Jerusalem

Submitted by Arsim (Netherlands), Feb 20, 2013 at 08:00

Yes, Our Shalem /Jerusalem or Al Quds is Absolutely mentioned in the Koran; but you will not find it mentioned by name.

This is standard for the Koran. For example, Muhammad is mentioned in the Koran only one time by name, only once and yet there are many references to Muhammad in the Koran without mentioning his name. The same is true for Jerusalem whereby the stories of Solomon in the Koran (Solomon is mentioned in the Koran over 20 times) mention the building of the temple; the stories of Moses and the Exodus (Moses is mentioned over 160 times) refer to finding the holy land; the Kingdom of David (David is mentioned 17 times); the mount of olives (in east Jerusalem) is sworn by in the quran; Also the farthest house of worship (the temple in Jerusalem) is mentioned several times, in one instance to explain why Muslims should no longer face towards Jerusalem in Prayer. Furthermore it is a historical fact that the name has changed so many times. The most mentioned (explicitly) place name in the Koran is "Egypt" (mentioned by name four times; more than Mecca which is mentioned by name only once), but this does not mean Egypt is holy in Islam or diminishes Mecca and Jerusalem's place in Islam one iota.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".