Essays on Aqsa

Comparison Essay on Architectural History of a Building

Introduction The Dome of the Rock (Qubbat as‐Sakhrah) is a religious edifice structure built in the7th century that is located in Jerusalem. It was built by Caliph Abd al‐Malik, the Umayyad. This edifice is not a mosque, but may be described as a Muslim shrine. Like the Mecca Ka'ba, the Dome of the Rock is built on a sacred stone. It is widely believed to be the place from which Muhammad the prophet ascended into heaven in the process of his night journey into heaven. The sacred stone over which this edifice is built was long considered ...

The Western world continues to have misunderstandings and misgivings about the religion of Islam. Marred by increasingly violent global politics against Islamic extremist groups and nativist fears against Islam at home, the world have increasingly viewed even Islam’s benign activities through a lens of trepidation. While it is hard to argue that Islamic terrorism should be viewed negative, even more typical Muslim activities, such as the celebration of Ramadan can be met with mixed reactions. The following essay will look at what aspects of Ramadan major news carriers focus on and how they present Islam’s holy month.

Ramadan ...

Interrelation of Jerusalem and Mecca and of the Temple and the Ka‘ba in medieval Islam

Jerusalem and Mecca are two most renowned holy cities worldwide. Conspicuously, an enormous quantity of writing and scholarly treaties has been written about both cities. However, there is very little that has been done in a comparative study. Arguably, the majority of comparisons that has been done between Jerusalem and Mecca are the link of the holiness of Jerusalem among Islam to that of Mecca in Islam. This paper seeks to analyze the interrelation of Jerusalem and Mecca and of the Temple and the Ka‘ba in medieval Islam.

The similarities between Jerusalem and Mecca, Jews and Muslims are ...