Conflicts over place

Conflicts over places involve rival claims to define their meaning and thereby, rights to control their use or future. This is all centred on the concept of a ‘sense of place’, where particular places hold significance and meanings for people thus being important in how people define their identities. While some people might feel that some of their characteristics are linked with certain places. A sense of place is important in making sense of the world around us giving us feelings of belonging to certain places, ranging from individual structures to whole countries or regions. However particular places might hold different meanings to different groups of people leading to the potential clashing of ideas and concepts. While some groups might take this a step further by attempting to gain overall control of a particular place increasing the potential for conflict.

Many of today’s examples for conflict over places are centred on the interpretation of an area’s past. This would certainly include Jerusalem in Israel, where the origins of conflict lie in the areas religious history. Jerusalem is the holy city of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Situated in the Judaean Hills, 35 miles from the Mediterranean Sea. The growth of the city may be attributed to its location along a pass through the Judean Hills on an ancient trade route, and to its religious importance. Christians, Jews and Muslims see Jerusalem as important in defining their religion and its origin. For Jews, Jerusalem is the focus of their religious longing, the site of their ancient Temple, and their historical capital; for Christians, the city is the site of many of the events in the life of Jesus Christ; for Muslims, the city is their third holiest as the site from which Muhammad is said to have risen to heaven and the site of important mosques. The different ways in which Jerusalem can be interpreted by different religions can lead to potential conflict and unease if ones interpretation is challenged. Whether it is Americans converging on Plymouth Rock or the British celebrating at the ruins of Stonehenge, the idea of connecting modern population to the symbols of the past is a common impulse, especially in Jerusalem. But in the Middle East, few of the region's modern states have existed much more than 70 years and most are the product of borders drawn up by colonial powers. The decline in Arab nationalism over the recent years, with its exclusive focus on the region's Arab past, has resulted in today's leaders increasingly looking for inspiration and roots in an even earlier time, to the ancient empires and peoples described in the Bible.

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Evidence of rival interpretations can be found in the structures built with in a given place. In Jerusalem for example the different religions are usually represented in the structures they build. Notable religious structures in Jerusalem include the Christian church of the Holy Sepulchre, built over the 4th-century, which in turn was erected over the traditional tomb of Christ; the Jewish Western Wall (Wailing Wall), the remnant of the great Temple built by Herod the Great, King of Judaea; the Muslim mosque of the Dome of the Rock, the Mosque of Al Aqsa, one of Islam's most sacred shrines; and the Citadel, a 14th-century structure on the site of Herod's fortress. As these structures are contained with in 42 square miles the potential for conflict is increased, as some religions may feel threatened by the close proximity of “foreign” religious structures. Leading them to become more protective of their own. The potential for conflict only really occurs when a particular group attempts to assert its claim on a place whilst suppressing others, therefore being determined to control the areas future use and history. This is much so in the case of Jerusalem, where political and military forces have been used to affirm Jewish control of Jerusalem.

Rival claims to define the meaning of places often stem down to the areas past history, usually in terms of its political control. Jerusalem’s history for example has been a basis for most of its conflicts as many groups of people over the last three thousand years have fought to gain control of the city. Who then subsequently influenced the city with different cultures and religious ideas, building the ancient structures we see today. King David of the Jews established Jerusalem as his capital, confirming Jewish control of the area around 1000 BC. Therefore building the Jewish structures we see today. The Roman Empire also stretched it’s influence to Jerusalem, establishing it as a centre for Christian pilgrimage during the early 4th century. Resulting in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and many other Christian shrines been erected. In the 11th century, Muslim toleration of both Jews and Christians gave way to persecution under the Seljuks, who seized Jerusalem in 1071. Causing the European Christians to respond by launching the Crusades. The Crusaders conquered Jerusalem in 1099 and established a Crusader state. Saladin however recaptured the city for the Muslims in 1187, and the Ayyubid and Mameluke dynasties ruled until 1517, when the Ottoman Empire took control. Many Jews fleeing persecution in Europe had returned to Jerusalem by the 19th century, again forming a majority of the population. The city soon after was taken by British forces, forming part of the British mandate of Palestine between 1922 and 1948.

The creation of the state of Israel in 1948 struck fear into Arabs; they saw a Jewish homeland threatening the existence of their religion in the area. Jerusalem’s future was however uncertain as all religious groups were still claiming it as their own. Sometimes conflicts can be solved through compromising by higher powers. The UN for example originally proposed to establish Jerusalem as an international enclave, therefore giving free access to all of the world religions. However this fell through when in the spring of 1948 the opposing armies of Israel and Jordan seized Jerusalem, Israel occupied the western part of the city and Jordan the east, including the old city. In 1950 the New City was made the capital of Israel. However during the Six-Day War of June 1967, Israeli forces captured the Old City including many Islamic and Christian holy places. The Israeli Knesset then unilaterally decreed the reunification of the entire city. This was reiterated in 1980, when the undivided city was declared the eternal capital of Israel. This ultimately caused some of the bitterest fighting in history between the Jews and Arabs. Arabs saw the Jews having authority over their sacred sites in Jerusalem therefore giving them a right to control their use and future, directly affecting Muslim and Islamic faiths. They feared that their occupation of Jerusalem would give it a Jewish meaning and future, as the city of David. Therefore suppressing any rival claims to the cities meaning and what its purpose should be. This in turn raised another issue involved in conflict as they felt that their history was been threatened, giving them a sound reason to protect it by means of physical force.

There are many ways in which rival claims to places can be asserted with out the need for physical violence, usually the concept of ‘dominance’ comes into effect. Jewish control of Jerusalem since the six-day war for example has attempted to transform Islamic features of the city into Jewish ones. Many see this as an attempt to transform Jerusalem from an Islamic to a Jewish city. Plans include removing the old city wall to unite the city, extending the Western Wailing Wall, building a 520 metre high control tower to model the Star of David and building a huge shopping centre in the eastern part of Jerusalem to eclipse Arab businesses. Other signs of Jewish dominance include the maintenance of Jewish sections of the city with government-supported development efforts, while Arab areas have largely been neglected. Jewish settlement of traditionally Arab areas has also caused conflict as it has often resulted in the eviction of Arab families. Jerusalem has remained a disputed city over the 1990s, with Israel claiming authority over the city as a whole, and the Palestinians demanding the return of East Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy sites.

The statement that conflicts over place involve rival claims to define the meaning of places and thereby, rights to control their use or future is valid, as demonstrated by the example of Jerusalem. We saw that the many conflicting views of what Jerusalem should mean by the different religions caused tension. This tension was deep rooted as the history for conflict between these religions over Jerusalem stretched back thousands of years. In order for rival claims to involve conflict other factors must be taken into consideration. Political and military factors are especially significant in Jerusalem’s case, as they have been used to convey the different religious meanings of Jerusalem. Political forces for example resulted in the establishment of Israel with Jerusalem as it’s capital, military forces resulted in the capture of eastern Jerusalem from Arabs in 1967, these all in turn supported the Jewish interpretation of the city. Conflicts over rival interpretations suggest that rival claims are stimulated by fear, fear of what would happen to a place and its future if another group took control, fearing the loss of their sense of place. Arabs feared the loss of their sacred sites in eastern Jerusalem when invaded by Israeli forces. A sense of place is important to these religions, it gives them meaning and significance, defining what they are, giving their followers a positive outlook to the future. Thus explaining the delicate nature of Jerusalem’s sovereignty.

One may suggest that the only way to solve these rival claims is through compromise. As the roots of conflict are so deep it is potentially difficult to solve them under Jerusalem’s current status. Despite this many attempts have been made to bring lasting peace, often under the banner of Middle East peace processes. Some of the agreements so far reached contain timid references to Jerusalem and the Holy Places: in the 1993 Declaration of Principles it was agreed that Jerusalem would not be discussed in the negotiations on the interim self-government arrangements (a concession by the PLO), but that it would be included in the negotiations on the permanent status (a concession by Israel). This also foresees the participation of east- Jerusalemites in the elections for the self-government authority. However recent events in Jerusalem have shown that peace dealings have gained little ground. Gun battles last December between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip left more than 70 people dead over broad Palestinian frustration with stalled peace talks and the new Israeli government's hard-line policies. The riots however were touched off by an Israeli decision to open a new gate to a biblical underground tunnel that runs close to the Temple Mount area, a site considered holy to both Jews and Muslims.

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