Holy Land: Difference between revisions

The Holy Land
The Holy Land
Native names; אֶרֶץ הַקּוֹדֶשׁ (Hebrew); Terra Sancta (Latin); الأرض المقدسة (Arabic);
	Map of the Holy Land (Terra Sancta), Pietro Vesconte, 1321. Described by Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld as "the first non-Ptolemaic map of a definite country".
Type	Holy place
Location	Region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea
Original use	Judaism: Judaic Promised Land; Christianity: Land of the Gospel; Islam: Blessed land of the Quran; Baháʼí: The Holy Places;
Current use	Major pilgrimage destination for the Abrahamic religions

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The Holy Land^[a] is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. Today, the term "Holy Land" usually refers to a territory roughly corresponding to the modern states of Israel and Palestine. Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Baháʼís regard it as holy.^[3]

Part of the significance of the land stems from the religious significance of Jerusalem (the holiest city to Judaism, and the location of the First and Second Temples), as well as its historical significance as the setting for most of the Bible, the historical locale of Jesus' ministry, the location of the first Qibla before Kaaba in Mecca and the site of the Isra and Mi'raj event in Islam, and the site of the most revered pilgrimage sites in the Baháʼí Faith.

The holiness of the land as a destination of Christian pilgrimage contributed to launching the Crusades, as European Christians sought to win back the Holy Land from Muslims, who had conquered it from the Christian Eastern Roman Empire in AD 630. In the 19th century, the Holy Land became the subject of diplomatic wrangling as the holy places played a role in the Eastern Question which led to the Crimean War in the 1850s.

Many sites in the Holy Land have long been pilgrimage destinations for adherents of the Abrahamic religions, including Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Baháʼís. Pilgrims visit the Holy Land to touch and see physical manifestations of their faith, to confirm their beliefs in the holy context with collective excitation,^[4] and to connect personally to the Holy Land.^[5]

Judaism

Researchers consider that the concept of a land made holy by being the "earthly dwelling of the God of Israel" was present in Judaism at the latest by the time of Zechariah (6th century BCE).^[10]

Jews commonly refer to the Land of Israel as "The Holy Land" (Hebrew: אֶרֶץ הַקוֹדֵשׁ Eretz HaKodesh).^[11] The Tanakh explicitly refers to it as "holy land" in Zechariah 2:16.^[12] The term "holy land" is further used twice in the deuterocanonical books (Wisdom 12:3,^[13] 2 Maccabees 1:7).^[14] The holiness of the Land of Israel is generally implied by the Tanakh's claim that the Land was given to the Israelites by God, that is, it is the "Promised Land", an integral part of God's covenant.^{[citation needed]}

In the Torah, many mitzvot commanded to the Israelites can only be performed in the Land of Israel,^[15] which serves to differentiate it from other lands. For example, in the Land of Israel, "no land shall be sold permanently" (Leviticus 25:23).^[16] Shmita is only observed with respect to the Land of Israel, and the observance of many holy days is different, as an extra day is observed in the Jewish diaspora.

According to Eliezer Schweid:

The uniqueness of the Land of Israel is...'geo-theological' and not merely climatic. This is the land which faces the entrance of the spiritual world, that sphere of existence that lies beyond the physical world known to us through our senses. This is the key to the land's unique status with regard to prophecy and prayer, and also with regard to the commandments.^[17]

From the perspective of the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, the holiness of Israel had been concentrated since the sixteenth century, especially for burial, in the "Four Holy Cities": Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed and Tiberias – as Judaism's holiest cities. Jerusalem, as the site of the Temple, is considered especially significant.^[18] Sacred burials are still undertaken for diaspora Jews who wish to lie buried in the holy soil of Israel.^[19]

According to Jewish tradition, Jerusalem is Mount Moriah, the location of the binding of Isaac. The Hebrew Bible mentions the name "Jerusalem" 669 times, often because many mitzvot can only be performed within its environs. The name "Zion", which usually refers to Jerusalem, but sometimes the Land of Israel, appears in the Hebrew Bible 154 times.

The Talmud mentions the religious duty of populating Israel.^[20] So significant in Judaism is the act of purchasing land in Israel, the Talmud allows for the lifting of certain religious restrictions of Sabbath observance to further its acquisition and settlement.^[21] Rabbi Johanan said that "Whoever walks four cubits in Eretz Yisrael [the Land of Israel] is guaranteed entrance to the World to Come".^[22]^[19] A story says that when R. Eleazar b. Shammua' and R. Johanan HaSandlar left Israel to study from R. Judah ben Bathyra, they only managed to reach Sidon when "the thought of the sanctity of Palestine overcame their resolution, and they shed tears, rent their garments, and turned back".^[19] Due to the Jewish population being concentrated in Israel, emigration was generally prevented, which resulted in a limiting of the amount of space available for Jewish learning. However, after suffering persecutions in Israel for centuries after the destruction of the Temple, Rabbis who had found it very difficult to retain their position moved to Babylon, which offered them better protection. Many Jews wanted Israel to be the place where they died, in order to be buried there. The sage Rabbi Anan said "To be buried in Israel is like being buried under the altar."^[7]^[8]^[9] The saying "His land will absolve His people" implies that burial in Israel will cause one to be absolved of all one's sins.^[19]^[23]

Christianity

For Christians, the Holy Land is considered holy because of its association with the birth, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, whom Christians regard as the incarnation of God and the Messiah.

Christian books, including many editions of the Bible, often have maps of the Holy Land (considered to be Galilee, Samaria, and Judea). For instance, the Itinerarium Sacrae Scripturae (lit. 'Travel book through Holy Scripture') of Heinrich Bünting (1545–1606), a German Protestant pastor, featured such a map.^[24] His book was very popular, and it provided "the most complete available summary of biblical geography and described the geography of the Holy Land by tracing the travels of major figures from the Old and New testaments."^[24]

As a geographic term, the description "Holy Land" loosely encompasses modern-day Israel, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, western Jordan and south-western Syria.

Islam

Dome of the Rock (left) and Masjid Al-Qibli (right). The mosque was Islam's first direction of prayer (Qibla), and Muslims believe that Muhammad ascended to heaven from there

In the Quran, the term Al-Ard Al-Muqaddasah (Arabic: الأرض المقدسة, English: 'Holy Land') is used in a passage about Musa (Moses) proclaiming to the Children of Israel: "O my people! Enter the Holy Land which Allah has destined for you ˹to enter˺. And do not turn back or else you will become losers."^{[Quran 5:21]} The Quran also refers to the land as being 'Blessed'.^[25]^[26]^[27]

Jerusalem (referred to as Al-Quds, Arabic: الـقُـدس, 'The Holy') has particular significance in Islam. The Quran refers to Muhammad's experiencing the Isra and Mi'raj as "Glory be to the One Who took His servant ˹Muḥammad˺ by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque whose surroundings We have blessed, so that We may show him some of Our signs".^{[Quran 17:1]} Ahadith infer that the "Farthest Masjid" is in Al-Quds; for example, as narrated by Abu Hurairah: "On the night journey of the Apostle of Allah, two cups, one containing wine and the other containing milk, were presented to him at Al-Quds (Jerusalem). He looked at them and took the cup of milk. Angel Gabriel said, 'Praise be to Allah, who guided you to Al-Fitrah (the right path); if you had taken (the cup of) wine, your Ummah would have gone astray'." Jerusalem was Islam's first Qiblah (direction of prayer) in Muhammad's lifetime, however, this was later changed to the Kaaba in the Hijazi city of Mecca, following a revelation to Muhammad by the Archangel Jibril.^[28] The current construction of the Al-Aqsa mosque, which lies on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, is dated to the early Umayyad period of rule in Palestine. Architectural historian K. A. C. Creswell, referring to a testimony by Arculf, a Gallic monk, during his pilgrimage to Palestine in 679–82, notes the possibility that the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, Umar ibn al-Khattab, erected a primitive quadrangular building for a capacity of 3,000 worshipers somewhere on the Haram ash-Sharif. However, Arculf visited Palestine during the reign of Mu'awiyah I, and it is possible that Mu'awiyah ordered the construction, not Umar. This latter claim is explicitly supported by the early Muslim scholar al-Muthahhar bin Tahir.^[29] According to the Quran and Islamic traditions, Al-Aqsa Mosque is the place from which Muhammad went on a night journey (al-isra) during which he rode on Buraq, who took him from Mecca to al-Aqsa.^[30] Muhammad tethered Buraq to the Western Wall and prayed at al-Aqsa Mosque and after he finished his prayers, the angel Jibril (Gabriel) traveled with him to heaven, where he met several other prophets and led them in prayer.^[31] The historical significance of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Islam is further emphasized by the fact that Muslims turned towards al-Aqsa when they prayed for a period of 16 or 17 months after migration to Medina in 624; it thus became the qibla ('direction') that Muslims faced for prayer.^[32]

The exact region referred to as being 'blessed' in the Quran, in verses like 17:1, 21:71 and 34:18,^[25]^[26]^[27] has been interpreted differently by various scholars. Abdullah Yusuf Ali likens it to a wide land-range including Syria and Lebanon, especially the cities of Tyre and Sidon; Az-Zujaj describes it as "Damascus, Palestine, and a bit of Jordan"; Muadh ibn Jabal as "the area between al-Arish and the Euphrates"; and Ibn Abbas as "the land of Jericho".^[33] This overall region is referred to as "Ash-Shām" (Arabic: الـشَّـام).^[34]^[35]

Baháʼí Faith

The holiest places for Baháʼí pilgrimage are the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh and the Shrine of the Báb, which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the coastal cities of Acre and Haifa, respectively.^[36]

The Baháʼí Faith's founder, Bahá'u'lláh, was exiled to Acre Prison from 1868 and spent his life in its surroundings until his death in 1892. In his writings he set the slope of Mount Carmel to host the Shrine of the Báb which his appointed successor 'Abdu'l-Bahá erected in 1909 as a beginning of the terraced gardens there. The Head of the religion after him, Shoghi Effendi, began building other structures and the Universal House of Justice continued the work until the Bahá'í World Centre was brought to its current state as the spiritual and administrative centre of the religion.^[37]^[38] Its gardens are highly popular places to visit^[39] and Mohsen Makhmalbaf's 2012 film The Gardener featured them.^[40]

Notes

^ Hebrew: אֶרֶץ הַקּוֹדֶשׁ‎ Ereṣ haqQōdeš, Latin: Terra Sancta; Arabic: الأرض المقدسة‎ Al-Arḍ Al-Muqaddasah or الديار المقدسة‎ Ad-Diyar Al-Muqaddasah

References

^ Nordenskiöld, Adolf Erik (1889). Facsimile-atlas to the Early History of Cartography: With Reproductions of the Most Important Maps Printed in the XV and XVI Centuries. Kraus. pp. 51, 64.
^ "Bahá'i Holy Places in Haifa and the Western Galilee".
^ "Palestine | History, People, & Religion | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
^ Harris, David (2005). "Functionalism". Key Concepts in Leisure Studies. Sage Key Concepts series (reprint ed.). London: Sage. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-7619-7057-6. Retrieved 9 March 2019. Tourism frequently deploys metaphors such [as] pilgrimage [...] Religious ceremonies reinforce social bonds between believers in the form of rituals, and in their ecstatic early forms, they produced a worship of the social, using social processes ('collective excitation').
^ Metti, Michael Sebastian (1 June 2011). "Jerusalem - the most powerful brand in history" (PDF). Stockholm University School of Business. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 January 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
^ Angus, Julie (2014). Olive Odyssey: Searching for the Secrets of the Fruit That Seduced the World. Greystone Books. pp. 127–129. ISBN 978-1-77100-006-2. Retrieved 8 October 2020. The Olive Tree flourishes throughout Judaism, Islam and Christianity as a symbol of peace and prosperity, its oils cherished and its growers respected.
^ ^a ^b Ketubot (tractate) 111, quoted in Ein Yaakov
^ ^a ^b Rodkinson, Michael L. (translator) (2010). The Babylonian Talmud: all 20 volumes (Mobi Classics). MobileReference. p. 2234. ISBN 978-1-60778-618-4. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
^ ^a ^b Gil, Moshe (1997). A history of Palestine, 634–1099. Cambridge University Press. p. 632. ISBN 978-0-521-59984-9.
^ Magness, Jodi (2017). "Purity Observance among Diaspora Jews in the Roman World" (PDF). Archaeology and Text. 1. Ariel University and Lehigh University: 39–65. doi:10.21461/AT012017.39-66. ISSN 2521-8034. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
^ Troen, Ilan; Troen, Carol (2019). "Indigeneity". Israel Studies. 24 (2). Israel Studies, Vol. 24, No. 2: 17. doi:10.2979/israelstudies.24.2.02. ISSN 1084-9513. JSTOR 10.2979/israelstudies.24.2.02. S2CID 262013035. Retrieved 24 September 2023. For Jews, Christians, and Muslims, the land between the Jordan and the Mediterranean is not just a place. It is the Holy Land or Eretz HaKodesh, Terra Sancta, and Al-Ard. Al-Muqaddasah.
^ Zechariah 2:16
^ Wisdom 12:3
^ 2 Maccabees 1:7
^ Ziegler, Aharon (2007). Halakhic positions of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Vol. 4. New York: KTAV Publishing House. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-88125-937-7. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
^ Leviticus 25:23
^ Schweid, Eliezer (1985). The Land of Israel: National Home Or Land of Destiny. Translated by Deborah Greniman. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. Press, ISBN 978-0-8386-3234-5, p. 56.
^ Feintuch, Yossi (1987). U.S. Policy on Jerusalem, Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 1. ISBN 978-0-313-25700-1. Quote: "For the Jews the city has been the pre-eminent focus of their spiritual, cultural, and national life throughout three millennia [i.e. since the 10th century BCE.]."
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Jacobs, Joseph; Eisenstein, Judah David (1906). "Palestine, holiness of". The Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved 30 July 2021 – via JewishEncyclopedia.com.
^ Herzog, Isaac (1967). The Main Institutions of Jewish Law: The law of obligations. Soncino Press. p. 51.
^ Zahavi, Yosef (1962). Eretz Israel in rabbinic lore (Midreshei Eretz Israel): an anthology. Tehilla Institute. p. 28. If one buys a house from a non-Jew in Israel, the title deed may be written for him even on the Sabbath. On the Sabbath!? Is that possible? But as Rava explained, he may order a non-Jew to write it, even though instructing a non-Jew to do a work prohibited to Jews on the Sabbath is forbidden by rabbinic ordination, the rabbis waived their decree on account of the settlement of Palestine.
^ Rabbi Nathan Shapira (1655). Chapter Eleven, Part 1: Footsteps in the Land. Venice. Retrieved 30 October 2018 – via chabad.org. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
^ "Why Do Jews Fly Their Dead to Israel for Burial?". www.chabad.org. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
^ ^a ^b Bünting, Heinrich (1585). "Description of the Holy Land". World Digital Library (in German).
^ ^a ^b Quran 17:1–16
^ ^a ^b Quran 21:51–82
^ ^a ^b Quran 34:10–18
^ Quran 2:142–177
^ Elad, Amikam. (1995). Medieval Jerusalem and Islamic worship : holy places, ceremonies, pilgrimage. Leiden: E.J. Brill. pp. 29–43. ISBN 978-90-04-10010-7. OCLC 30399668.
^ Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world. Martin, Richard C. New York: Macmillan Reference USA. 2004. p. 482. ISBN 978-0-02-865603-8. OCLC 52178942.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^ Vuckovic, Brooke Olson. (2005). Heavenly journeys, earthly concerns: the legacy of the mi'raj in the formation of Islam. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-203-48747-1. OCLC 61428375.
^ Buchanan, Allen E.; Moore, Margaret, eds. (2003). States, nations, and borders: the ethics of making boundaries. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-511-06159-2. OCLC 252506070.
^ Ali (1991), p. 934
^ Bosworth, C.E. (1997). "Al-Shām". Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. 9. p. 261.
^ Salibi, Kamal 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.
^ UNESCO World Heritage Centre (8 July 2008). "Three new sites inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List". Retrieved 8 July 2008.
^ Gatrella, Jay D.; Noga Collins-Kreinerb (September 2006). "Negotiated space: Tourists, pilgrims, and the Baháʼí terraced gardens in Haifa". Geoforum. 37 (5): 765–778. doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2006.01.002. ISSN 0016-7185.
^ Smith, Peter (2000). "Arc-buildings of; Bahá'í World Centre". A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. pp. 45–46, 71–72. ISBN 978-1-85168-184-6.
^ Leichman, Abigail Klein (7 September 2011). "Israel's top 10 public gardens". Israel21c.org. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
^ Dargis, Manohla (8 August 2013). "The Cultivation of Belief – 'The Gardener,' Mohsen Makhmalbaf's Inquiry into Religion". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 March 2014.

External links

Manuscripts from the Holy Land Shapell Manuscript Foundation
"Description of the Holy Land", 1585 map depicting the Holy Land at the time of Jesus, World Digital Library

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Palestine, Holiness of". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.

[3] Hebrew: אֶרֶץ הַקּוֹדֶשׁ‎ Ereṣ haqQōdeš, Latin: Terra Sancta; Arabic: الأرض المقدسة‎ Al-Arḍ Al-Muqaddasah or الديار المقدسة‎ Ad-Diyar Al-Muqaddasah

[atlas-1] Nordenskiöld, Adolf Erik (1889). Facsimile-atlas to the Early History of Cartography: With Reproductions of the Most Important Maps Printed in the XV and XVI Centuries. Kraus. pp. 51, 64.

[2] "Bahá'i Holy Places in Haifa and the Western Galilee".

[4] "Palestine | History, People, & Religion | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 23 October 2022.

[5] Harris, David (2005). "Functionalism". Key Concepts in Leisure Studies. Sage Key Concepts series (reprint ed.). London: Sage. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-7619-7057-6. Retrieved 9 March 2019. Tourism frequently deploys metaphors such [as] pilgrimage [...] Religious ceremonies reinforce social bonds between believers in the form of rituals, and in their ecstatic early forms, they produced a worship of the social, using social processes ('collective excitation').

[6] Metti, Michael Sebastian (1 June 2011). "Jerusalem - the most powerful brand in history" (PDF). Stockholm University School of Business. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 January 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2011.

[Angus2014-7] Angus, Julie (2014). Olive Odyssey: Searching for the Secrets of the Fruit That Seduced the World. Greystone Books. pp. 127–129. ISBN 978-1-77100-006-2. Retrieved 8 October 2020. The Olive Tree flourishes throughout Judaism, Islam and Christianity as a symbol of peace and prosperity, its oils cherished and its growers respected.

[first-8] Ketubot (tractate) 111, quoted in Ein Yaakov

[Transl2010-9] Rodkinson, Michael L. (translator) (2010). The Babylonian Talmud: all 20 volumes (Mobi Classics). MobileReference. p. 2234. ISBN 978-1-60778-618-4. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)

[Gil1997-10] Gil, Moshe (1997). A history of Palestine, 634–1099. Cambridge University Press. p. 632. ISBN 978-0-521-59984-9.

[Magna-11] Magness, Jodi (2017). "Purity Observance among Diaspora Jews in the Roman World" (PDF). Archaeology and Text. 1. Ariel University and Lehigh University: 39–65. doi:10.21461/AT012017.39-66. ISSN 2521-8034. Retrieved 16 July 2021.

[12] Troen, Ilan; Troen, Carol (2019). "Indigeneity". Israel Studies. 24 (2). Israel Studies, Vol. 24, No. 2: 17. doi:10.2979/israelstudies.24.2.02. ISSN 1084-9513. JSTOR 10.2979/israelstudies.24.2.02. S2CID 262013035. Retrieved 24 September 2023. For Jews, Christians, and Muslims, the land between the Jordan and the Mediterranean is not just a place. It is the Holy Land or Eretz HaKodesh, Terra Sancta, and Al-Ard. Al-Muqaddasah.

[13] Zechariah 2:16

[14] Wisdom 12:3

[15] 2 Maccabees 1:7

[Ziegler-16] Ziegler, Aharon (2007). Halakhic positions of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Vol. 4. New York: KTAV Publishing House. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-88125-937-7. Retrieved 21 April 2011.

[17] Leviticus 25:23

[18] Schweid, Eliezer (1985). The Land of Israel: National Home Or Land of Destiny. Translated by Deborah Greniman. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. Press, ISBN 978-0-8386-3234-5, p. 56.

[1000BCE-19] Feintuch, Yossi (1987). U.S. Policy on Jerusalem, Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 1. ISBN 978-0-313-25700-1. Quote: "For the Jews the city has been the pre-eminent focus of their spiritual, cultural, and national life throughout three millennia [i.e. since the 10th century BCE.]."

[JewEnc-20] Jacobs, Joseph; Eisenstein, Judah David (1906). "Palestine, holiness of". The Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved 30 July 2021 – via JewishEncyclopedia.com.

[Herzog1967-21] Herzog, Isaac (1967). The Main Institutions of Jewish Law: The law of obligations. Soncino Press. p. 51.

[Zahavi1962-22] Zahavi, Yosef (1962). Eretz Israel in rabbinic lore (Midreshei Eretz Israel): an anthology. Tehilla Institute. p. 28. If one buys a house from a non-Jew in Israel, the title deed may be written for him even on the Sabbath. On the Sabbath!? Is that possible? But as Rava explained, he may order a non-Jew to write it, even though instructing a non-Jew to do a work prohibited to Jews on the Sabbath is forbidden by rabbinic ordination, the rabbis waived their decree on account of the settlement of Palestine.

[Slavin-23] Rabbi Nathan Shapira (1655). Chapter Eleven, Part 1: Footsteps in the Land. Venice. Retrieved 30 October 2018 – via chabad.org. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

[24] "Why Do Jews Fly Their Dead to Israel for Burial?". www.chabad.org. Retrieved 30 October 2018.

[wdl-25] Bünting, Heinrich (1585). "Description of the Holy Land". World Digital Library (in German).

[qref|17|1-16|b=y-26] Quran 17:1–16

[qref|21|51-82|b=y-27] Quran 21:51–82

[qref|34|10-18|b=y-28] Quran 34:10–18

[qref|2|142-177|b=y-29] Quran 2:142–177

[30] Elad, Amikam. (1995). Medieval Jerusalem and Islamic worship : holy places, ceremonies, pilgrimage. Leiden: E.J. Brill. pp. 29–43. ISBN 978-90-04-10010-7. OCLC 30399668.

[31] Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world. Martin, Richard C. New York: Macmillan Reference USA. 2004. p. 482. ISBN 978-0-02-865603-8. OCLC 52178942.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

[32] Vuckovic, Brooke Olson. (2005). Heavenly journeys, earthly concerns: the legacy of the mi'raj in the formation of Islam. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-203-48747-1. OCLC 61428375.

[33] Buchanan, Allen E.; Moore, Margaret, eds. (2003). States, nations, and borders: the ethics of making boundaries. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-511-06159-2. OCLC 252506070.

[34] Ali (1991), p. 934

[Bosworth-35] Bosworth, C.E. (1997). "Al-Shām". Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. 9. p. 261.

[Salibi2003-36] Salibi, Kamal 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.

[UNESCO-37] UNESCO World Heritage Centre (8 July 2008). "Three new sites inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List". Retrieved 8 July 2008.

[38] Gatrella, Jay D.; Noga Collins-Kreinerb (September 2006). "Negotiated space: Tourists, pilgrims, and the Baháʼí terraced gardens in Haifa". Geoforum. 37 (5): 765–778. doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2006.01.002. ISSN 0016-7185.

[39] Smith, Peter (2000). "Arc-buildings of; Bahá'í World Centre". A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. pp. 45–46, 71–72. ISBN 978-1-85168-184-6.

[40] Leichman, Abigail Klein (7 September 2011). "Israel's top 10 public gardens". Israel21c.org. Retrieved 30 March 2014.

[41] Dargis, Manohla (8 August 2013). "The Cultivation of Belief – 'The Gardener,' Mohsen Makhmalbaf's Inquiry into Religion". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 March 2014.

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@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 | other_name=
 | image            = File:The map of the Holy Land by Marino Sanudo (drawn in 1320).jpg
-| image_size=
 | alt=
-| caption          = Map of the Holy Land (''"Terra Sancta"''), [[Pietro Vesconte]], 1321. Described by [[Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld]] as "the first non-Ptolemaic map of a definite country".<ref name=atlas>{{cite book|last=Nordenskiöld|first=Adolf Erik|author-link=Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld|title= Facsimile-atlas to the Early History of Cartography: With Reproductions of the Most Important Maps Printed in the XV and XVI Centuries|year= 1889|publisher= Kraus|pages= 51, 64|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=i-IMSQAACAAJ}}</ref>
+| caption          = Map of the Holy Land ({{lang|la|Terra Sancta}}), [[Pietro Vesconte]], 1321. Described by [[Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld]] as "the first non-Ptolemaic map of a definite country".<ref name=atlas>{{cite book|last=Nordenskiöld|first=Adolf Erik|author-link=Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld|title= Facsimile-atlas to the Early History of Cartography: With Reproductions of the Most Important Maps Printed in the XV and XVI Centuries|year= 1889|publisher= Kraus|pages= 51, 64|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=i-IMSQAACAAJ}}</ref>
 | locmapin=
 | map_relief=
@@ Line 28: / Line 27: @@
 | location         = Region between the [[Jordan River]] and the [[Mediterranean Sea]]
 | nearest_city=
+| original_use     = {{ubl|[[Judaism]]: Judaic [[Promised Land]]|[[Christianity]]: Land of the [[Gospel]]|[[Islam]]: Blessed land of the [[Quran]]|[[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]]: The Holy Places<ref>{{cite web | url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1220/ | title=Bahá'i Holy Places in Haifa and the Western Galilee }}</ref>}}
-| original_use     = [[Judaism]]: Judaic [[Promised Land]]<br>
-[[Christianity]]: Land of the [[Gospels]]<br>
-[[Islam]]: Blessed land of the [[Quran]]
 | current_use      =  Major [[pilgrimage]] destination for the [[Abrahamic religions]]
 }}
-The '''Holy Land'''{{efn|[[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: {{lang|he|אֶרֶץ הַקּוֹדֶשׁ}} {{transliteration|he|''Ereṣ haqQōdeš''}}, {{lang-la|Terra Sancta}}; [[Arabic language|Arabic]]: {{lang|ar|الأرض المقدسة}} {{transliteration|ar|''Al-Arḍ Al-Muqaddasah''}} or {{lang|ar|الديار المقدسة}} {{transliteration|ar|''Ad-Diyar Al-Muqaddasah''}}}} is an area roughly located between the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and the Eastern Bank of the [[Jordan River]], traditionally synonymous both with the biblical [[Land of Israel]] and with the [[Palestine (region)|region of Palestine]]. The term "Holy Land" usually refers to a territory roughly corresponding to the modern [[Israel|State of Israel]] and the [[Palestinian territories]]. [[Jews]], [[Christians]], and [[Muslim]]s regard it as [[holy]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Palestine {{!}} History, People, & Religion {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Palestine |access-date=2022-10-23 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
+The '''Holy Land'''{{efn|[[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: {{lang|he|{{Script/Hebrew|אֶרֶץ הַקּוֹדֶשׁ}}}} {{transliteration|he|Ereṣ haqQōdeš}}, {{langx|la|Terra Sancta}}; [[Arabic language|Arabic]]: {{lang|ar|{{Script/Arabic|الأرض المقدسة}}}} {{transliteration|ar|Al-Arḍ Al-Muqaddasah}} or {{lang|ar|{{Script/Hebrew|الديار المقدسة}}}} {{transliteration|ar|Ad-Diyar Al-Muqaddasah}}}} is an area roughly located between the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and the eastern bank of the [[Jordan River]], traditionally synonymous both with the biblical [[Land of Israel]] and with the [[Palestine (region)|region of Palestine]]. Today, the term "Holy Land" usually refers to a territory roughly corresponding to the modern states of [[Israel]] and [[State of Palestine|Palestine]]. [[Jews]], [[Christians]], [[Muslim]]s, and [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼís]] regard it as [[holy]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Palestine {{!}} History, People, & Religion {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Palestine |access-date=2022-10-23 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
-Part of the significance of the land stems from the [[religious significance of Jerusalem]] (the holiest city to [[Judaism]], and the location of the [[Solomon's Temple|First]] and [[Second Temple]]s), as well as its historical significance as the setting for most of the [[Bible]], the historical locale of [[Ministry of Jesus|Jesus' ministry]], the location of the first [[Qibla]] and the site of the [[Isra' and Mi'raj|Isra and Mi'raj]] event in [[Islam]].
+Part of the significance of the land stems from the [[religious significance of Jerusalem]] (the holiest city to [[Judaism]], and the location of the [[Solomon's Temple|First]] and [[Second Temple]]s), as well as its historical significance as the setting for most of the [[Bible]], the historical locale of [[Ministry of Jesus|Jesus' ministry]], the location of the first [[Qibla]] before Kaaba in Mecca and the site of the [[Isra' and Mi'raj|Isra and Mi'raj]] event in [[Islam]], and the site of the most revered pilgrimage sites in the [[Baháʼí Faith]].
-The holiness of the land as a destination of [[Christian pilgrimage]] contributed to launching the [[Crusades]], as [[European Christians]] sought to win back the Holy Land from Muslims, who had [[Muslim conquest of the Levant|conquered it]] from the Christian [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Roman Empire]] in 630 AD. In the 19th century, the Holy Land became the subject of diplomatic wrangling as the [[holy place]]s played a role in the [[Eastern Question]] which led to the [[Crimean War]] in the 1850s.
+The holiness of the land as a destination of [[Christian pilgrimage]] contributed to launching the [[Crusades]], as [[European Christians]] sought to win back the Holy Land from Muslims, who had [[Muslim conquest of the Levant|conquered it]] from the Christian [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Roman Empire]] in AD 630. In the 19th century, the Holy Land became the subject of diplomatic wrangling as the [[holy place]]s played a role in the [[Eastern Question]] which led to the [[Crimean War]] in the 1850s.
-Many sites in the Holy Land have long been [[pilgrimage]] destinations for adherents of the [[Abrahamic religions]], including Jews, Christians, Muslims, and [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼís]]. [[Pilgrim]]s visit the Holy Land to touch and see physical manifestations of their [[faith]], to confirm their [[belief]]s in the holy context with collective excitation,<ref>{{cite book |last1= Harris |first1= David |title= Key Concepts in Leisure Studies |chapter= Functionalism |page= 117 |series= SAGE Key Concepts series |edition= reprint |location= London |publisher= SAGE |date= 2005 |quote= Tourism frequently deploys metaphors such [as] [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrimage]] [...] Religious ceremonies reinforce social bonds between believers in the form of rituals, and in their ecstatic early forms, they produced a worship of the social, using social processes ('collective excitation'). |isbn= 978-0-7619-7057-6 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=n2PHQp9xIF8C |access-date= 9 March 2019}}</ref> and to connect personally to the Holy Land.<ref>{{cite news |last= Metti |first= Michael Sebastian |title= Jerusalem - the most powerful brand in history |work=[[Stockholm University School of Business]] |date= 2011-06-01 |url= http://www.metti-bronner.com/Jerusalem.pdf |access-date= 1 July 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200126124828/http://www.metti-bronner.com/Jerusalem.pdf |url-status= dead |archive-date= 2020-01-26}}</ref>
+Many sites in the Holy Land have long been [[pilgrimage]] destinations for adherents of the [[Abrahamic religions]], including Jews, Christians, Muslims, and [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼís]]. [[Pilgrim]]s visit the Holy Land to touch and see physical manifestations of their [[faith]], to confirm their [[belief]]s in the holy context with collective excitation,<ref>{{cite book |last1= Harris |first1= David |title= Key Concepts in Leisure Studies |chapter= Functionalism |page= 117 |series= Sage Key Concepts series |edition= reprint |location= London |publisher= Sage |date= 2005 |quote= Tourism frequently deploys metaphors such [as] [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrimage]]{{nbsp}}[...] Religious ceremonies reinforce social bonds between believers in the form of rituals, and in their ecstatic early forms, they produced a worship of the social, using social processes ('collective excitation'). |isbn= 978-0-7619-7057-6 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=n2PHQp9xIF8C |access-date= 9 March 2019}}</ref> and to connect personally to the Holy Land.<ref>{{cite news |last= Metti |first= Michael Sebastian |title= Jerusalem - the most powerful brand in history |work=[[Stockholm University School of Business]] |date= 2011-06-01 |url= http://www.metti-bronner.com/Jerusalem.pdf |access-date= 1 July 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200126124828/http://www.metti-bronner.com/Jerusalem.pdf |url-status= dead |archive-date= 2020-01-26}}</ref>
 ==Judaism==
-[[File:المسجد الاقصى.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|[[:Commons:Category:Olea europaea in Israel|Olive trees]], like this one in Jerusalem, have intrinsic symbolism in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.<ref name=Angus2014>{{cite book |last=Angus |first=Julie |title=Olive Odyssey: Searching for the Secrets of the Fruit That Seduced the World |date=5 May 2014 |publisher= Greystone Books |isbn=978-1-77100-006-2 |pages=127–129 |quote= The Olive Tree flourishes throughout Judaism, Islam and Christianity as a symbol of peace and prosperity, its oils cherished and its growers respected. |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=U0BgBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA128 |access-date=8 October 2020}}</ref>]]
+[[File:المسجد الاقصى.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|[[:Commons:Category:Olea europaea in Israel|Olive trees]], like this one in Jerusalem, have intrinsic symbolism in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.<ref name=Angus2014>{{cite book |last=Angus |first=Julie |title=Olive Odyssey: Searching for the Secrets of the Fruit That Seduced the World |date= 2014 |publisher= Greystone Books |isbn=978-1-77100-006-2 |pages=127–129 |quote= The Olive Tree flourishes throughout Judaism, Islam and Christianity as a symbol of peace and prosperity, its oils cherished and its growers respected. |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=U0BgBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA128 |access-date=8 October 2020}}</ref>]]
 [[File: 4 011.Cemetery of East Jerusalem with view to the City with Moshee2.jpg|thumb|Jewish cemetery on the [[Mount of Olives]], Jerusalem. The holiness of Israel attracted Jews to be buried in its holy soil. The sage Rabbi Anan said "To be buried in Israel is like being buried under the altar."<ref name=first>[[Ketubot (tractate)]] 111, quoted in [https://books.google.com/books?id=GGaTLhHBpwIC&pg=PA392 Ein Yaakov]</ref><ref name=Transl2010>{{cite book |author= Rodkinson, Michael L. (translator) |title=The Babylonian Talmud: all 20 volumes (Mobi Classics) |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1vpQgnDJLzUC&pg=PT2234 |year=2010 |publisher=MobileReference |isbn=978-1-60778-618-4 |page= 2234}}</ref><ref name=Gil1997>{{cite book|author=Gil, Moshe |title=A history of Palestine, 634–1099|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M0wUKoMJeccC&pg=PA632|year=1997|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-59984-9|page=632}}</ref>]]
@@ Line 49: / Line 46: @@
 Researchers consider that the concept of a land made holy by being the "earthly dwelling of the [[God in Judaism|God of Israel]]" was present in Judaism at the latest by the time of [[Zechariah (Hebrew prophet)|Zechariah]] (6th century BCE).<ref name=Magna>{{cite journal |last= Magness |first= Jodi |author-link= Jodi Magness |title= Purity Observance among Diaspora Jews in the Roman World |pages= 39–65 |journal= Archaeology and Text |publisher=[[Ariel University]] and [[Lehigh University]] |volume= 1 |year= 2017 |doi= 10.21461/AT012017.39-66 |issn= 2521-8034 |url= https://www.ariel.ac.il/wp/archaeology-and-text/wp-content/uploads/sites/139/2019/03/39-65.pdf |access-date= 16 July 2021}}</ref>
-Jews commonly refer to the [[Land of Israel]] as "The Holy Land" ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: {{lang|he|אֶרֶץ הַקוֹדֵשׁ}} {{transliteration|he|''Eretz HaKodesh''}}).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Troen |first1=Ilan |last2=Troen |first2=Carol |title=Indigeneity |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/israelstudies.24.2.02?searchText=%22Eretz%20hakodesh%22&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3D%25E2%2580%259CEretz%2Bhakodesh%25E2%2580%259D&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_phrase_search%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3Ae7dc48da7e1d508717cedd87ce52f336 |publisher=Israel Studies, Vol. 24, No. 2 |access-date=24 September 2023 |quote=“For Jews, Christians, and Muslims, the land between the Jordan and the Mediterranean is not just a place. It is the Holy Land or Eretz HaKodesh , Terra Sancta, and Al-Ard. Al-Muqaddasah.“}}</ref> However, the [[Tanakh]] explicitly refers to it as "holy land" in only one passage, {{bibleverse||Zechariah|2:16|HE}}.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} The term "holy land" is further used twice in the [[deuterocanonical books]] ({{bibleverse||Wisdom|12:3|NRSV}}, {{bibleverse||2 Maccabees|1:7|NRSV}}).{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} The holiness of the Land of Israel is generally implied in the Tanakh by the Land being given to the [[Israelites]] by God, that is, it is the "[[promised land]]", an integral part of [[Covenant (biblical)|God's covenant]].{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}
+Jews commonly refer to the [[Land of Israel]] as "The Holy Land" ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: {{lang|he|אֶרֶץ הַקוֹדֵשׁ}} {{transliteration|he|Eretz HaKodesh}}).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Troen |first1=Ilan |last2=Troen |first2=Carol |title=Indigeneity |journal=Israel Studies |date=2019 |volume=24 |issue=2 |page=17 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/israelstudies.24.2.02 |publisher=Israel Studies, Vol. 24, No. 2 |doi=10.2979/israelstudies.24.2.02 |jstor=10.2979/israelstudies.24.2.02 |s2cid=262013035 |access-date=24 September 2023 |quote=For Jews, Christians, and Muslims, the land between the Jordan and the Mediterranean is not just a place. It is the Holy Land or Eretz HaKodesh, Terra Sancta, and Al-Ard. Al-Muqaddasah.| issn = 1084-9513}}</ref> The [[Tanakh]] explicitly refers to it as "holy land" in Zechariah 2:16.<ref>{{bibleverse|Zechariah|2:16|HE}}</ref> The term "holy land" is further used twice in the [[deuterocanonical books]] (Wisdom 12:3,<ref>{{bibleverse|Wisdom|12:3|NRSV}}</ref> 2 Maccabees 1:7).<ref>{{bibleverse|2 Maccabees|1:7|NRSV}}</ref> The holiness of the Land of Israel is generally implied by the Tanakh's claim that the Land was given to the [[Israelites]] by God, that is, it is the "[[Promised Land]]", an integral part of [[Covenant (biblical)|God's covenant]].{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}
-In the [[Torah]], many [[mitzvot]] commanded to the Israelites can only be performed in the Land of Israel,<ref name=Ziegler>{{cite book |last= Ziegler |first= Aharon |title= Halakhic positions of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik |page= 173 |publisher=[[KTAV Publishing House]] |location= New York |volume= 4 |year= 2007 |isbn= 978-0-88125-937-7 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=XDzlvJ5zsfsC |access-date=21 April 2011}}</ref> which serves to differentiate it from other lands. For example, in the Land of Israel, "no land shall be sold permanently" ({{Bibleverse|Lev|25:23}}). [[Shmita]] is only observed with respect to the Land of Israel, and the observance of many [[Jewish holiday|holy]] days is different, as an extra day is observed in the [[Jewish diaspora]].{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}
+In the [[Torah]], many [[mitzvot]] commanded to the Israelites can only be performed in the Land of Israel,<ref name=Ziegler>{{cite book |last= Ziegler |first= Aharon |title= Halakhic positions of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik |page= 173 |publisher=[[KTAV Publishing House]] |location= New York |volume= 4 |year= 2007 |isbn= 978-0-88125-937-7 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=XDzlvJ5zsfsC |access-date=21 April 2011}}</ref> which serves to differentiate it from other lands. For example, in the Land of Israel, "no land shall be sold permanently" (Leviticus 25:23).<ref>{{Bibleverse|Leviticus|25:23|HE}}</ref> [[Shmita]] is only observed with respect to the Land of Israel, and the observance of many [[Jewish holiday|holy]] days is different, as [[Yom tov sheni shel galuyot|an extra day is observed]] in the [[Jewish diaspora]].
 According to [[Eliezer Schweid]]:
 {{blockquote|The uniqueness of the Land of Israel is...'geo-theological' and not merely climatic. This is the land which faces the entrance of the spiritual world, that sphere of existence that lies beyond the physical world known to us through our senses. This is the key to the land's unique status with regard to prophecy and prayer, and also with regard to the commandments.<ref>Schweid, Eliezer (1985). ''The Land of Israel: National Home Or Land of Destiny''. Translated by Deborah Greniman. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. Press, {{ISBN|978-0-8386-3234-5}}, p. 56.</ref>}}
@@ Line 66: / Line 64: @@
 [[File:Holy sepulchre mass.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|The [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]] is one of the most important [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrimage]] sites in Christianity, as it is the purported site of Christ's resurrection.]]
-For [[Christians]], the [[Land of Israel]] is considered holy because of its association with the [[Birth of Jesus|birth]], ministry, [[crucifixion]] and [[Death and Resurrection of Jesus|resurrection]] of [[Jesus]], whom Christians regard as the Savior or [[Messiah]].
+For [[Christians]], the Holy Land is considered holy because of its association with the [[Birth of Jesus|birth]], ministry, [[crucifixion]] and [[Death and Resurrection of Jesus|resurrection]] of [[Jesus]], whom Christians regard as the [[Incarnation (Christianity)|incarnation of God]] and the [[Messiah]].
-Christian books, including many editions of the Bible, often have maps of the Holy Land (considered to be Galilee, Samaria, and Judea). For instance, the ''Itinerarium Sacrae Scripturae'' ({{Lit|Travel book through Holy Scripture}}) of Heinrich Bünting (1545–1606), a German Protestant pastor, featured such a map.<ref name=wdl>{{cite web|title=Description of the Holy Land|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/2891/|website=[[World Digital Library]]|date=1585|language=de|author1=Bünting, Heinrich}}</ref> His book was very popular, and it provided "the most complete available summary of biblical geography and described the geography of the Holy Land by tracing the travels of major figures from the Old and New testaments."<ref name=wdl/>
+Christian books, including many editions of the Bible, often have maps of the Holy Land (considered to be Galilee, Samaria, and Judea). For instance, the {{lang|la|Itinerarium Sacrae Scripturae}} ({{Lit|Travel book through Holy Scripture}}) of Heinrich Bünting (1545–1606), a German Protestant pastor, featured such a map.<ref name=wdl>{{cite web|title=Description of the Holy Land|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/2891/|website=[[World Digital Library]]|date=1585|language=de|author1=Bünting, Heinrich}}</ref> His book was very popular, and it provided "the most complete available summary of biblical geography and described the geography of the Holy Land by tracing the travels of major figures from the Old and New testaments."<ref name=wdl/>
 As a geographic term, the description "Holy Land" loosely encompasses modern-day [[Israel]], the [[Palestinian territories]], [[Lebanon]], western [[Jordan]] and south-western [[Syria]].
-On 4 January 1964, [[Pope Paul VI|Paul VI]] made the first visit of a reigning pontiff to the Holy Land. It was a one day visit to Jerusalem.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/05/23/315121888/popes-in-the-holy-land-after-2-000-years-a-new-tradition?t=1617111171860|title=Popes In The Holy Land: After 2,000 Years, A New Tradition|newspaper=NPR|date=24 May 2014|access-date=30 March 2021|last1=Myre|first1=Greg}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} On 20 April 1984, [[Pope John Paul II|John Paul II]] fully recognized the Jewish nation and on 21 March 2000 he made the first five-days pilgrimage of a pope in Israel.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/aboutisrael/history/pages/israel%20welcomes%20visit%20by%20pope%20john%20paul%20ii%20-%20march.aspx|title=Israel welcomes visit by Pope John Paul II - March 2000|date=21 February 2000|access-date=30 March 2021|website=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210330133036/https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/aboutisrael/history/pages/israel%20welcomes%20visit%20by%20pope%20john%20paul%20ii%20-%20march.aspx|archive-date=30 March 2021|url-status=live}}</ref>
-Catholic Church guidelines for Holy Land pilgrimages recommend that visitors should seek "a healthy balance between visiting the holy places and encountering the local Christian community".<ref>[[Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales]], [https://www.cbcew.org.uk/cardinal-endorses-new-guidelines-for-holy-land-pilgrimages Cardinal endorses new guidelines for Holy Land pilgrimages], published 21 July 2022, accessed 20 September 2022</ref>
 ==Islam==<!-- This section is linked from [[Muslim history]] -->
@@ Line 85: / Line 79: @@
 }}
 {{See also|Jerusalem in Islam|Syria (region)}}
-In the [[Quran]], the term {{transliteration|ar|''Al-Ard Al-Muqaddasah''}} ({{lang-ar|الأرض المقدسة}}, {{lang-en|"Holy Land"}}) is used in a passage about [[Moses in Islam|Musa]] ([[Moses]]) proclaiming to the [[Children of Israel]]: "O  my people! Enter the Holy Land which [[Allah]] has destined for you ˹to enter˺. And do not turn back or else you will become losers."{{qref|5|21|b=y|s=y}} The Quran also refers to the land as being 'Blessed'.<ref name="qref|17|1-16|b=y">{{qref|17|1-16|b=y}}</ref><ref name="qref|21|51-82|b=y">{{qref|21|51-82|b=y}}</ref><ref name="qref|34|10-18|b=y">{{qref|34|10-18|b=y}}</ref>
+In the [[Quran]], the term {{transliteration|ar|Al-Ard Al-Muqaddasah}} ({{langx|ar|الأرض المقدسة}}, {{langx|en|'Holy Land'}}) is used in a passage about [[Moses in Islam|Musa]] ([[Moses]]) proclaiming to the [[Children of Israel]]: "O my people! Enter the Holy Land which [[Allah]] has destined for you ˹to enter˺. And do not turn back or else you will become losers."{{qref|5|21|b=y|s=y}} The Quran also refers to the land as being 'Blessed'.<ref name="qref|17|1-16|b=y">{{qref|17|1–16|b=y}}</ref><ref name="qref|21|51-82|b=y">{{qref|21|51–82|b=y}}</ref><ref name="qref|34|10-18|b=y">{{qref|34|10–18|b=y}}</ref>
-[[Jerusalem]] (referred to as ''Al-Quds,'' {{lang-ar|الـقُـدس}}, "The Holy") has particular significance in Islam. The Quran refers to [[Muhammad]]'s experiencing the [[Isra and Mi'raj]] as "Glory be to the One Who took His servant ˹Muḥammad˺ by night from the [[Masjid al-Haram|Sacred Mosque]] to the Farthest Mosque whose surroundings We have blessed, so that We may show him some of Our signs".{{qref|17|1|b=y|s=y}} ''[[Ahadith]]'' infer that the "Farthest Masjid" is in Al-Quds; for example, as narrated by [[Abu Huraira]]h: "On the night journey of the Apostle of Allah, two cups, one containing wine and the other containing milk, were presented to him at Al-Quds (Jerusalem). He looked at them and took the cup of milk. Angel Gabriel said, 'Praise be to Allah, who guided you to Al-Fitrah (the right path); if you had taken (the cup of) wine, your ''[[Ummah]]'' would have gone astray'." [[Jerusalem]] was Islam's first ''Qiblah'' (direction of prayer) in Muhammad's lifetime, however, this was later changed to the [[Kaaba]] in the [[Hijaz]]i city of [[Mecca]], following a revelation to Muhammad by the Archangel [[Jibril]].<ref name="qref|2|142-177|b=y">{{qref|2|142-177|b=y}}</ref> The current construction of the [[Qibli Mosque|Al-Aqsa mosque]], which lies on the [[Temple Mount]] in Jerusalem, is dated to the early Umayyad period of rule in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]. Architectural historian [[K. A. C. Creswell]], referring to a testimony by [[Arculf]], a [[Gaul|Gallic]] monk, during his pilgrimage to Palestine in 679–82, notes the possibility that the second [[caliph]] of the [[Rashidun Caliphate]], [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]], erected a primitive quadrangular building for a capacity of 3,000 worshipers somewhere on the Haram ash-Sharif. However, Arculf visited Palestine during the reign of [[Mu'awiyah I]], and it is possible that Mu'awiyah ordered the construction, not Umar. This latter claim is explicitly supported by the early Muslim scholar al-Muthahhar bin Tahir.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Elad, Amikam.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/30399668|title=Medieval Jerusalem and Islamic worship : holy places, ceremonies, pilgrimage|date=1995|publisher=E.J. Brill|isbn=978-90-04-10010-7|location=Leiden|pages=29–43|oclc=30399668}}</ref> According to the Quran and Islamic traditions, Al-Aqsa Mosque is the place from which Muhammad went on a [[Isra and Mi'raj|night journey]] (''al-isra'') during which he rode on [[Buraq]], who took him from Mecca to al-Aqsa.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/52178942|title=Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world|date=2004|publisher=Macmillan Reference USA|others=Martin, Richard C.|isbn=978-0-02-865603-8|location=New York|pages=482|oclc=52178942}}</ref> Muhammad tethered Buraq to the [[Western Wall]] and prayed at al-Aqsa Mosque and after he finished his prayers, the angel [[Jibril]] ([[Gabriel]]) traveled with him to heaven, where he met several other [[Prophets in Islam|prophets]] and led them in prayer.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Vuckovic, Brooke Olson.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/61428375|title=Heavenly journeys, earthly concerns : the legacy of the miʻraj in the formation of Islam|date=2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-203-48747-1|location=New York|oclc=61428375}}</ref> The historical significance of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Islam is further emphasized by the fact that Muslims turned towards al-Aqsa when they prayed for a period of 16 or 17 months after [[Hijra (Islam)|migration]] to [[Medina]] in 624; it thus became the ''[[qibla]]'' ("direction") that Muslims faced for prayer.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/252506070|title=States, nations, and borders : the ethics of making boundaries|date=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|editor-last=Buchanan|editor-first=Allen E.|editor-last2=Moore|editor-first2=Margaret|isbn=978-0-511-06159-2|location=Cambridge|oclc=252506070}}</ref>
+[[Jerusalem]] (referred to as {{transliteration|ar|Al-Quds}}, {{langx|ar|الـقُـدس}}, 'The Holy') has particular significance in Islam. The Quran refers to [[Muhammad]]'s experiencing the [[Isra and Mi'raj]] as "Glory be to the One Who took His servant ˹Muḥammad˺ by night from the [[Masjid al-Haram|Sacred Mosque]] to the Farthest Mosque whose surroundings We have blessed, so that We may show him some of Our signs".{{qref|17|1|b=y|s=y}} {{transliteration|ar|[[Ahadith]]}} infer that the "Farthest Masjid" is in Al-Quds; for example, as narrated by [[Abu Huraira]]h: "On the night journey of the Apostle of Allah, two cups, one containing wine and the other containing milk, were presented to him at Al-Quds (Jerusalem). He looked at them and took the cup of milk. Angel Gabriel said, 'Praise be to Allah, who guided you to Al-Fitrah (the right path); if you had taken (the cup of) wine, your {{transliteration|ar|[[Ummah]]}} would have gone astray'." [[Jerusalem]] was Islam's first {{transliteration|ar|Qiblah}} (direction of prayer) in Muhammad's lifetime, however, this was later changed to the [[Kaaba]] in the [[Hijaz]]i city of [[Mecca]], following a revelation to Muhammad by the Archangel [[Jibril]].<ref name="qref|2|142-177|b=y">{{qref|2|142–177|b=y}}</ref> The current construction of the [[Qibli Mosque|Al-Aqsa mosque]], which lies on the [[Temple Mount]] in Jerusalem, is dated to the early Umayyad period of rule in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]. Architectural historian [[K. A. C. Creswell]], referring to a testimony by [[Arculf]], a [[Gaul|Gallic]] monk, during his pilgrimage to Palestine in 679–82, notes the possibility that the second [[caliph]] of the [[Rashidun Caliphate]], [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]], erected a primitive quadrangular building for a capacity of 3,000 worshipers somewhere on the Haram ash-Sharif. However, Arculf visited Palestine during the reign of [[Mu'awiyah I]], and it is possible that Mu'awiyah ordered the construction, not Umar. This latter claim is explicitly supported by the early Muslim scholar al-Muthahhar bin Tahir.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Elad, Amikam.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/30399668|title=Medieval Jerusalem and Islamic worship : holy places, ceremonies, pilgrimage|date=1995|publisher=E.J. Brill|isbn=978-90-04-10010-7|location=Leiden|pages=29–43|oclc=30399668}}</ref> According to the Quran and Islamic traditions, Al-Aqsa Mosque is the place from which Muhammad went on a [[Isra and Mi'raj|night journey]] ({{transliteration|ar|al-isra}}) during which he rode on [[Buraq]], who took him from Mecca to al-Aqsa.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/52178942|title=Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world|date=2004|publisher=Macmillan Reference USA|others=Martin, Richard C.|isbn=978-0-02-865603-8|location=New York|pages=482|oclc=52178942}}</ref> Muhammad tethered Buraq to the [[Western Wall]] and prayed at al-Aqsa Mosque and after he finished his prayers, the angel [[Jibril]] ([[Gabriel]]) traveled with him to heaven, where he met several other [[Prophets in Islam|prophets]] and led them in prayer.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Vuckovic, Brooke Olson.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/61428375|title=Heavenly journeys, earthly concerns: the legacy of the mi'raj in the formation of Islam|date=2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-203-48747-1|location=New York|oclc=61428375}}</ref> The historical significance of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Islam is further emphasized by the fact that Muslims turned towards al-Aqsa when they prayed for a period of 16 or 17 months after [[Hijra (Islam)|migration]] to [[Medina]] in 624; it thus became the {{transliteration|ar|[[qibla]]}} ('direction') that Muslims faced for prayer.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/252506070|title=States, nations, and borders: the ethics of making boundaries|date=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|editor-last=Buchanan|editor-first=Allen E.|editor-last2=Moore|editor-first2=Margaret|isbn=978-0-511-06159-2|location=Cambridge|oclc=252506070}}</ref>
+The exact region referred to as being 'blessed' in the Quran, in verses like {{qref|17|1}}, {{qref|21|71}} and {{qref|34|18}},<ref name="qref|17|1-16|b=y"/><ref name="qref|21|51-82|b=y"/><ref name="qref|34|10-18|b=y"/> has been interpreted differently by various scholars. [[Abdullah Yusuf Ali]] likens it to a wide land-range including [[Syria]] and [[Lebanon]], especially the cities of [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]] and [[Sidon]]; Az-Zujaj describes it as "[[Damascus]], Palestine, and a bit of [[Jordan]]"; [[Muadh ibn Jabal]] as "the area between [[al-Arish]] and the [[Euphrates]]"; and [[Ibn Abbas]] as "the land of [[Jericho]]".<ref>Ali (1991), p. 934</ref> This overall region is referred to as "[[Ash-Shām]]" ({{langx|ar|الـشَّـام}}).<ref name=Bosworth>{{cite encyclopedia |last= Bosworth |first= C.E. |author-link= Clifford Edmund Bosworth |title= Al-Shām |page= 261 |encyclopedia= Encyclopaedia of Islam |volume= 9 |year= 1997}}</ref><ref name=Salibi2003>{{cite book|last=Salibi|first=Kamal 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.}}</ref>
+==Baháʼí Faith==
-The exact region referred to as being 'blessed' in the Quran, in verses like {{qref|17|1}}, {{qref|21|71}} and {{qref|34|18}},<ref name="qref|17|1-16|b=y"/><ref name="qref|21|51-82|b=y"/><ref name="qref|34|10-18|b=y"/> has been interpreted differently by various scholars. [[Abdullah Yusuf Ali]] likens it to a wide land-range including [[Syria]] and [[Lebanon]], especially the cities of [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]] and [[Sidon]]; Az-Zujaj describes it as, ''"[[Damascus]], Palestine, and a bit of [[Jordan]]"''; [[Muadh ibn Jabal]] as, ''"the area between [[al-Arish]] and the [[Euphrates]]"''; and [[Ibn Abbas]] as, ''"the land of [[Jericho]]"''.<ref>Ali (1991), p. 934</ref> This overall region is referred to as "[[Ash-Shām]]" ({{lang-ar|الـشَّـام}}).<ref name=Bosworth>{{cite encyclopedia |last= Bosworth |first= C.E. |author-link= Clifford Edmund Bosworth |title= Al-Shām |page= 261 |encyclopedia= Encyclopaedia of Islam |volume= 9 |year= 1997}}</ref><ref name=Salibi2003>{{cite book|last=Salibi|first=Kamal 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.}}</ref>
+The holiest places for [[Baháʼí pilgrimage]] are the [[Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh]] and the [[Shrine of the Báb]], which are [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]]s in the coastal cities of [[Acre, Israel|Acre]] and [[Haifa]], respectively.<ref name="UNESCO">{{cite web |author=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |date=2008-07-08 |title=Three new sites inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/452 |access-date=2008-07-08}}</ref>
+The [[Baháʼí Faith]]'s founder, [[Bahá'u'lláh]], was exiled to [[Acre Prison]] from 1868 and spent his life in its surroundings until his death in 1892. In [[List of writings of Bahá'u'lláh|his writings]] he set the slope of [[Mount Carmel]] to host the [[Shrine of the Báb]] which his appointed successor [['Abdu'l-Bahá]] erected in 1909 as a beginning of the [[Terraces (Baháʼí)|terraced gardens]] there. The Head of the religion after him, [[Shoghi Effendi]], began building other structures and the [[Universal House of Justice]] continued the work until the [[Bahá'í World Centre]] was brought to its current state as the spiritual and administrative centre of the religion.<ref>{{cite journal| first = Jay D. | last = Gatrella | author2=Noga Collins-Kreinerb | title =Negotiated space: Tourists, pilgrims, and the Baháʼí terraced gardens in Haifa | journal =Geoforum | volume =37 | issue =5 | pages =765–778 | date =September 2006 | issn =0016-7185 | doi =10.1016/j.geoforum.2006.01.002}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last= Smith |first= Peter |encyclopedia= A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith |title= Arc-buildings of; Bahá'í World Centre |year= 2000 |publisher= Oneworld Publications |location= Oxford |isbn= 978-1-85168-184-6 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/45 45–46, 71–72] |url= https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/45 }}</ref> Its gardens are highly popular places to visit<ref>{{cite web |last= Leichman |first= Abigail Klein |title= Israel's top 10 public gardens |publisher= Israel21c.org |date= 7 September 2011 |url= http://israel21c.org/travel/israels-top-10-public-gardens/ |access-date = 30 March 2014}}</ref> and [[Mohsen Makhmalbaf]]'s 2012 film ''[[The Gardener (2012 film)|The Gardener]]'' featured them.<ref>{{cite news| last =Dargis | first =Manohla | title =The Cultivation of Belief – 'The Gardener,' Mohsen Makhmalbaf's Inquiry into Religion | newspaper =The New York Times| date =8 August 2013 | url =https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/09/movies/the-gardener-mohsen-makhmalbafs-inquiry-into-religion.html?_r=0 | access-date = 30 March 2014}}</ref>
-==Baháʼí faith==
-Followers of the [[Baháʼí Faith]] consider [[Acre, Israel|Acre]] and [[Haifa]] sacred as [[Bahá'u'lláh]], the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, was exiled to the prison of Acre from 1868 and spent his life in its surroundings until his death in 1892. In his writings he set the slope of [[Mount Carmel]] to host the [[Shrine of the Báb]] which his appointed successor [['Abdu'l-Bahá]] erected in 1909 as a beginning of the [[Terraces (Baháʼí)|terraced gardens]] there. The Head of the religion after him, [[Shoghi Effendi]], began building other structures and the [[Universal House of Justice]] continued the work until the [[Baháʼí World Centre]] was brought to its current state as the spiritual and administrative centre of the religion.<ref>{{cite journal| first = Jay D. | last = Gatrella | author2=Noga Collins-Kreinerb | title =Negotiated space: Tourists, pilgrims, and the Baháʼí terraced gardens in Haifa | journal =Geoforum | volume =37 | issue =5 | pages =765–778 | date =September 2006 | issn =0016-7185 | doi =10.1016/j.geoforum.2006.01.002}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last= Smith |first= Peter |encyclopedia= A concise encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith |title= Arc-buildings of; Baháʼí World Centre |year= 2000 |publisher= Oneworld Publications |location= Oxford |isbn= 978-1-85168-184-6 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/45 45–46;71–72] |url= https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/45 }}</ref> Its gardens are highly popular places to visit<ref>{{cite web |last= Leichman |first= Abigail Klein |title= Israel's top 10 public gardens |publisher= Israel21c.org |date= 7 September 2011 |url= http://israel21c.org/travel/israels-top-10-public-gardens/ |access-date = 30 March 2014}}</ref> and [[Mohsen Makhmalbaf]]'s 2012 film ''[[The Gardener (2012 film)|The Gardener]]'' featured them.<ref>{{cite news| last =Dargis | first =Manohla | title =The Cultivation of Belief - 'The Gardener,' Mohsen Makhmalbaf's Inquiry into Religion | newspaper =The New York Times| date =8 August 2013 | url =https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/09/movies/the-gardener-mohsen-makhmalbafs-inquiry-into-religion.html?_r=0 | access-date = 30 March 2014}}</ref> The holiest places currently for [[Baháʼí pilgrimage]] are the [[Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh]] in Acre and the Shrine of the Báb in Haifa which are [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]]s.<ref name=UNESCO>{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/452 |access-date=2008-07-08 |date=2008-07-08 |title=Three new sites inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List |author=UNESCO World Heritage Centre}}</ref>
 ==See also==
@@ Line 103: / Line 100: @@
 * [[List of religious sites]]
 * [[Laws and customs of the Land of Israel in Judaism]]
+* [[Rivers of Paradise]], sometimes associated with a religious concept of the Holy Land
 ==Notes==
@@ Line 130: / Line 128: @@
 [[Category:Jewish holy places]]
 [[Category:Land of Israel]]
-[[Category:Places in the deuterocanonical books]]
 [[Category:Religion and geography]]
 [[Category:Religious places]]
 [[Category:Religious terminology]]
-[[Category:History of Israel]]
+[[Category:Historical geography of Israel]]

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