Islam in Palestine facts for kids
Islam is the religion of the majority of the Palestinian population residing in the Palestinian territories, with Muslims comprising 75% of the population of the West Bank, and 99% of the population of the Gaza Strip.
Jerusalem is Islam's third holiest city after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. The Haram al Sharif (Temple Mount) of Jerusalem is believed by Muslims to be the location from which Muhammad ascended to Jannah (paradise); there is no mention of Jerusalem in the Koran, however.
This widely accepted Islamic belief raises the religious and spiritual importance to them of the Dome of the Rock and the adjacent al-Aqsa Mosque. Muslims are sensitive to and mindful of the circumstance that two mosques along with the rest of East Jerusalem are claimed and illegally occupied by the state of Israel.
Images for kids
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ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb's empire at its peak, 644
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Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, Jerusalem was built by the Caliph Abd al Malik in 691, making it the oldest extant Islamic building in the world.
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Illustration of the Battle of Hattin from a copy of the Passages d’outremer, c.1490
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A 16th century Persian miniature painting celebrating Muhammad's ascent into the Heavens
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Irregulars during the 1936–39 Arab revolt
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Palestinian refugees from Galilee in 1948
