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{{Islam by country}} |
{{Islam by country}} |
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[[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] [[Islam]] is a major [[religion]] in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], being the religion of the majority of the [[Palestinian people|Palestinian population]]. [[Muslim]]s comprise 85% of the population of the [[West Bank]], when including [[Israeli settlement|Israeli settlers]],<ref name="West Bank">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/west-bank/ West Bank]. CIA Factbook</ref> and 99% of the population of the [[Gaza Strip]].<ref name="Gaza Strip">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/gaza-strip/ Gaza Strip]. CIA Factbook</ref> The largest denomination among Palestinian Muslims are |
[[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] [[Islam]] is a major [[religion]] in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], being the religion of the majority of the [[Palestinian people|Palestinian population]]. [[Muslim]]s comprise 85% of the population of the [[West Bank]], when including [[Israeli settlement|Israeli settlers]],<ref name="West Bank">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/west-bank/ West Bank]. CIA Factbook</ref> and 99% of the population of the [[Gaza Strip]].<ref name="Gaza Strip">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/gaza-strip/ Gaza Strip]. CIA Factbook</ref> The largest denomination among Palestinian Muslims are Sunnis, comprising 85% of the total Muslim population. |
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During the 7th century, the Arab [[Rashidun Caliphate|Rashiduns]] [[Muslim conquest of the Levant|conquered the Levant]], succeeded by subsequent Arabic-speaking Muslim dynasties like the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyads]], [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasids]] and the [[Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimids]] |
During the 7th century, the Arab [[Rashidun Caliphate|Rashiduns]] [[Muslim conquest of the Levant|conquered the Levant]], succeeded by subsequent Arabic-speaking Muslim dynasties like the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyads]], [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasids]] and the [[Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimids]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gil |first=Moshe |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/59601193 |title=A History of Palestine, 634-1099 |date=1997 |others=Ethel Briodo |isbn=0-521-59984-9 |location=Cambridge |oclc=59601193}}</ref> marking the onset of [[Arabization]] and [[Spread of Islam|Islamization]] in the region. This process involved both resettlement by nomadic tribes and individual conversions.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Ellenblum |first=Ronnie |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/958547332 |title=Frankish Rural Settlement in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. |date=2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-511-58534-0 |oclc=958547332 |quote=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}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Tramontana |first=Felicita |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvc16s06 |title=Passages of Faith: Conversion in Palestinian villages (17th century) |date=2014 |publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn=978-3-447-10135-6 |edition=1 |pages=69, 114–115 |chapter= |doi=10.2307/j.ctvc16s06.10 |jstor=j.ctvc16s06 |quote=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.}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":22">{{Cite journal |last=Levy-Rubin |first=Milka |date=2000 |title=New Evidence Relating to the Process of Islamization in Palestine in the Early Muslim Period: The Case of Samaria |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3632444 |journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=257–276 |doi=10.1163/156852000511303 |issn=0022-4995 |jstor=3632444}}</ref> [[Sedentism|Sedentarization]] facilitated a more rapid Islamization compared to the slower pace of individual conversions among the local populace.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":32">Gideon Avni, ''The Byzantine-Islamic Transition in Palestine: An Archaeological Approach'', Oxford University Press 2014 pp.312–324, 329 (theory of imported population unsubstantiated);.</ref> Sufi activities<ref name=":1" /> and changes in social structures and the weakening of local Christian authorities under Islamic rule<ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=Ehrlich |first=Michael |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1310046222 |title=The Islamization of the Holy Land, 634-1800 |publisher=Arc Humanity Press |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-64189-222-3 |pages=33 |oclc=1310046222}}</ref> also played significant roles. |
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[[File:Jerusalem-2013-Al-Aqsa Mosque 04 (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Al-Aqsa Mosque]], in [[East Jerusalem]].{{refn|group=note|Under [[international law]], East Jerusalem is considered a part of the [[West Bank]] and, therefore, of the [[Palestinian territories]].|name=GH}}]] |
[[File:Jerusalem-2013-Al-Aqsa Mosque 04 (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Al-Aqsa Mosque]], in [[East Jerusalem]].{{refn|group=note|Under [[international law]], East Jerusalem is considered a part of the [[West Bank]] and, therefore, of the [[Palestinian territories]].|name=GH}}]] |
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Some scholars suggest that by the arrival of the [[Crusades|Crusaders]], Palestine was already overwhelmingly Muslim,<ref>Ira M. Lapidus, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZkJpBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA156 ''A History of Islamic Societies''], (1988) Cambridge University Press 3rd.ed.2014 p.156</ref><ref name="Tessler3">Mark A. Tessler, ''A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict'', Indiana University Press, 1994, {{ISBN|0-253-20873-4}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=3kbU4BIAcrQC&q=iSLAM+pALESTINE%2C&pg=PA70 M1 Google Print, p. 70].</ref> 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 Sultanate|Mamluk period]].<ref name=":22" /><ref>Ira M. Lapidus, [https://books.google.com/books?id=qcPZ1k65pqkC&pg=PA201 ''Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History''], Cambridge University Press, 2012, p. 201.</ref> |
Some scholars suggest that by the arrival of the [[Crusades|Crusaders]], Palestine was already overwhelmingly Muslim,<ref>Ira M. Lapidus, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZkJpBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA156 ''A History of Islamic Societies''], (1988) Cambridge University Press 3rd.ed.2014 p.156</ref><ref name="Tessler3">Mark A. Tessler, ''A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict'', Indiana University Press, 1994, {{ISBN|0-253-20873-4}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=3kbU4BIAcrQC&q=iSLAM+pALESTINE%2C&pg=PA70 M1 Google Print, p. 70].</ref> 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 Sultanate|Mamluk period]].<ref name=":22" /><ref>Ira M. Lapidus, [https://books.google.com/books?id=qcPZ1k65pqkC&pg=PA201 ''Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History''], Cambridge University Press, 2012, p. 201.</ref> |
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{{main|Muslim conquest of the Levant}} |
{{main|Muslim conquest of the Levant}} |
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[[File:Mohammad adil rais-Caliph Umar's empire at its peak 644.PNG|thumb|[[Umar|ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb]]'s empire at its peak, 644]] |
[[File:Mohammad adil rais-Caliph Umar's empire at its peak 644.PNG|thumb|[[Umar|ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb]]'s empire at its peak, 644]] |
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Islam was first brought to the [[Palestine (region)|region of Palestine]] during the [[Early Muslim conquests]] of the 7th century, when the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] under the leadership of [[Umar|ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb]] conquered the [[Syria (region)|Shaam]]{{refn|group=note|''[[Ash-Shām]]'' ({{ |
Islam was first brought to the [[Palestine (region)|region of Palestine]] during the [[Early Muslim conquests]] of the 7th century, when the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] under the leadership of [[Umar|ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb]] conquered the [[Syria (region)|Shaam]]{{refn|group=note|''[[Ash-Shām]]'' ({{langx|ar|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.<ref name="KillebrewSteiner2014">{{cite book |author1=Killebrew, A. E. |author2=Steiner, M. L. |title=The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant: C. 8000-332 BCE |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5H4fAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT25 |year=2014 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-921297-2 |page=2 |quote=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.}}</ref> It includes the modern countries of Syria and [[Lebanon]], and the [[Palestine (region)|land of Palestine]].<ref name="Volume 9 1997 page 261">Article "AL-SHĀM" by [[C.E. Bosworth]], ''[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]'', Volume 9 (1997), page 261.</ref><ref name="Salibi2003">{{cite book |author=Salibi, K. S. |author-link=Kamal Salibi |title=A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t_amYLJq4SQC |year=2003 |publisher=I.B.Tauris |isbn=978-1-86064-912-7 |pages=61–62 |quote=To the [[Arabs]], this same territory, which the Romans considered Arabian, formed part of what they called [[Bilad al-Sham]], which was their own name for [[Syria (region)|Syria]]. From the classical perspective however Syria, including Palestine, formed no more than the western fringes of what was reckoned to be Arabia between the first line of cities and the coast. Since there is no clear dividing line between what are called today the [[Syrian Desert|Syrian]] and [[Arabian desert]]s, which actually form one stretch of arid tableland, the classical concept of what actually constituted Syria had more to its credit geographically than the vaguer Arab concept of Syria as Bilad al-Sham. Under the [[Roman Empire|Roman]]s, there was actually a [[Syria Palestina|province of Syria]], with its capital at [[Antioch]], which carried the name of the territory. Otherwise, down the centuries, Syria like [[Arabia]] and [[Mesopotamia]] was no more than a geographic expression. In [[Islam]]ic times, the Arab geographers used the name arabicized as [[Suriyah]], to denote one special region of Bilad al-Sham, which was the middle section of the valley of the [[Orontes river]], in the vicinity of the towns of [[Homs]] and [[Hama]]. They also noted that it was an old name for the whole of Bilad al-Sham which had gone out of use. As a geographic expression, however, the name Syria survived in its original classical sense in [[Byzantine]] and Western European usage, and also in the [[Syriac language|Syriac]] literature of some of the [[Eastern Christian]] churches, from which it occasionally found its way into [[Christians|Christian]] Arabic usage. It was only in the nineteenth century that the use of the name was revived in its modern Arabic form, frequently as Suriyya rather than the older Suriyah, to denote the whole of Bilad al-Sham: first of all in the [[Christianity|Christian]] Arabic literature of the period, and under the influence of [[Western Europe]]. By the end of that century it had already replaced the name of Bilad al-Sham even in [[Muslim]] Arabic usage.}}</ref>}} region from the [[Byzantine Empire]].<ref>[http://www.mideastweb.org/islamhistory.htm A Concise History of Islam and the Arabs] MidEastWeb.org</ref> |
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The Muslim army conquered Jerusalem, held by the Byzantine Romans, in November, 636. For four months [[Siege of Jerusalem (636–637)|the siege]] continued. Ultimately, the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Sophronius, agreed to surrender Jerusalem to Caliph Umar in person. Caliph Umar, then at Medina, agreed to these terms and traveled to Jerusalem to sign the capitulation in the spring of 637. Sophronius also negotiated a pact with Caliph Umar, known as the Umariyya Covenant or Covenant of Omar, allowing for religious freedom for Christians in exchange for ''[[jizya]]h'' ({{ |
The Muslim army conquered Jerusalem, held by the Byzantine Romans, in November, 636. For four months [[Siege of Jerusalem (636–637)|the siege]] continued. Ultimately, the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Sophronius, agreed to surrender Jerusalem to Caliph Umar in person. Caliph Umar, then at Medina, agreed to these terms and traveled to Jerusalem to sign the capitulation in the spring of 637. Sophronius also negotiated a pact with Caliph Umar, known as the Umariyya Covenant or Covenant of Omar, allowing for religious freedom for Christians in exchange for ''[[jizya]]h'' ({{langx|ar|جِـزْيَـة}}), a tax to be paid by conquered non-Muslims, called "dhimmis." Under Muslim Rule, the Christian and Jewish population of Jerusalem in this period enjoyed the usual tolerance given to non-Muslim [[monotheists]].<ref name="Catholic Jerusalem">{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=[[Catholic Encyclopedia]] |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08355a.htm |year=1910 |title=Jerusalem}}</ref> |
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<ref>{{cite book |title=The Jew in the Medieval World: A Source Book, 315-1791 |last=Marcus |first=Jacob Rader |publisher=Hebrew Union College Press |date=March 2000 |isbn=0-87820-217-X |pages=[https://archive.org/details/jewinmedievalwor00marc/page/13 13–15] |edition=Revised |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/jewinmedievalwor00marc/page/13}}</ref> |
<ref>{{cite book |title=The Jew in the Medieval World: A Source Book, 315-1791 |last=Marcus |first=Jacob Rader |publisher=Hebrew Union College Press |date=March 2000 |isbn=0-87820-217-X |pages=[https://archive.org/details/jewinmedievalwor00marc/page/13 13–15] |edition=Revised |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/jewinmedievalwor00marc/page/13}}</ref> |
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[[File:2010-08_Ramallah_14.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Mosque]] in [[Ramallah]]]] |
[[File:2010-08_Ramallah_14.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Mosque]] in [[Ramallah]]]] |
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Some scholars believe that Islam became the majority religion in Palestine in the 9th century, with acculturation of the locals into [[Arab]] identity and when [[Arabic language|Arabic]] became the ''[[lingua franca]]''.<ref name="Tessler3"/> In the [[Middle East and North Africa]]in general and Palestine in particular, indigenous peoples in various regions who until then spoke mostly [[Aramaic]], [[Coptic language|Coptic]] and [[Berber languages|Berber]] languages, began adopting [[Arabic]] due to its significance as a liturgical language of the [[Quran |
Some scholars believe that Islam became the majority religion in Palestine in the 9th century, with acculturation of the locals into [[Arab]] identity and when [[Arabic language|Arabic]] became the ''[[lingua franca]]''.<ref name="Tessler3"/> In the [[Middle East and North Africa]]in general and Palestine in particular, indigenous peoples in various regions who until then spoke mostly [[Aramaic]], [[Coptic language|Coptic]] and [[Berber languages|Berber]] languages, began adopting [[Arabic]] due to its significance as a liturgical language of the [[Quran]]. The shift took place with an extended period of [[bilingualism]], which lasted until the 12th century in Palestine and as late as the 17th century in [[Egypt]].<ref name="Neishtadt">{{cite book |last1=Neishtadt |first1=Mila |year=2015 |chapter=The Lexical Component in the Aramaic Substrate of Palestinian Arabic |page=281 |doi=10.1163/9789004300156_016 |title=Semitic Languages in Contact |isbn=978-90-04-30015-6 |oclc=1105497638|publisher=Brill|editor-first=Aaron|editor-last=Butts}}</ref><ref name="EALL Aramaic/Syriac Loanwords">{{cite book |first1=Jan |last1=Retsö |chapter=Aramaic/Syriac Loanwords |title=Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics |editor1-first=Lutz |editor1-last=Edzard |editor2-first=Rudolf |editor2-last=de Jong |doi=10.1163/1570-6699_eall_eall_com_0024 |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-arabic-language-and-linguistics/*-EALL_COM_0024 |publisher=Brill |year=2011 |access-date=19 December 2021 |archive-date=19 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219192633/https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-arabic-language-and-linguistics/*-EALL_COM_0024 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Beyer|first=Klaus|title=The Aramaic Language: Its Distribution and Subdivisions|year=1986|location=Göttingen|publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht|isbn=9783525535738|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pZ53zpMQNLEC}}</ref> |
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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. |
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. |
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In 1187, the [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid Sultan]] [[Saladin|Salah ad-Din]] captured the region after defeating the Crusader states in the [[Battle of Hattin]].<ref name=Madden2000>{{citation |last=Madden |first=Thomas |author-link=Thomas F. Madden |title=A Concise History of the Crusades |year=2000 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8476-9430-3}}</ref> As a direct result of the battle, Islamic forces once again became the dominant power in the region, re-conquering [[Jerusalem]] and several other Crusader-held cities.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/256944/Battle-of-Hattin "Battle of Ḥaṭṭīn."] ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 4 February 2013.</ref> In 1189, the first lodge for Sufi ascetics was established at the [[Al-Khanqah al-Salahiyya Mosque]] in Jerusalem, which had been a palace of the [[Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem|Latin Patriarch]] prior to the reconquest of the city.<ref name=sufism /> |
In 1187, the [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid Sultan]] [[Saladin|Salah ad-Din]] captured the region after defeating the Crusader states in the [[Battle of Hattin]].<ref name=Madden2000>{{citation |last=Madden |first=Thomas |author-link=Thomas F. Madden |title=A Concise History of the Crusades |year=2000 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8476-9430-3}}</ref> As a direct result of the battle, Islamic forces once again became the dominant power in the region, re-conquering [[Jerusalem]] and several other Crusader-held cities.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/256944/Battle-of-Hattin "Battle of Ḥaṭṭīn."] ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 4 February 2013.</ref> In 1189, the first lodge for Sufi ascetics was established at the [[Al-Khanqah al-Salahiyya Mosque]] in Jerusalem, which had been a palace of the [[Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem|Latin Patriarch]] prior to the reconquest of the city.<ref name=sufism /> |
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The Christian defeat led to a [[Third Crusade]] aimed to regain the lost territories in the Holy Land. [[Richard I of England]] launched a siege upon the city of [[Acre, Israel| |
The Christian defeat led to a [[Third Crusade]] aimed to regain the lost territories in the Holy Land. [[Richard I of England]] launched a siege upon the city of [[Acre, Israel|Acre]] after which he conquered the city and killed 3,000 Muslims. After a second victory won in the [[Battle of Arsuf]], the Crusaders arrived to Jerusalem, but withdrew without trying to conquer the city. Following another military clash in [[Jaffa]], which wasn't won by either side, [[Saladin]] and [[Richard the Lionheart]] signed the [[Treaty of Ramla]] in June 1192. Under the terms of the agreement, Jerusalem would remain under [[Muslim]] control but the city would be open to [[Christians|Christian]] pilgrims. The treaty reduced the Latin Kingdom to a strip along the coast from Tyre to [[Jaffa]]. |
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===Mamluk domination=== |
===Mamluk domination=== |
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On May 14, 1948, one day before the end of the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate of Palestine]], the leaders of the [[Yishuv|Jewish community in Palestine]] led by prime minister [[David Ben-Gurion]], made a [[Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel|declaration of independence]], and the [[state of Israel]] was established. Contingents of [[Egypt]]ian, [[Syria]]n, [[Jordan]]ian, and [[Iraq]]i armies invaded Israel, thus starting the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]]. The nascent [[Israeli Defense Force]] repulsed the Arab nations from part of the occupied territories, thus extending its borders beyond the original UNSCOP partition.<ref>Smith, Charles D. ''Palestine and the Arab Israeli Conflict: A History With Documents''. Bedford/St. Martin’s: Boston. (2004). Pg. 198</ref> By December 1948, Israel controlled most of the portion of Mandate Palestine west of the [[Jordan River]]. The remainder of the Mandate consisted of Jordan, the area that came to be called the [[West Bank]] (occupied by Jordan), and the [[Gaza Strip]] (occupied by Egypt). Prior to and during this conflict, 700,000<ref>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</ref> Palestinian Arabs fled their original lands to become [[Palestinian refugees]], in part, due to a [[Causes of the 1948 Palestinian exodus#Outline of the historical debate|promise]] from Arab leaders that they would be able to return when the war is won.<ref>Morris, Benny. [https://www.jstor.org/pss/4283141 "Yosef Weitz and the Transfer Committees 1948–49"] ''JSTOR: Middle Eastern Studies'' vol. 22, no. 4 (Oct., 1986), p. 522.</ref> |
On May 14, 1948, one day before the end of the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate of Palestine]], the leaders of the [[Yishuv|Jewish community in Palestine]] led by prime minister [[David Ben-Gurion]], made a [[Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel|declaration of independence]], and the [[state of Israel]] was established. Contingents of [[Egypt]]ian, [[Syria]]n, [[Jordan]]ian, and [[Iraq]]i armies invaded Israel, thus starting the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]]. The nascent [[Israeli Defense Force]] repulsed the Arab nations from part of the occupied territories, thus extending its borders beyond the original UNSCOP partition.<ref>Smith, Charles D. ''Palestine and the Arab Israeli Conflict: A History With Documents''. Bedford/St. Martin’s: Boston. (2004). Pg. 198</ref> By December 1948, Israel controlled most of the portion of Mandate Palestine west of the [[Jordan River]]. The remainder of the Mandate consisted of Jordan, the area that came to be called the [[West Bank]] (occupied by Jordan), and the [[Gaza Strip]] (occupied by Egypt). Prior to and during this conflict, 700,000<ref>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</ref> Palestinian Arabs fled their original lands to become [[Palestinian refugees]], in part, due to a [[Causes of the 1948 Palestinian exodus#Outline of the historical debate|promise]] from Arab leaders that they would be able to return when the war is won.<ref>Morris, Benny. [https://www.jstor.org/pss/4283141 "Yosef Weitz and the Transfer Committees 1948–49"] ''JSTOR: Middle Eastern Studies'' vol. 22, no. 4 (Oct., 1986), p. 522.</ref> |
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The British transferred the symbolic Islamic governance of the land to the [[Hashemite]]s |
The British transferred the symbolic [[Islamic governance]] of the land to the [[Hashemite]]s based in [[Jordan]], and not to the [[House of Saud]]. The Hashemites thus became the official guardians of the Islamic holy places of Jerusalem and the areas around it. Following the Jordanian rule of the West Bank during the war, King [[Abdullah I of Jordan]] removed Amin al-Husayni as Grand Mufti and appointed Sheikh [[Hussam ad-Din Jarallah]] as the new [[Grand Mufti of Jerusalem]] on 20 December 1948. The [[Supreme Muslim Council]] was eventually disbanded in 1951 by the Jordanian authorities.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}} On July 20, 1951 king Abdullah of Jordan was assassinated while visiting the Al Aqsa Mosque. The assassination was carried out by a Palestinian from the [[Al-Husayni|Husseini]] clan. The Palestinian gunman, motivated by fears that king Abdullah would make a separate peace with Israel, fired three fatal bullets into the King's head and chest.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}} |
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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 [[Waqf|Muslim Waqf]] controls administrative matters, taking responsibility for the conduct of Islamic affairs just as it did during the Jordanian rule.<ref>Sela. "Jerusalem." ''The Continuum Political Encyclopedia''. Sela. pp. 491–498.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://compare-islam.com/files/History-of-Palestine.pdf|title=The History of Palestine}}</ref> |
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 [[Waqf|Muslim Waqf]] controls administrative matters, taking responsibility for the conduct of Islamic affairs just as it did during the Jordanian rule.<ref>Sela. "Jerusalem." ''The Continuum Political Encyclopedia''. Sela. pp. 491–498.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://compare-islam.com/files/History-of-Palestine.pdf|title=The History of Palestine}}</ref> |
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===Sunni Islam=== |
===Sunni Islam=== |
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Sunnis constitute 85% of Palestinian Muslims,<ref name="pewy" /> of which the predominant madhab is [[Hanafi]], which is one of the four schools of Islamic law in Sunni Islam. [[Salafi movement|Salafism]] took root in Gaza in the 1970s, when Palestinian students returned from studying abroad at religious schools in Saudi Arabia. A number of Salafi groups in Gaza continue to receive support and funding from Riyadh.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Clarke|first=Colin P.|date=2019-08-14|title=How Salafism's Rise Threatens Gaza|journal=Foreign Affairs: America and the World|language=en-US|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/israel/2017-10-11/how-salafisms-rise-threatens-gaza|access-date=2020-07-06|issn=0015-7120}}</ref> |
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===Shia Islam=== |
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{{main|Shia villages in Palestine}} |
{{main|Shia villages in Palestine}} |
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From 1923 to 1948, there were seven villages in [[Mandatory Palestine]] in which the population was predominantly [[Shia Islam|Shia Muslim]] (also known as ''Metawali''): [[Tarbikha]], [[Saliha]], [[Al-Malkiyya|Malkiyeh]], [[Al-Nabi Yusha'|Nabi Yusha]], [[Qadas]], [[Hunin]], and [[Abil al-Qamh]].<ref>Kaufman (2006). The 1922 census also listed the Muslim minority in [[al-Bassa]] as Shia, but Kaufman determined they were actually Sunni.</ref> These villages were transferred from the French to the British sphere as a result of the border agreement of 1923. All of them were depopulated during the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], most of them went into Lebanon and their former locations are now in |
From 1923 to 1948, there were seven villages in [[Mandatory Palestine]] in which the population was predominantly [[Shia Islam|Shia Muslim]] (also known as ''Metawali''): [[Tarbikha]], [[Saliha]], [[Al-Malkiyya|Malkiyeh]], [[Al-Nabi Yusha'|Nabi Yusha]], [[Qadas]], [[Hunin]], and [[Abil al-Qamh]].<ref>Kaufman (2006). The 1922 census also listed the Muslim minority in [[al-Bassa]] as Shia, but Kaufman determined they were actually Sunni.</ref> These villages were transferred from the French to the British sphere as a result of the border agreement of 1923. All of them were depopulated during the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], most of them went into Lebanon and their former locations are now in northern [[Israel]]. The 1931 census counted 4,100 ''Metawalis'' in Palestine.<ref>{{cite book |title=Census of Palestine 1931; Palestine Part I, Report |volume=1 |place=Alexandria |year=1933 |page=82}}</ref> |
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Since 1979, due to Iran's influence, some Palestinian |
Since 1979, due to Iran's influence, some Palestinian Sunnis have converted to Shia Islam. Israeli ''[[Haaretz]]'' reported in 2012 that [[Hamas]]'s fear of growing Iranian influence in Gaza caused the organization to crack down on Shiite organizations, including charities.<ref name="haaretz.com">{{Cite news|title=Hamas brutally assaults Shi'ite worshippers in Gaza|url=https://www.haaretz.com/1.5166342|access-date=2020-09-11|newspaper=Haaretz|language=en}}</ref> Nevertheless, becoming Shiite is a growing trend in the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of Sunnis, both [[Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine|Islamic Jihad]] activists and ordinary people, are known to have converted.<ref name="haaretz.com"/> The [[Sabireen Movement]] was created in 2014 by some Shi’ites that left the [[Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine|Islamic Jihad]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-03-14|title=Al-Sabireen: an Iran-Backed Palestinian Movement in the Style of Hezbollah|url=https://raseef22.com/article/1071256-al-sabireen-iran-backed-palestinian-movement-style-hezbollah|access-date=2020-07-06|website=رصيف 22}}</ref> |
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===Non-denominational Islam=== |
===Non-denominational Islam=== |
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[[Category:Islam in the State of Palestine| ]] |
[[Category:Islam in the State of Palestine| ]] |
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[[Category:Islam by country|Palestine]] |
[[Category:Islam by country|Palestine]] |
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[[Category:History of Palestine (region)]] |
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[[Category:History of Islam|Palestine]] |
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Latest revision as of 04:14, 13 November 2024
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 Islam portal |
Sunni Islam is a major religion in Palestine, being the religion of the majority of the Palestinian population. Muslims comprise 85% of the population of the West Bank, when including Israeli settlers,[1] and 99% of the population of the Gaza Strip.[2] The largest denomination among Palestinian Muslims are Sunnis, comprising 85% of the total Muslim population.
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.
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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
[edit]Early Islamization
[edit]
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 the siege continued. Ultimately, the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Sophronius, agreed to surrender Jerusalem to Caliph Umar in person. Caliph Umar, then at Medina, agreed to these terms and traveled to Jerusalem to sign the capitulation in the spring of 637. Sophronius also negotiated a pact with Caliph Umar, known as the Umariyya Covenant or Covenant of Omar, allowing for religious freedom for Christians in exchange for jizyah (Arabic: جِـزْيَـة), a tax to be paid by conquered non-Muslims, called "dhimmis." Under Muslim Rule, the Christian and Jewish population of Jerusalem in this period enjoyed the usual tolerance given to non-Muslim monotheists.[16] [17]
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.
Jerusalem is Islam's third holiest city after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.[18] Although the Qur'an does not clarify from where exactly Muhammad ascended to Heaven, the Al-Aqsa (Temple Mount) of Jerusalem is believed by Muslims to be the location. According to the tradition, during a single night around the year 621 CE, the Islamic prophet Muhammad was carried by his mythological steed "al-Burāq" from Mecca to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. According to the tradition, from there he ascended to heaven where he spoke with Allah. This widely accepted Islamic belief is a source of the religious and spiritual importance of the Dome of the Rock and the adjacent al-Aqsa Mosque.[19]
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.[citation needed] The caliphs of Damascus (661–750) were tolerant princes who were on generally good terms with their Christian subjects. Many Christians (e.g., St. John Damascene) held important offices at their court. The Abbasid caliphs at Baghdad (753–1242), as long as they ruled Syria, were also tolerant of the Christians. Harun Abu-Ja-'afar, (786–809) sent the keys of the Holy Sepulchre to Charlemagne, who built a hospice for Latin pilgrims near the shrine.[citation needed]
Islamization under Abbasids and Fatimids
[edit]
Some scholars believe that Islam became the majority religion in Palestine in the 9th century, with acculturation of the locals into Arab identity and when Arabic became the lingua franca.[10] In the Middle East and North Africain general and Palestine in particular, indigenous peoples in various regions who until then spoke mostly Aramaic, Coptic and Berber languages, began adopting Arabic due to its significance as a liturgical language of the Quran. The shift took place with an extended period of bilingualism, which lasted until the 12th century in Palestine and as late as the 17th century in Egypt.[21][22][23]
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
[edit]In 1099, the Christian Crusaders, with the support of the Roman Catholic Church, launched the First Crusade campaign with the aims of regaining control of Jerusalem from the Fatimid Caliphate, and helping the Byzantine Empire fight the Seljuk Turks. During the campaign, the Crusaders launched an assault on the city of Jerusalem, captured it in July 1099, massacred many of the city's Muslim and Jewish inhabitants, and established the first Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Crusaders transformed the Dome of the Rock into the "Shrine of the Lord" (Templum Domini) and the Al-Aqsa mosque into the "Hall of Solomon" (Templum Solomonis). For the local Muslim population, the reaction to the events was to try to find an accommodation with the Crusaders, whereas the larger Muslim world typically looked upon the events with indifference.[27][28][29][30]
Ayyubid rule and Late Crusades
[edit]
In 1187, the Ayyubid Sultan Salah ad-Din captured the region after defeating the Crusader states in the Battle of Hattin.[31] As a direct result of the battle, Islamic forces once again became the dominant power in the region, re-conquering Jerusalem and several other Crusader-held cities.[32] In 1189, the first lodge for Sufi ascetics was established at the Al-Khanqah al-Salahiyya Mosque in Jerusalem, which had been a palace of the Latin Patriarch prior to the reconquest of the city.[24]
The Christian defeat led to a Third Crusade aimed to regain the lost territories in the Holy Land. Richard I of England launched a siege upon the city of Acre after which he conquered the city and killed 3,000 Muslims. After a second victory won in the Battle of Arsuf, the Crusaders arrived to Jerusalem, but withdrew without trying to conquer the city. Following another military clash in Jaffa, which wasn't won by either side, Saladin and Richard the Lionheart signed the Treaty of Ramla in June 1192. Under the terms of the agreement, Jerusalem would remain under Muslim control but the city would be open to Christian pilgrims. The treaty reduced the Latin Kingdom to a strip along the coast from Tyre to Jaffa.
Mamluk domination
[edit]In 1250, the Ayyubid Egyptian dynasty was overthrown by slave ("Mamluk") regiments, and a new dynasty - the Mamluks - was born. On September 3, 1260, at the Battle of Ain Jalut held in the Jezreel Valley, the Muslim Egyptian Mamluks under Baibars defeated the Mongols and stopped their advance. His successor Al-Ashraf Khalil completed the victory by sweeping the last of the Crusaders out of Palestine.
In 1291, the forces of the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt al-Ashraf Khalil forced a long siege upon the city of Acre, which was the final Christian landhold in the Holy Land. The Mamluks captured the city on May 18, 1291, killing most of the Christian local inhabitants, thus ending the second Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.[33]
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 Maqam al-Nabi Yamin, Maqam al-Nabi Musa, Maqam al-Nabi Rubin and many more shrines that Muslims described as a burial sites of Prophets, Sahabas and even what they considered holy Muslim martyrs from Crusader and pre-Crusader times. Some historians[who?] say that the shrines were built to make a good strategic positions for Muslims (for example Nabi Musa was built on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho).[citation needed]
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 Burji over the Bahri Mamluks, together with recurrent droughts, plagues and pestilence like the Black Death and taxation to cover the costs of wars against Crusaders and Mongols (the last of which was "Tamurlane's horde") brought about both growing insecurity and economic decline. By the end of their reign, with the decay of internal control and massive population losses due to plagues, Bedouins moved in to take advantage of the decline in defenses, and farmers abandoned their lands. They sacked Ramla in 1481 and annihilated a Mamluk army that had been raised in Gaza to repel them.[35][36] By the end of the 15th century, Jerusalem's population amounted to approximately 10,000, mostly Muslims, with roughly 1,000 Christians and 400 Jews.[37]
Rise of the Ottomans
[edit]
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, a popular uprising erupted against the rule of Wāli Muhammad Ali. The main cause of the uprising was indignation at being drafted by the Egyptian army. At first the rebels managed to take over many cities, including Nablus, Jerusalem and Hebron. In response, Egyptian military leader Ibrahim Pasha commanded an army force of 40,000 people against the rebels and managed to put an end to the rebellion, conquering Gaza, Ramleh, Jaffa, Haifa, Jerusalem and Acre. Ibrahim Pasha, in wresting control of Palestine from the Ottoman Empire, clashed with the regional ambitions of the European Great Powers and, in order to assuage their unease, he reversed Ottoman policy and opened the country up to both foreigners and non-Muslim populations. Despite the brevity of Egyptian overlordship, since the great powers restored the fortunes of the Ottomans and their sovereignty over Palestine, the long-term effect was to lay the groundwork for the development of extensive European activities and interests in Palestine.[40]
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
[edit]
In 1917, at the end of the First World War, the British Empire conquered the region of Palestine from the Ottoman Empire. The United Kingdom was granted control of Palestine by the Versailles Peace Conference which established the League of Nations in 1919 and appointed Herbert Samuel, a former Postmaster General in the British cabinet, who was instrumental in drafting the Balfour Declaration, as its first High Commissioner in Palestine. The British occupation of the region brought an end to hundreds of years of successive Muslim rule in the region of Palestine.
The gradual increase in the number of Jews in Palestine led to the development of a proto-Arab-Palestinian national movement, influenced and inspired by Muslim leader and Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini. Zionism, the ideology advocating the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, was increasingly identified as a threat by the Muslim-Arab population in Palestine. This anti-Zionist trend became linked to a fierce anti-British resistance (like in the 1920 Palestine riots and during the 1936–39 Arab Revolt).
The High Commissioner of Palestine, Herbert Samuel, issued an order in December 1921 establishing a Supreme Muslim Council with authority over all the Muslim waqfs and sharia courts in Palestine. In addition, in 1922 the British authorities appointed Haj Amin al-Husseini as the Mufti of Jerusalem. Until the 1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine took place, the Council operated as the Governing body of the Arab community under the British Mandate, and co-operated with the British government in Palestine. All along its operation, the Supreme Muslim Council advocated an active resistance against the Jewish "Yishuv", supporting the Arab underground anti-British movements in the country.[42]
1948–1967: Islam under Israeli, Jordanian and Egyptian rule
[edit]
On May 14, 1948, one day before the end of the British Mandate of Palestine, the leaders of the Jewish community in Palestine led by prime minister David Ben-Gurion, made a declaration of independence, and the state of Israel was established. Contingents of Egyptian, Syrian, Jordanian, and Iraqi armies invaded Israel, thus starting the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The nascent Israeli Defense Force repulsed the Arab nations from part of the occupied territories, thus extending its borders beyond the original UNSCOP partition.[43] By December 1948, Israel controlled most of the portion of Mandate Palestine west of the Jordan River. The remainder of the Mandate consisted of Jordan, the area that came to be called the West Bank (occupied by Jordan), and the Gaza Strip (occupied by Egypt). Prior to and during this conflict, 700,000[44] Palestinian Arabs fled their original lands to become Palestinian refugees, in part, due to a promise from Arab leaders that they would be able to return when the war is won.[45]
The British transferred the symbolic Islamic governance of the land to the Hashemites based in Jordan, and not to the House of Saud. The Hashemites thus became the official guardians of the Islamic holy places of Jerusalem and the areas around it. Following the Jordanian rule of the West Bank during the war, King Abdullah I of Jordan removed Amin al-Husayni as Grand Mufti and appointed Sheikh Hussam ad-Din Jarallah as the new Grand Mufti of Jerusalem on 20 December 1948. The Supreme Muslim Council was eventually disbanded in 1951 by the Jordanian authorities.[citation needed] On July 20, 1951 king Abdullah of Jordan was assassinated while visiting the Al Aqsa Mosque. The assassination was carried out by a Palestinian from the Husseini clan. The Palestinian gunman, motivated by fears that king Abdullah would make a separate peace with Israel, fired three fatal bullets into the King's head and chest.[citation needed]
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
[edit]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
[edit]Islam
[edit]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
[edit]Sunnis constitute 85% of Palestinian Muslims,[50] of which the predominant madhab is Hanafi, which is one of the four schools of Islamic law in Sunni Islam. Salafism took root in Gaza in the 1970s, when Palestinian students returned from studying abroad at religious schools in Saudi Arabia. A number of Salafi groups in Gaza continue to receive support and funding from Riyadh.[51]
Shia Islam
[edit]From 1923 to 1948, there were seven villages in Mandatory Palestine in which the population was predominantly Shia Muslim (also known as Metawali): Tarbikha, Saliha, Malkiyeh, Nabi Yusha, Qadas, Hunin, and Abil al-Qamh.[52] These villages were transferred from the French to the British sphere as a result of the border agreement of 1923. All of them were depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, most of them went into Lebanon and their former locations are now in northern Israel. The 1931 census counted 4,100 Metawalis in Palestine.[53]
Since 1979, due to Iran's influence, some Palestinian Sunnis have converted to Shia Islam. Israeli Haaretz reported in 2012 that Hamas's fear of growing Iranian influence in Gaza caused the organization to crack down on Shiite organizations, including charities.[54] Nevertheless, becoming Shiite is a growing trend in the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of Sunnis, both Islamic Jihad activists and ordinary people, are known to have converted.[54] The Sabireen Movement was created in 2014 by some Shi’ites that left the Islamic Jihad.[55]
Non-denominational Islam
[edit]According to the Pew Research Center, non-denominational Muslims constitute 15% of the Palestinian Muslim population.[50]
See also
[edit]
- 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
[edit]- ^ Under international law, East Jerusalem is considered a part of the West Bank and, therefore, of the Palestinian territories.
- ^ Ash-Shām (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
[edit]- ^ West Bank. CIA Factbook
- ^ Gaza Strip. CIA Factbook
- ^ Gil, Moshe (1997). A History of Palestine, 634-1099. Ethel Briodo. Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-59984-9. OCLC 59601193.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c d e Ellenblum, Ronnie (2010). Frankish Rural Settlement in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-511-58534-0. 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
- ^ a b c d e f Tramontana, Felicita (2014). Passages of Faith: Conversion in Palestinian villages (17th century) (1 ed.). Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 69, 114–115. doi:10.2307/j.ctvc16s06.10. ISBN 978-3-447-10135-6. JSTOR j.ctvc16s06.
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.
- ^ a b c Levy-Rubin, Milka (2000). "New Evidence Relating to the Process of Islamization in Palestine in the Early Muslim Period: The Case of Samaria". Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient. 43 (3): 257–276. doi:10.1163/156852000511303. ISSN 0022-4995. 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);.
- ^ a b c Ehrlich, Michael (2022). The Islamization of the Holy Land, 634-1800. Arc Humanity Press. p. 33. ISBN 978-1-64189-222-3. OCLC 1310046222.
- ^ Ira M. Lapidus, A History of Islamic Societies, (1988) Cambridge University Press 3rd.ed.2014 p.156
- ^ a b Mark A. Tessler, A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Indiana University Press, 1994, ISBN 0-253-20873-4, M1 Google Print, p. 70.
- ^ Ira M. Lapidus, Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History, Cambridge University Press, 2012, p. 201.
- ^ Killebrew, A. E.; Steiner, M. L. (2014). The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant: C. 8000-332 BCE. OUP Oxford. p. 2. 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.
- ^ Article "AL-SHĀM" by C.E. Bosworth, Encyclopaedia of Islam, Volume 9 (1997), page 261.
- ^ Salibi, K. S. (2003). A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered. I.B.Tauris. pp. 61–62. ISBN 978-1-86064-912-7.
To the Arabs, this same territory, which the Romans considered Arabian, formed part of what they called Bilad al-Sham, which was their own name for Syria. From the classical perspective however Syria, including Palestine, formed no more than the western fringes of what was reckoned to be Arabia between the first line of cities and the coast. Since there is no clear dividing line between what are called today the Syrian and Arabian deserts, which actually form one stretch of arid tableland, the classical concept of what actually constituted Syria had more to its credit geographically than the vaguer Arab concept of Syria as Bilad al-Sham. Under the Romans, there was actually a province of Syria, with its capital at Antioch, which carried the name of the territory. Otherwise, down the centuries, Syria like Arabia and Mesopotamia was no more than a geographic expression. In Islamic times, the Arab geographers used the name arabicized as Suriyah, to denote one special region of Bilad al-Sham, which was the middle section of the valley of the Orontes river, in the vicinity of the towns of Homs and Hama. They also noted that it was an old name for the whole of Bilad al-Sham which had gone out of use. As a geographic expression, however, the name Syria survived in its original classical sense in Byzantine and Western European usage, and also in the Syriac literature of some of the Eastern Christian churches, from which it occasionally found its way into Christian Arabic usage. It was only in the nineteenth century that the use of the name was revived in its modern Arabic form, frequently as Suriyya rather than the older Suriyah, to denote the whole of Bilad al-Sham: first of all in the Christian Arabic literature of the period, and under the influence of Western Europe. By the end of that century it had already replaced the name of Bilad al-Sham even in Muslim Arabic usage.
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b "Hamas brutally assaults Shi'ite worshippers in Gaza". Haaretz. Retrieved 2020-09-11.
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