Sunni/Shiite/Iraq/Iran - A History

The Iranian revolution 1978-79 and other events in the Middle East leading to today

A map of the Middle East

Description

The Middle East (or West Asia ) sits where Africa, Asia and Europe meet. The countries of the Middle East are all part of Asia, but for clarity reasons we geographically show them here as a separate landmass.

Opinions vary as to what countries make up the modern definition of the Middle East. Historically, Armenia and Azerbaijan have been long associated with the Middle East, but in recent years, some sources now consider them to be more closely aligned with Europe based on their modern economic and political trends. We have moved in that direction, and the same applies for the island country of Cyprus, as it does for Georgia, the former Russian republic.

The African country of Egypt is still thought (by some) to be in the Middle East, as well as the northern African countries that border the Mediterranean Sea.

We attempt here to show the modern definition, but in world of geography, there are often many answers or (personal or political opinions) to what appears to be a simple question.

*****

Map displaying Ruling Powers in Mid East since the Beginning of History

http://www.mapsofwar.com/images/EMPIRE17.swf

*****

A timeline of major religions would be helpful

http://www.sacred-texts.com/time/origtime.htm if you go to the website there are URL connections

Timeline: Origin of Major Religions

This table indicates the approximate date each of the twelve major world religions began, along with the traditional dates for the birth and death of its founder (if applicable). You can click on each religions' link to start reading about it.

This list of twelve world religions is, of course, an oversimplification. Also, keep in mind that there are religions (such as the belief systems of Native American and Australian Aborigine peoples) that go back much further than Hinduism, and there have been several large religions that have started since Baha'i.

The 'Common Era' refers to 1 A.D. CE=Common Era, BCE=Before Common Era

date	Near East	India	China/Japan
1000+ BCE	Judaism: Moses 1500-1350 BCE	Hinduism: 2000 BCE
600 BCE	Zoroastrianism: Zoroaster 628-527 BCE	Jainism: Mahavira 599-527 BCE Buddhism: Buddha 563-483 BCE	Taoism: Lao Tse 580-500 BCE Confucianism: Confucius 551-579 BCE
100 CE	Christianity: Jesus 1-33 CE		Shinto: 100 CE
600 CE	Islam: Muhammad 570-632 CE
1500 CE		Sikhism: Guru Nanak 1469-1538 CE
1900 CE	Baha'i: Baha'u'llah 1817-1892 CE

*****

Next a timeline of the divisions of Islam

BRANCHES OF ISLAM:

    The death of Muhammad in Medina provoked a mayor crisis among his followers: The dispute over the leadership resulted in the most important "schism" in Islam: "Sunnis" and "Shiites:

    - The Prophet's preference to follow him was Ali, the husband of his daughter, the Egyptian Fatima, and the father of his only surviving grandsons Hasan and Husayn. But, while the family was busy burying the Prophet, the leaders of Medina elected the aging Abu Bakr, the father of the Prophet's favorite wife, as the successor ("caliph"), even before the burial of the Prophet. Ali and his family were dismayed but agreed for the sake of unity, and because Ali was still young... however, after the murder of the third caliph, Ali was invited by the Muslims of Medina to accept the caliphate, with the mayor schism of Islam:

    - The "Sunnis",  followers of Abu, the majority, with 800 million Muslims.

    - The "Shiites",  followers of Ali, with 100 million Muslims (Iran, Iraq, Palestine).

    Despite the differences in detail and politics, the various branches do accept the basic tenets laid down in the Koran.

1- The "Sunni": 800 million:

    The followers of Abu, called "Sunni" because they accept the "sunnas", the oral traditions and interpretations of the Koran after Muhammad's death, called the "sunnas", and later the "Hadiths".

    They are usually more liberal.

    They belief the "caliph" ("successor" of Muhammad) should always be elected, not conferred by heredity. They claim they are the true followers of the faith, and until 1959 they refuse to recognize the Shiites as true Muslims. They believe in "predestination".

    During the Ottoman Turks, the Caliphs were called "Sultans".

2- The "Shiite": 100 million:

    The "Shiite ("partisans"), are the followers of Ali, more orthodox and militant, mainly in Iran, Iraq, and Palestine. In 656, Ali and Fatima's son Hussein led a fight against the Sunnis. Hussein was torture and beheaded, and today the Shiites of Iran honor the memory of Hussein's death with an annual procession in which marches in a frenzied demonstration beat and whip themselves with chains and branches.

    The "Iman" and "Mahdi" (Messhiah):
    Shiites created the office of the "Imam" ("leader" or "guide"), who were infallible, one for each generation, the only source of religious instruction and guidance, and all in direct descendence of Ali. There were 12 Imams since Ali; the last one, the 12th, went into hiding in 940, and he will emerge later to rule the world as "Mahdi" ("Messiah"). For this reason they are also called the "Imamites" or "Twelvers".

-         The present "Ayatollahs", ("signs of God") see themselves as joint caretakers of the office of the Imam, until he returns at the end of time. The "Ayatollah Khomeini" claimed that he was a descendant of the 7th Imam, and hence the rightful ruler of the Shiites.

There are other sects and they can be found here: http://www.religion-cults.com/Islam/islam5.html

******

Now we will give a timeline for the occupation of Jerusalem from Wikepedia:

1800 BCE

The Jebusites build the wall Jebus (Jerusalem

993 BCE

King David attacks and captures Jerusalem. Jerusalem becomes City of David and capital of the Kingdom of Israel.

c. 960 BCE

King Solomon builds the First Temple.

922 BCE

Jerusalem becomes the capital of the (southern) Kingdom of Judah led by Rehoboam after the split of the United Monarchy.

701 BCE

The Assyrians lay an unsuccessful siege on Jerusalem.

c. 700 BCE

King Hezekiah builds the Pool of Siloam tunnel in order to supply the Gihon Spring water to the city.

606 BCE-586 BCE

The Babylonians destroy Jerusalem in three waves of attacks. King Nebuchadnezzar burns the Solomon's Temple in 586 BCE.

537 BCE

King Cyrus the Great allows the Israelites to return from the Babylonian captivity and rebuild the Temple. The first wave, led by Sheshbazzar, repatriates and reestablishes sacrificial worship on the site of the destroyed Temple. The second wave is led by Zerubbabel, the appointed governor of Judah and the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak (Haggai 1:12).

515 BCE

The Second Temple is built.

458 BCE

Ezra leads 1,800 Jews from Babylonia

444 BCE

The appointed governor of Judah Nehemiah rebuilds the Old City walls

410 BCE

The Great Assembly is established in Jerusalem.

332 BCE

Hellenistic domination under Alexander the Great.

313 BCE

Ptolemy I of Egypt rules Jerusalem.

175 BCE-165 BCE

Antiochus Epiphanes sacks Jerusalem and erects an altar to Zeus in the Second Temple after plundering it.

167 BCE-164 BCE

Maccabean revolt.

165 BCE 25 Kislev

The Maccabees recapture Jerusalem, rededicate the Temple (see Hanukkah). Jewish autonomy is restored under the Hasmoneans.

63 BCE

Roman invasion by Pompey.

37 BCE

Jerusalem is the capital of Roman client kingdom under Herod the Great, appointed by Rome.

19 BCE

Herod expands the Temple Mount and rebuilds the Temple (the Herod's Temple).

- CE -

6

Jerusalem becomes a part of the Roman province Iudaea, ruled by procurators.

33

Crucifixion of Jesus.

66-73

First Jewish-Roman War.

70

Titus besieges and sacks Jerusalem and destroys the Temple on Tisha B'Av.

132-135

Hadrian crushes Bar Kokhba's revolt, reestablishes Jerusalem as the Roman pagan polis Aelia Capitolina, and forbids Jewish presence.

324

Jerusalem becomes a part of the Byzantine Empire.

361-363

Tolerant to other faiths, pagan Emperor Julian the Apostate announces to the Jews that they are allowed to return to "holy Jerusalem which you have for many years longed to see rebuilt".

390s

Church of the Holy Sepulchre is built.

614

Jerusalem falls to Persians led by General Shahrbaraz. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is burned and the True Cross is captured. "Ever since the Persian occupation, ... the Jews had resumed worship on the (Temple Mount) platform ..." (K. Armstrong: p. 229)

629 March 21

Byzantine Emperor Heraclius retakes Jerusalem.

638

Muslim Arabs under the leadership of Caliph Umar conquer Jerusalem from Christian Byzantine Empire.

687-691

The Dome of the Rock mosque is built by Caliph Abd al-Malik.

715

The Ummayads build Masjid al-Aqsa.

1009

Caliph Hakim orders destruction of churches and synagogues.

1077

Turks conquer Jerusalem.

1099

First Crusaders capture Jerusalem and slaughter most of the city's Muslim and Jewish inhabitants.

12th century

Jerusalem is visited by Yehuda Halevi (1141), Maimonides (1165), Benjamin of Tudela (1173).

1187

Saladin captures Jerusalem from Crusaders, allows Jewish settlement.

1192

Richard the Lionheart fails to conquer Jerusalem.

1212

300 Rabbis from England and France settle in Jerusalem.

1244

Kharezmian Tatars conquer the city.

1247

Egyptian conquer the city.

1259

Jerusalem is sacked by the Mongols.

1260

Rule by the Mamelukes.

1267

Nachmanides goes to Jerusalem and prays at the Western Wall.

1347

The second conquest by the Mamelukes.

1482

The visiting Dominican priest Felix Fabri described Jerusalem as "a collection of all manner of abominations". As "abominations" he listed Saracens, Greeks, Syrians, Jacobites, Abyssianians, Nestorians, Armenians, Gregorians, Maronites, Turcomans, Bedouins, Assassins, a sect possibly Druzes, Mamelukes, and "the most accursed of all", Jews. Only the Latin Christians "long with all their hearts for Christian princes to come and subject all the country to the authority of the Church of Rome".

1517

Sultan Selim of the Ottoman Empire captures Jerusalem.

1535-1538

Suleiman the Magnificent rebuilds walls around Jerusalem.

1541

Muslims seal The Golden Gate to prevent Jewish Messiah's entrance.

1556

Earthquake damages the city.

1700

Judah the Pious with 1,000 followers settle in Jerusalem.

1705

Restrictive legislation against the Jews.

1798

Napoleon visits the area.

1827

First visit by Sir Moses Montefiore.

1831

Sultan Mehemet Ali of Egypt conquers the city.

1838

The first British consulate is opened.

1840

The Ottoman Turks retake the city.

1844

The first census: 7120 Jews, 5760 Muslims, 3390 Christians.

1860

The first Jewish neighborhood (Mishkenot Sha'ananim) is built outside the Old City walls. [1]

1873-1875

Mea Shearim is built.

1898

Theodore Herzl meets German Kaiser Wilhelm outside city walls.

1906

Bezalel School of Art is founded.

1917

British Army led by General Allenby captures the city.

1918

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI) is founded (inaugurated in 1925) on Mount Scopus on the land owned by the Jewish National Fund. 1923: The first lecture is delivered by the first president of World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS) Albert Einstein.

1918-1920

Jerusalem is under British military administration.

1920

Arab riots.

1922-1948

The British Mandate of Palestine. Haj Amin al-Husayni is appointed Mufti of Jerusalem.

1929

Arab riots in Hebron, Safed and Jerusalem.

1932

King David Hotel is opened. The first issue of The Palestine Post is published.

1947 November 29

1947 UN Partition Plan calls for internationalization of Jerusalem (UN General Assembly Resolution 181).

1948-1949

1948 Arab-Israeli War

·         May 13: Hadassah medical convoy massacre.

·         May 14: The term of the British Mandate ends.

·         May 14: The State of Israel is established at 4 pm

·         May 28: The Jewish Quarter of the Old City falls to Arab Legion under Glubb Pasha.

·         July 26: West Jerusalem is proclaimed territory of Israel.

·         1949: Jerusalem is proclaimed the capital of Israel. The Knesset moves to Jerusalem from Tel-Aviv. Jordan prevents access to the Western Wall and Mount Scopus, in violation of the 1949 Armistice Agreements.

1951

King Abdullah I of Jordan is assassinated by Arab extremists on the Temple Mount.

1953

Establishment of Yad Vashem.

1964

Pope Paul VI visits the city.

1966

Inauguration of new Knesset building. Israel Museum and Shrine of the Book are established.

1967 5-11 June

The Six Day War.

·         June 7: The Old City is captured by the IDF.

·         June 28: Israel declares Jerusalem unified and announces free access to holy sites of all religions.

1969

An Australian Protestant extremist burns a part of the al-Aqsa Mosque.

1977

President of Egypt Anwar Sadat visits Jerusalem.

1978

WUJS headquarters moves from London to Jerusalem.

1980

The Jerusalem Law is enacted.

And a timeline for the Arab Israeli conflict in modern times from: http://www.cmep.org/documents/Timeline.htm

TIMELINE of the ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT

Printer-Friendly Format: PDF File

*****

OK if you peruse the above you will see that various folks have occupied Jeruslaem.

The importance of Jerusalem to Muslims

The importance of Jerusalem to Muslims is related to Islamic Doctrine, and to the Nocturnal Journey and Ascension of Prophet Muhammad as stated in the glorious Quran:

“Exalted is He who took His Servant in a night journey from the Sanctified Mosque (in Mekkah) to Al-Aqsa Mosque (in Jerusalem) whose surroundings We have blessed, to show Him some of Our Signs. Verily it is He Who is the All-Hearing and All-Seeing.”

Prophet Muhammad was the first Muslim who entered Jerusalem and prayed at Al-Aqsa Mosque, as Imam with the prophets during the Nocturnal Journey and Ascension. Also the prayer ordinance became a Muslim obligation from over Jerusalem during Ascension. Hence Al-Aqsa Mosque became the first Qiblah and the third Mosque in Islam.

On the other hand, there are several sayings in which prophet Muhammad confirms the importance and holiness of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and urges all Muslims to visit Jerusalem continuously and to defend it.

As for the Arab Christians, Jerusalem is sanctified because it embraces inside its historical stone-walls the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and many other Christian Churches. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built by Helenah in AD 330 on the same site of the 14^th station of the Cross, where Jesus Christ was ascended to the skies.

According to the Old Testament, the first Jewish Temple was constructed by King David on a land purchased from Arnan, the Jebusite. That site had no sanctity or holiness as Al-Aqsa Mosque or the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, because it was a farm belonging to an Arabic citizen.

In the end, I say to the Israelis that it is against human rights and logic to declare Jerusalem as an eternal capital for 14 million Israelis, living all over the world, neglecting the religious and political rights of one and a quarter billion Muslims and two billion Christians.

******

Here is another less devout take on the importance of Jerusalem

This posting may be unpleasant reading for devout Moslems.

If you are not interested in reading the following facts about Islam, just delete this message.

If you agree with my position, please forward it to any interested parties.

Feel free to quote from this message.

Dr. M. Kedar, Dept. of Arabic, Bar-Ilan University, 52900 Ramat-Gan, Israel
Phone+Fax: 972 9 7449162 email: mkedar@mail.biu.ac.il

French translation of the whole document

How Did Jerusalem Come to be so Holy to Moslems?
Why and when the myth of al-Aqsa was created?

Muhammad, the Prophet, hardly made any innovations when he established Islam. He used the hallowed personages, historic legends and sacred sites of Judaism, Christianity, and even paganism, by Islamizing them. Thus, according to Islam, Abraham was the first Moslem and Jesus and St. John (the sons of Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aron) were prophets and guardians of the second heaven. Many Biblical legends (asatir al-awwalin), which were familiar to the pagan Arabs before the dawn of Islam, underwent an Islamic conversion and the Koran as well as the Hadith (the Islamic oral tradition), are replete with them.

The practice of Islamization was performed on places as well as persons: Mecca and the holy stone - al-Ka'bah - were holy sites of the pre-Islamic pagan Arabs. The Umayyads' Mosque in Damascus and the Great Mosque of Istanbul were built on the sites of Christian-Byzantine churches which were converted into mosques - good examples of Islamic treatment of sanctuaries of other faiths. Jerusalem underwent the same process: at first Muhammad attempted to convince the Jews near Medina to join his young community, and in order to persuade them, he established the direction of prayer (kiblah) to be to the north, towards Jerusalem, like the Jews; but after he failed in this attempt he fought the Jews, killed many of them, and turned the kiblah southward, to Mecca. His abandonment of Jerusalem explains the fact that this city is not mentioned in the Koran even once. After Palestine was occupied by the Moslems, its capital was in Ramlah, 30 miles to the west of Jerusalem, since this city meant nothing to them. Islam rediscovered Jerusalem 50 years after Muhammad's death.

In 682 CE, 'Abd allah ibn al-Zubayr rebelled against the Islamic rulers in Damascus, conquered Mecca and prevented pilgrims from reaching Mecca for the Hajj. 'Abd al-Malik, the Umayyad Calif, needed an alternative site for the pilgrimage and settled on Jerusalem which was under his control. In order to justify this choice, a verse from the Koran was chosen (sura 17, verse 1) which states (trans. by Majid Fakhri): "Glory to Him who caused His servant to travel by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque, whose precincts We have blessed, in order to show him some of Our Signs, He is indeed the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing." The meaning ascribed to this verse is that "the furthest mosque" (al-masjid al-aqsa) is in Jerusalem and that Muhammad was conveyed there one night (although at that time the journey took three days by camel), on the back of al-Buraq, his magical horse with the head of a woman, wings of an eagle, the tail of a peacock, and whose hoofs reach to the horizon. He tethered the horse to the Western Wall of the Temple Mount and from there ascended to the seventh heaven together with the angel Gabriel. On his way he met the prophets of other religions who are the guardians of heaven: Adam, Jesus, St. John, Joseph, Seth, Aaron, Moses and Abraham who accompanied him on his way to the seventh heaven, to Allah, and who accepted him as their master. (see the commentary of Al-Jalalayn on this verse). Thus Islam tries to gain legitimacy over other, older religions, by creating a scene in which the former prophets agree to Muhammad's mastery, thus making him Khatam al-Anbiya' ("the Seal of the Prophets"). The strange thing here is that this fantastic story contradicts a number of the tenets of Islam: How can a man of flesh and blood ascend to heaven? How can a mythical creature carry a mortal to a real destination? Questions such as these have caused orthodox Moslem thinkers to conclude that the whole story of the nocturnal journey was a dream of Muhammad's. Thus Islam tried to "go one better" than the Bible: Moses "only" went up to Mt. Sinai, in the middle of nowhere, and drew close to heaven, whereas Muhammad went all the way up to Allah, and from Jerusalem itself.

So why shouldn't we also believe that the al-Aqsa mosque is in Jerusalem? One good reason is that the people of Mecca, who knew Muhammad well, did not believed this story. Only Abu Bakr, the first Calif, believed him and thus was called "al-Siddiq" ("the believer"). The second reason is that Islamic tradition itself tells us that al-Aqsa mosque is near Mecca on the Arabian peninsula. This was unequivocally stated in "Kitab al-maghazi", a book by the Moslem historian and geographer al-Waqidi (Oxford UP, 1966, vol. 3, pp. 958-9). According to al-Waqidi, there were two "masjeds" (places of prayer) in al-gi'ranah, a village between Mecca and Ta'if. One was the "the closer mosque" (al-masjid al-adana) and the other was "the further Mosque" (al-masjid al-aqsa), and Muhammad would pray there when he went out of town.

This description by al-Waqidi was not "convenient" for the Islamic propaganda of the 7th century. In order to establish a basis to the awareness of the "holiness" of Jerusalem in Islam, the Califs of the Ummayid dynasty invented many "traditions" upholding the value of Jerusalem ("fadha'il bayt al-Maqdis"), which would justify pilgrimmage to Jerusalem to the faithful Moslems. Thus was al-masjid al-aqsa "transported" to Jerusalem<