Islamic Jerusalem

The Sasanians, the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, took control of Palestine and Jerusalem 614 BCE. Jews lived in relative peace during this period until the Byzantine period when massacres against Jews began once again. The Byzantine Period ended when the Muslim Caliph Umar took control of Jerusalem in 638 BCE. Jerusalem was the original Mihrab before Muhammad deemed that the direction of prayer should be towards the Kaaba in Mecca. The Umayyad Dynasty, which reigned from 638 to 750 CE, had a tolerance for both Christians and Jews and even allowed their pilgrimages. The Umayyad's built a plethora of monuments in Jerusalem and loved to add their own touch to areas such as the Temple Mount.

Notable among the Islamic structures in Jerusalem is the Dome of the Rock, which was comissioned in 687 CE and finished in 691 CE. The Dome of the Rock is built upon the spot where the prophet Muhammad ascended into heaven. It is also seen as the place of final judgement. Built near by was the Al-Alsqa Mosque, where a prayer made in Al-Asqa is 500 times more powerful than praying elsewhere, and which Westerners can no longer enter.

After the Umayyad's came the Abbasid Dynasty. The Abbasid's attempted to wipe out all of the Umayyad's many accomplishments and installed anti-Christian movements. The Fatimids (from Egypt) followed and under their rule, the treatment of Christians and Jews generally varied depending on the local leader.