SECTION SEVEN
EMAIL PAGE ELEVEN
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COLUMN
SIXTY-FOUR, OCTOBER 1, 2001
(Copyright © 2001 Al Aronowitz)
FROM A MOSLEM SOURCE
Subject:
Forgotten History
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2001 12:26:16 -0500
From: jo grant <jgrant@bookzen.com>
To: Recipient List Suppressed:;
Just
received the following article by a fellow from the University of
Jerusalem
By
Denis Mueller
The
Israeli historian, Zev Vilney, cites the age of Jerusalem as 5,000 years. During
the Bronze Age, 3000 B.C., Jerusalem saw its first settlements. Archaeological
evidence establishes that the Canaanites were the first people of the land we
call Palestine. These people, along with the Amorites and Jebusites, founded the
first permanent settlement.
The
name, Urusalem, is an Amoritic name. The first rulers of the land were
identified by American archaeologist W.F. Al- bright as Amoritic. The Amorities
spoke the same language as the Canaanites and were of Semitic stock. The Bible
agrees that the original people were from the land of Canaan. Thus saith the
Lord God unto Jerusalem. Thy birth and thy origin are of the land of Canaan; thy
father was an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite. (Ezekiel, 16:1)
In
the second millennium, the Jebusites inhabited Jerusalem. They built a fortress,
Zion, in Jerusalem. Zion is a Canaanite word that means "hill or
height." This culture flourished for nearly 2,000 years. They are the
decedents of the Palestinian Arabs who settled in the land before the Israelite
invasion. Historian Delacy O'Leary writes: "The majority of the present
Palestinian peasants are descendants of those who proceeded the
Israelites."
The
majority of people who are Palestinians, both Christians and Arabs, were there
before the wave of Islamic-Arab conquests of the 7th century. The city saw the
next wave in about 1200 B.C. They were the Israelites. They lived side by side
all throughout the reign of David and then King Solomon until they were
conquered by the Babylonians. The people rebelled and Nebuchadnezzer reconquered
the land and exiled the Jews from the city. In 538 B.C., the Persians overthrew
the Babylonians and Jerusalem became the capital of the Persian province. The
Jews were then allowed to return. These conquests were followed by the
Seleucids, the Hasmoneans, the Maccabeans and finally the Romans, who expelled
the Jews again after the revolt of 135 A.D.
The
Jews were not allowed to return until after it was conquered by the Islamic-Arab
armies in 638 A.D. The Muslims established guarantees, which came to be called
the Covenant of Omar. This guaranteed the lives, property and freedom of worship
throughout the non-Muslim population. Under Islamic rule, coexistence and
tolerance were established. This continued until the Crusaders arrived and
slaughtered both the Muslim and Jewish population.
After
the Muslim's recaptured the city, the Jews were allowed to return. This
continued through the rule of Islam and then the Ottoman Empire, which came from
what we now call Turkey. The Ottomans were defeated in World War I, and then
were replaced by the English. Great Britain then set forth the Balfour
declaration, which, in essence, divided the land again. So as you can see, and
may very well be surprised at, the Islamic rulers and those who proceeded them
who were of Palestinian decent always practiced tolerance. May those days of
tolerance soon come again.
Sources: Rashid Khalidi, University of Chicago ##
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