din's extensive writing about 15th century Jerusalem documents the consolidation and expansion of Islamic sites in the Mamluk era.[34]
The ascendency of the
Rise of the Ottomans
On August 24, 1516, at the Battle of Marj Dabiq, the Ottoman Empire forces defeated the Mamluk sultanate forces and thus the Ottomans became the new rulers of the Levant. On October 28, they defeated the Mamluk forces once more in the Battle of Yaunis Khan and they annexed the region of Palestine. By December of that year the entire region of Palestine was conquered by the Ottoman Empire.[citation needed] As a result of the Ottoman advance during the reign of Selim I,[38] the Sunni Ottoman Turks occupied the historic region of Palestine. Their leadership reinforced and ensured the centrality and importance of Islam as the dominant religion in the region. Swamps with the risk of malaria made it difficult to settle and farm on the coastal plains and in the valleys throughout most of the Ottoman era.[39]
In 1834,
In 1860, the Mosque of Omar was built in the Christian city of Bethlehem. It is the only mosque in Bethlehem's old city.[41]
Islam during British rule
In 1917, at the end of the
The gradual increase in the number of Jews in Palestine led to the development of a proto-
The
1948–1967: Islam under Israeli, Jordanian and Egyptian rule
On May 14, 1948, one day before the end of the
The British transferred the symbolic Islamic governance of the land to the
After the conquest of the Temple Mount during the Six-Day War, the Chief Israeli Rabbinate announced that Jewish people are forbidden of entering the Temple Mount. Since 1967, Israel controls the security on the Temple Mount, but the Muslim Waqf controls administrative matters, taking responsibility for the conduct of Islamic affairs just as it did during the Jordanian rule.[46][47]
Views
Ellenblum posits that Islamization stemmed from both nomadic resettlement and individual conversions.[4][5] Levtzion, Vryonis and Avni emphasize the role of sedentarization,[4][5][7] noting its facilitation of rapid Islamization compared to the slower pace of individual conversions among the local populace.[4][5] Additionally, scholars like Michael Erlich highlight the impact of changes in social structures and the weakening of Christian authorities due to deurbanization under Islamic rule on the Islamization process.[8] One possible exception is the mass conversion of Samaritans to Islam.[6]
According to Erlich, Palestine's Islamization was mainly a result of urbanization and de-urbanization processes in Palestine under Muslim rule. During the Byzantine period, Palestine boasted more than thirty cities, or settlements with a bishop's see. Most of these cities declined under Muslim rule, and eventually disappeared; some of these became villages or townships, others were completely destroyed. This resulted in many cases in a weakening or complete disappearance of the local ecclesiastical administration. Over time, most of the local population converted to Islam. During this period, only Nablus and Jerusalem maintained their urban status, which is why, according to Erlich, religious minorities (Samaritans and Christians, respectively) survived there.[8]
Demographics
Islam
Today, Islam is a prominent religion in both Gaza and the West Bank. Most of the population in the State of Palestine are Muslims (85% in the West Bank and 99% in the Gaza Strip).[48][49]
Sunni Islam
Sunnis constitute 85% of Palestinian Muslims,
Shia Islam
From 1923 to 1948, there were seven villages in
Since 1979, due to Iran's influence, some Palestinian Sunnis have converted to Shia Islam. Israeli
Non-denominational Islam
According to the Pew Research Center, non-denominational Muslims constitute 15% of the Palestinian Muslim population.[50]
See also
- Muslim conquest of the Levant
- Islam in Israel
- Palestinian nationalism
- Time periods in the Palestine region
- Islamization
- History of Israel
- History of Palestine
- Palestinian Christians
- Spread of Islam
- Muslim conquests
- Islamization of Jerusalem
- Islamization of East Jerusalem under Jordanian rule
- Islamization of the Temple Mount
- Islamization of Gaza
Notes
- ^ Under international law, East Jerusalem is considered a part of the West Bank and, therefore, of the Palestinian territories.
- Arabic: اَلـشَّـام) is a region that is bordered by the Taurus Mountains of Anatolia in the north, the Mediterranean Sea in the west, the Arabian Desert in the south, and Mesopotamia in the east.[12] It includes the modern countries of Syria and Lebanon, and the land of Palestine.[13][14]
References
- ^ West Bank. CIA Factbook
- ^ Gaza Strip. CIA Factbook
- )
- ^ OCLC 958547332.
From the data given above it can be concluded that the Muslim population of Central Samaria, during the early Muslim period, was not an autochthonous population which had converted to Christianity. They arrived there either by way of migration or as a result of a process of sedentarization of the nomads who had filled the vacuum created by the departing Samaritans at the end of the Byzantine period [...] To sum up: in the only rural region in Palestine in which, according to all the written and archeological sources, the process of Islamization was completed already in the twelfth century, there occurred events consistent with the model propounded by Levtzion and Vryonis: the region was abandoned by its original sedentary population and the subsequent vacuum was apparently filled by nomads who, at a later stage, gradually became sedentarized
- ^ ISBN 978-3-447-10135-6.
According to Kedar, at the arrival of the Crusaders the distribution of the Muslims would therefore have varied from area to area. While some parts of Palestine were still mainly occupied by their former inhabitants, in others most of the residents were Muslim. Kedar's approach is followed by Ellenblum, who describes the spread of Islam in Palestine as the result of both resettlement by nomadic tribes and individual conversion. The coexistence of these two processes has also been described by Levtzion. Together with Speros Vryonis, who studied the importance of the process of sedentarization for the Islamization of Anatolia, Levtzion pointed out that whereas Islamization of areas due to sedentarization was a rapid process, conversely the spread of Islam among the local population through individual conversion was slow. ... Research on the topic has also highlighted the role played by Sufis and prominent local families in the spread of Islam in Palestinian villages once inhabited by Christians. This is the case for example with Dayr al-Sheykh and Sharafāt, both near to Jerusalem.
- ^ JSTOR 3632444.
- ^ a b Gideon Avni, The Byzantine-Islamic Transition in Palestine: An Archaeological Approach, Oxford University Press 2014 pp.312–324, 329 (theory of imported population unsubstantiated);.
- ^ OCLC 1310046222.
- ^ Ira M. Lapidus, A History of Islamic Societies, (1988) Cambridge University Press 3rd.ed.2014 p.156
- ^ .
- ^ Ira M. Lapidus, Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History, Cambridge University Press, 2012, p. 201.
- ISBN 978-0-19-921297-2.
The western coastline and the eastern deserts set the boundaries for the Levant ... The Euphrates and the area around Jebel el-Bishrī mark the eastern boundary of the northern Levant, as does the Syrian Desert beyond the Anti-Lebanon range's eastern hinterland and Mount Hermon. This boundary continues south in the form of the highlands and eastern desert regions of Transjordan.
- C.E. Bosworth, Encyclopaedia of Islam, Volume 9 (1997), page 261.
- MuslimArabic usage.
- ^ A Concise History of Islam and the Arabs MidEastWeb.org
- ^ "Jerusalem". Catholic Encyclopedia. 1910.
- ISBN 0-87820-217-X.
- ^ From the article on Islam in Palestine and Israel in Oxford Islamic Studies Online
- ^ Mustafa Abu Sway, The Holy Land, Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Qur'an, Sunnah and other Islamic Literary Source (PDF), Central Conference of American Rabbis, archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-28
- ^ James Parkes, Whose Land? A History of the Peoples of Palestine (Penguin books, 1970), p. 66
- OCLC 1105497638.
- from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
- ISBN 9783525535738.
- ^ ISBN 9780674032019.
- ^ Charles Mills (June 1820). "Mill's History of the Crusades". The Eclectic Review. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
- ^ OCLC 1310046222.
- ^ Esposito, John L., ed. The Islamic World: Past and Present The Islamic World:Past and Present 3-Volume Set: Past and Present 3-Volume Set.] Google Books. 2 February 2013.
- ^ Karsh, Efraim. Islamic Imperialism: A History. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006. p. 73
- ^ Wasserstein, Bernard. The Politics of Holiness in Jerusalem. 21 September 2001. 2 February 2013.
- ^ Siddique, Tahsin. "Locating Jerusalem in Theology and Practice During the Crusades." Archived 2014-09-01 at the Wayback Machine University of California, Santa Cruz History. 21 March 2009. 2 February 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-8476-9430-3
- ^ "Battle of Ḥaṭṭīn." Encyclopædia Britannica. 4 February 2013.
- ^ Fromherz, Allan James. Ibn Khaldun: Life and Times. Google Books. 4 February 2013.
- JSTOR 604667.
- ^ Laura Etheredge, Historic Palestine, Israel, and the Emerging Palestinian Autonomous Areas, The Rosen Publishing Group 2011 p.43.
- ^ Michael Avi-Yonah, A History of Israel and the Holy Land, A&C Black, 2003 pp.279–282.
- ^ Richard G. Neuhauser, 'Jerusalem,' in John Block Friedman, Kristen Mossler Figg (eds.),Trade, Travel, and Exploration in the Middle Ages: An Encyclopedia, Routledge 2013 pp.300–302, p.302
- Parkes, James (1970) [1949]. "Turkish Territorial Divisions in 1914". Whose Land?: A History of the Peoples of Palestine. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 187. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ^ Ruth Kark and Noam Levin, "The Environment in Palestine in the Late Ottoman period, 1798-1918," in Daniel E. Orenstein, Alon Tal, Char Miller (eds.),Between Ruin and Restoration: An Environmental History of Israel University of Pittsburgh 2012 pp.1–28 p.11.
- ^ Alex Carmel "A Note on the Christian Contribution to the Development of Palestine in the 19th century," in David Kushner (ed.) Palestine in the Late Ottoman Period: Political, Social, and Economic Transformation, BRILL, 1986 pp.303–304.
- ^ Mosque of Omar (Bethlehem) Archived July 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Atlas Travels and Tourism Agency.
- ^ "al-Husseini, Hajj (Muhammad) Amin." The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East. Ed. Avraham Sela. New York: Continuum, 2002. pp. 360–362.
- ^ Smith, Charles D. Palestine and the Arab Israeli Conflict: A History With Documents. Bedford/St. Martin’s: Boston. (2004). Pg. 198
- ^ GENERAL PROGRESS REPORT AND SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONCILIATION COMMISSION FOR PALESTINE, Covering the period from 11 December 1949 to 23 October 1950, GA A/1367/Rev.1 23 October 1950
- ^ Morris, Benny. "Yosef Weitz and the Transfer Committees 1948–49" JSTOR: Middle Eastern Studies vol. 22, no. 4 (Oct., 1986), p. 522.
- ^ Sela. "Jerusalem." The Continuum Political Encyclopedia. Sela. pp. 491–498.
- ^ "The History of Palestine" (PDF).
- ^ "The World Factbook." CIA. 19 December 2015. West Bank
- ^ "The World Factbook." CIA. 19 December 2015.
- ^ a b "Religious Identity Among Muslims". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 2012-08-09. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
- ISSN 0015-7120. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
- ^ Kaufman (2006). The 1922 census also listed the Muslim minority in al-Bassa as Shia, but Kaufman determined they were actually Sunni.
- ^ Census of Palestine 1931; Palestine Part I, Report. Vol. 1. Alexandria. 1933. p. 82.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b "Hamas brutally assaults Shi'ite worshippers in Gaza". Haaretz. Retrieved 2020-09-11.
- ^ "Al-Sabireen: an Iran-Backed Palestinian Movement in the Style of Hezbollah". رصيف 22. 2018-03-14. Retrieved 2020-07-06.