ABSTRACT
In 638 ce, the Muslims captured Jerusalem and laid a physical claim to its religious and historical legacy. Later Islamic traditions describe the entrance of caliph ‘Umar and his tour of the holy city, which culminated in a communal prayer on the Temple Mount, known in classical Arabic as the Haram of Jerusalem. The Muslims veneration of Jerusalem is based on two types of elements: those emerging from the newly formed Islamic religion and those coming out of the Judeo-Christian tradition. The Judeo-Christian elements take the form of Biblical narratives and religious lore about Jerusalem and specific sites or figures associated with the city. With respect to the Islamic elements, there is no doubt that Jerusalem was revered by the movement of the prophet Muhammad. Like the early Byzantine emperors who made Jerusalem a Christian city, it was the Umayyads who turned Jerusalem into an Islamic city.
