LECTURE THIRTEEN
d. The noon prayer on Friday should be prayed in community in a mosque.
There is also a sermon on Fridays.
e. Women tend not to attend the mosque or, like their Jewish counter-
parts, pray in a special area reserved for them.
D. Other Forms of Worship- Holy Places and People
a. Some places are holy because God’s presence can be felt in them
or certain holy events have taken place in them. Jerusalem is such a
place—it is sanctified in Judaism as the focus on God’s presence
(shekina); in Christianity as the site of Jesus’ redemptive death and
resurrection; in Islam, as the place of Muhammed’s night journey
and ascension.
b. Jesus’ death sanctified Jerusalem for the Christians. Constantine
enshrined the Holy places in Jerusalem. People begin to arrive in
Jerusalem to worship at these places, tracing the stations of the cross.
c. Islam accepts Jerusalem as a holy place because of the temple and
Muhammad’s night journey to the Temple Mount. But the primary holy
place of Islam is Mecca, not just because of Muhammad, but because
Abraham built the Ka’ba there and instituted the hijj. Muhammad came
to reinstitute the hijad in Mecca.
d. Every Muslim must make the Hijad at one time in their lives. It requires
a series of events done in certain places in and around Mecca and
includes a ritual sacrifice.
Rainbow over Jerusalem© Royalty-Free/CORBIS