Buku 02: Jerusalem, One City Three Faiths

Jerusalem One City Three Faiths: Karen Armstrong 

Kandungannya Secara Ringkas:

Buku ini menerangkan transformasi kota Jerusalem sejak awal sejarah purbanya dicatatkan. Penulis menyingkap perubahan dan pemilikan yang berlaku pada kota ini yang silih berganti dengan melihat dari sudut pandangan dan tradisi dari 3 agama utama iaitu Yahudi, Kristian dan Islam. Penulis dengan jujur menyingkap satu persatu dengan berpandukan pensejarahan yang sah tanpa sudut pandangan yang berat sebelah. Setiap konflik yang berlaku di sepanjang garisan masa sejarah kota ini juga dikupas dengan begitu baik.

Petikan 'Chapter 11'

Petikan Buku Yang Menarik:

Di dalam 'Chapter 11' di mana penulis mengupas tentang tradisi Islam mengenai bandar ini yang di kenali sebagai 'BAYT AL-MAQDIS'; deskripsinya agak menarik bila beliau memperihalkan tentang Nabi MUHAMMAD S.A.W.

MUHAMMAD IBN ABDALLAH, the new prophet of Mecca in the Hijaz, did not believe that he was about to found a new world religion when he received his first revelation in 610, the same year that King Khosrow II invaded Byzantine territory. Muhammad, a merchant famous in Mecca for his integrity, had long been concerned about the spiritual malaise he could discern in the city. Mecca was enjoying a greater material prosperity than ever before, but as direct result, some of the old tribal values were being undermined. Instead of taking care of the weaker members of society, in the old way, people had become preoccupied with building up their private fortunes. Some people felt obscurely dissatisfied with the old paganism, which no longer seemed adequate now that they were beginning to enter the modern world. It was widely believed that Allah, the high god of the Arabian pantheon whose name simply means "God", was in fact the deity who was worshipped by the Jews and the Christians. Yet those Jews and Christians with whom they came in contact often taunted the Arabs because God had sent them no revelation or prophet of their own.

Penulis juga telah menutup perbincangan mengenai Jerusalem ini dengan pendapat peribadi beliau tentang masa hadapan kota ini berserta masa hadapan rundingan perdamaian yang sememangnya dilihat samar. Ianya dinukilkan seperti berikut,

At this writing, the prospect of peace looks bleak. But the history of Jerusalem reminds us that astonishing reversals are always possible and that nothing - not even mortal hatred - is permanent. There are many Israelis and Palestinians, many Arabs and Jews, who long for peace are prepared to make the sacrifices that peace requires. It still remains true, when we look back on the long history of Jerusalem, that the societies that have lasted the longest there have, generally, been the ones that were prepared for some kind of tolerance and coexistence in the holy city. That, rather than a sterile and deadly struggle for sovereignty and total victory, must be the way to celebrate Jerusalem's sanctity today.

Pandangan Cikgusir:

Penulisan Karen Armstrong sudah lama menarik minat Cikgusir untuk membaca buku-buku beliau. Buku pertama Karen yang pertama Cikgusir baca adalah "A HISTORY OF GOD" (pernah diharamkan penerbitannya di Malaysia). Semua perbincangan beliau mengenai Jerusalem di dalam buku ini bersumberkan sumber-sumber dari setiap tradisi 3 agama utama yang sejarah-sejarah mereka bercambah dari tanah suci ini. Tidak terdapat komentar-komentar yang 'bias' seperti sesetengah penulis orientalis. 

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Ulasan buku akan datang:

Perangai Bergantung Pada Diri Sendiri: Za'ba

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