quarters), and other Christians (Greeks, Latins,
and Copts) before the end of the 18th century. By
1850, Jerusalem had an estimated total popula-
tion of 15,000, with Jews becoming the largest
group (6,000) for the first time since the Roman
period. By the turn of the century, the city had
55,000 residents, including a large Jewish major-
ity (35,000).
CONTEMpOrAry JEruSAlEM
As the Ottoman Empire collapsed from internal
and external forces, Jerusalem became subject
to increasing involvement by European powers
and growing tensions among the different com-
munities that lived in it. European governments
opened consulates there, and missionaries opened
schools and churches to win converts. European
Jewish philanthropists such as the Montefiores
and the Rothschilds supported the building of
schools, clinics, and hospitals for the city’s Jewish
population. Meanwhile, Jerusalem had become
the focal point of a worldwide Zionist movement
that sought to create a modern national home-
land for all Jews. After World War I, the Ottoman
Empire collapsed. Its holdings in Syria, Transjor-
dan (later Jordan), and Palestine were divided
between France and Britain, the two main victors
in the war. Transjordan and Palestine (including
Jerusalem) fell under the British mandate, which
remained in effect until 1948, when the modern
state of Israel was created. During the mandate
period, Palestinian Arab nationalism was also
stirred, and Jerusalem became a major center for
the Palestinian nationalist movement, a largely
secular movement that included Arab Christians
as well as Muslims.
Conflict between Jewish and Arab nationalisms
led to the division of Jerusalem into two parts in
the war of 1947–48. Although the United Nations
recommended that the city be internationalized,
Jews claimed control of West Jerusalem and Arabs
claimed East Jerusalem. The dividing line ran
north to south in line with the western wall of the
Old City. Israel made West Jerusalem its capital,
despite international objections. Jordan ruled East
Jerusalem until the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, when
the entire city came under Israeli control. Today
Jerusalem remains a much-contested holy city—a
focal point of religious violence, nationalist aspi-
rations, and messianic expectations that extend all
the way to the evangelical Christian communities
of the United States. Its status as Israel’s capital
remains controversial. Calls for its internation-
alization continue, but there is also support for
making it the shared capital of both Israel and a
Palestinian state that has yet to be realized. Mean-
while, the city has grown in size and population.
It is Israel’s largest city, followed by Tel Aviv-Jaffa
and Haifa. In 2007, according to the Israeli Cen-
tral Bureau of Statistics, it had more than 732,000
inhabitants (65 percent Jews, 32 percent Muslims,
and 2 percent Christians), including those living
in outlying towns and settlements.
See also abbasid caliphate; arab-israeli con-
Flicts; christianity and islam; Fatimid dynasty;
JUdaism and islam; mamlUk; ottoman dynasty.Further reading: Karen Armstrong, Jerusalem: One
City, Three Faiths (New York: Random House, 1996);
Meron Benvenisti, City of Stone: The Hidden History
of Jerusalem (Berkeley: University of California Press,
1996); Oleg Grabar, The Shape of the Holy: Early Islamic
Jerusalem (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press,
1996), F. E. Peters, Jerusalem (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton
University Press, 1995); ———, Jerusalem and Mecca:
The Typology of the Holy City in the Near East (New
York: New York University Press, 1987); A. L. Tibawi,
“Jerusalem: Its Place in Islam and Arab History.” The
Islamic Quarterly 12, no. 4 (1968): 185–218.Jesus (Arabic: Isa) the first-century Jewish
teacher who Christians believe to be a savior and
who Muslims believe was a prophet who brought the
Gospel, which contained part of God’s message for
humanity
Jesus’ name appears in 15 quranic chapters and
93 verses. Known as “the Messiah Jesus, the sonK 396 Jesus