Maher Abu-Munshar

Islamicjerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis) has a special place in the hearts of the three major monotheistic religions. During the course of its history, followers of these religions have made intensive efforts to conquer it. It has been argued that under Muslim rule, Islamicjerusalem allowed adherents of different religions to live together and could be considered a model for multiculturalism, as El-`Awaisi2 concluded in his definition of Islamicjerusalem.1 In his newly published monograph Introducing Islamicjerusalem, he articulated a challenge when he defined Islamicjerusalem as:

• … a new terminology for a new concept, which may be translated into the Arabic language as Bayt al-Maqdis. It can be fairly and eventually characterized and defined as a unique region laden with rich historical background, religious significances, cultural attachments, competing political and religious claims, international interests and various aspects that affect the rest of the world in both historical and contemporary contexts. It has a central frame of reference and a vital nature with three principal intertwined elements: its geographical location (land and boundaries), its people (population), and its unique and creative inclusive vision, to administrate that land and its people, as a model for multiculturalism.3

In this paper, I examine the validity of his argument by focusing on the situation of the city’s Jewish and Christian inhabitants under Muslim rule and how the Muslims treated them during the reigns of `Umar ibn al-Khattab (d. 24/645) and Salah al-Din (d. 589/1193). I chose these two periods because they are the most important examples of a multicultural society in Islamicjerusalem’s history. In the first period, El-`Awaisi argues, the Muslim conquest liberated the native Christians from Byzantine domination and persecution and allowed the Jews to return after a nearly 500-year exile.4 In the second period, the conquest liberated the Muslims, Eastern Christians, and Jews from the domination of the Latin Crusaders.5

During these two periods, Islamic rule enabled Muslims, Christians, and Jews to live together side by side peacefully. Nevertheless, during certain periods of Islamicjerusalem’s history non-Muslims were mistreated by certain leaders – particularly the Fatimids,6 due to their own agendas and violations of Islamic precepts.

As this raises a set of critical questions regarding Muslim attitudes toward others and Islamic tolerance, I examine and discuss how Muslim conquerors aspired to implement multicultural policies in Islamicjerusalem by addressing the following question: Did the Muslims provide a foundation for a multicultural Islamicjerusalem during these two periods? Furthermore, I respond to such Israeli scholars as Shlomo Goitein, who have portrayed the first Muslim conquest as an occupation similar to any other occupation of Jerusalem during its long history and one that placed the lives of its non-Muslims in complete disarray.7

After defining multiculturalism, I review and highlight historical examples by classifying them under the different criteria on which a multicultural society is based. I then focus on several of the themes related to the basis of a multicultural society in parallel with the theoretical framework. `Umar and Salah al-Din’s rule of Islamicjerusalem provide a particularly illustrative case study of a multicultural society. In conclusion, I reflect on both rulers’ treatment of the city’s non-Muslims to offer a model for a multicultural society.

Generally, I address such issues as how discourses of multiculturalism, diversity, and cultural sensitivity, when combined with the prevailing practices of  how Muslims treat non-Muslims, shape a multicultural society. This answers the major question of this article: Do multicultural societies ruled by Muslims protect cultural diversity for all group members, or do they accomplish this at the expense of some segments of the population?

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