Where Heaven and Earth Meet
ISBN 9780292722729 | |
Where Heaven and Earth Meet: Jerusalem's Sacred Esplanade is a controversial 2009 interdisciplinary book concerning the history of the Temple Mount (referred to as al-Haram al-Sharif in Islam) written from an interfaith perspective.
Composition
The subject matter of the book is the
The book was edited by
The book was composed by means of a joint undertaking by 21 Jewish, Muslim and Christian scholars from the
Over the course of twenty or so chapters in the form of chronologically ordered interdisciplinary essays – taking in history, archaeology, biblical and Islamic studies, geography, art, architecture and religion – the books narrates the transformation of the site and the stories around it over the ages, from the first temple period through to the present-day contestation of the space between Arabs and Israelis.[4]
Included among the contributors was Sari Nusseibeh, president of Al-Quds University and "a well-known Palestinian personality" and Mustafa Abu Sway, director of the institution's Islamic Research Center.[1]
Zvi Zameret, director of Israeli research institute Yad Ben Zvi, one of the project's sponsors, said: "We took on a complicated challenge" tackling one of "the most sensitive subject in the world."[1]
Conception
The book was formulated in the aftermath of Ariel Sharon's 2000 visit to the site with a heavy police presence. The act, which sparked protests and riots, was one of the triggers for the Second Intifada.[1]
The work introduces the term "Sacred Esplanade" as a politically neutral wording "for the open space where the
In a sign of the tensions at play, as the book was in the process of going to press the board of Al-Quds University boycotted Israeli academic institutions in protest at Israel's policies and the stalling of peace, though projects that were already under way were not affected, and the Palestinian chapters of this work had long since been submitted.[1] Ultimately published amid both Palestinian pushback against Jewish claims of attachment to the site and persistent encroachment on the space by radical Jewish groups, the aim of the book is to eliminate the inconsiderateness that results from a lack of understanding of the topic or as Kedar has stated: "It is a call for mutual tolerance, acceptance and understanding."[1]
Reception
In a review by
Jacqueline Swansinger, a professor of History department at the State University of New York at Fredonia, called it "a worthy, if conspicuously politically neutral, work of perception, historical and artistic breadth" and "a book of surprising power and utility".[4]