In 2016, I was working for a customer in Israel. I was so blessed with the opportunity to work and live in Israel. Even more blessed, I was able to visit Holy Places of four of the world’s great religions. These are Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Baha’i. Whose Prophet Founders and Divine Teachers; Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, and Baha’u’llah, all of whom are descendants of the Prophet Abraham. The Abrahamic religions | The British Library.
One of the highlights of my seven months in Israel was a road trip I took with my wife (Christian), work colleagues, one Muslim and one Jewish, and me, who was raised a Catholic and became Baha’i, in 1986. It is still not common in Israel for Jews and Muslims to socialize together. We were all united under our Father Abraham.
We left Tel Aviv-Yafo and headed south to Jerusalem, our first stop was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was especially significant to my Christian wife. Church of the Holy Sepulchre | History, Significance, Map, & Facts | Britannica “located in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, the church is home to two of the holiest sites in Christianity – the site where Jesus was crucified, known as Calvary, and the tomb where Jesus was buried and then resurrected. Today, the tomb is enclosed by a shrine called the Aedicula.” Wikipedia
We then went to the Western Wall in East Jerusalem Western Wall | Definition, History, & Facts | Britannica, an important holy site to Jews and Muslims. “The Western Wall, also known as the “Wailing Wall” or the “Kotel”, is the most religious site in the world for the Jewish people. Located in the Old City of Jerusalem, it is the last remaining outer wall of the ancient Jewish temple and an incredibly important site of modern Israeli history. Thousands of people of all faiths journey to the wall every year to visit and recite prayers. Traditionally, these prayers are either spoken or written down and placed in the cracks of the wall. The wall splits into two sections, one area for males and the other for females.” Tourist Israel
My Muslim colleague visited the Al Aqsa Compound, both Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims agree on the three Holiest sites in Islam being, respectively, the Masjid al-Haram (including the Kaaba), in Mecca; the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, in Medina; and the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, in Jerusalem. https://www.britannica.com/search?query=dome+of+rock “The center of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, a site also known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif or Al-Aqsa Mosque. “Dome of the Rock, Arabic Qubbat al-Ṣakhrah, a shrine in Jerusalem built by the Umayyad caliph ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān in the late 7th century CE. It is the oldest extant Islamic monument. The structure is situated on a flat elevated plaza known to Muslims as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (“The Noble Sanctuary”) and to Jews as the Temple Mount (the site where the Temple of Jerusalem once stood). According to Muslims, the rock above which the dome is constructed is the spot from which the Prophet Muhammad was taken up into heaven for an encounter with God”. Britannica In the 3 weeks my Muslim colleague in Israel also prayed at Hassan Bek Mosque in Jaffa. Hassan Bek Mosque – Wikipedia
The four of us traveled to the Dead Sea and Masada. “The siege of Masada was one of the final events in the First Jewish–Roman War, occurring from 72 to 73 CE on and around a hilltop in present-day Israel. The siege is known to history via a single source, Flavius Josephus,[3] a Jewish rebel leader captured by the Romans, in whose service he became a historian. According to Josephus, the long siege by the troops of the Roman Empire led to the mass suicide of the Sicarii rebels and resident Jewish families of the Masada fortress”. Wikipedia
We completed the day by having dinner at an amazing restaurant in Jerusalem. All of us commented on what truly was an amazing day. It was not lost on any of us that we all were followers of different religions. For me that day was a realization: the three important tenets of the Baha’i Faith Bahai.org are; Oneness of God, all true religions come from the same one God, and oneness of the human race.
Being Bahai I was given special permission to visit the Baha’i Holy Places in the cities of Haifa Bahá’í Gardens and Acca The Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh.for up to three days at a time, I was a frequent visitor to Baha’i Holy Shrines where I walk about the Gardens and attended Holy Day celebrations, prayed and meditated.
In my last visit to the Shrine of the Bab (forerunner to Bahá’u’lláh) and Baha’i Gardens, whose19 terraces rise from Ben Gurion Avenue to the summit of Mt.Carmel, a place visited by over 1.4 million people per year. I was making the slow arduous walk up the mountain and the final 10 terraces returning to my hotel. I came across an Israeli tour guide who was walking down the terraces and leading a tour. She stopped me, thinking I was a tourist, and said I was going the wrong way. I said that I was Baha’i from Canada and was returning to my hotel. She then said, “Do I realize what a wonderful place the Bahai Gardens are?”
I asked the Israeli tour guide if she was familiar with the prayer of Jesus. The Lord’s Prayer, Our Father Prayer-Catholic Lord’s Prayer” And the part where it says, “Thy kingdom come Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven ” Well it is my own belief the Baha’i Gardens and the Bahai World Centre represent on the earth part of what his Holiness Jesus prophesied. She said, “Can I use that as part of my tour?” I said absolutely then continued my climb up Mt. Carmel.
On earth as it is heaven! Queen of Carmel
Great article Chris, my husband and I have been to the Holy Land, seen and visited several of the places you mentioned in your article. We left there with friends, and enjoyed their views on things. We experienced so much peace and blessings, friendships that will last a life time without judgement. Thank you