Importance of Jerusalem

The city of Jerusalem is sacred to many religious traditions, including the Abrahamic religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which consider it
a holy city. Some of the most sacred places for each of these religions are found in Jerusalem and the one shared between all three is
the Temple Mount.
In Judaism:
Jerusalem has been the holiest city in Judaism and the ancestral and spiritual homeland of the Jewish people since the 10th century
BCE. During classical antiquity, Jerusalem was considered the center of the world, where God resided. The city of Jerusalem is given special
status in Jewish religious law. In particular, Jews outside Jerusalem pray facing its direction, and the maaser sheni, revai and First Fruits must be
eaten in Jerusalem.
In Christianity:
The earliest Christians were outcast and used the fish symbol to recognize one another to avoid being killed or reprimanded for being Christian
by Roman rule. Christianity became more popular over time, but made a huge expansion when the Roman Emperor Constantine claimed
Christianity as his religion and thus the religion of the Roman Empire. Jerusalem is mostly important to Christianity because that is where Jesus
Christ was brought to occasionally as a child, preached to the poor in his adult life, crucified in the end of his life, and resurrected by God.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is said to have been built over the location where Jesus was crucified and where the tomb was buried.

In Islam:
Jerusalem is considered a sacred site in Islamic tradition, along with Mecca and Medina. Islamic tradition holds that previous prophets were
associated with the city, and that the Islamic prophet Muhammad visited the city on a nocturnal journey (Isra and Mi'raj). Due to such
significance, it was the first Qibla (direction of prayer) for Muslims and the prophet Muhammad designated the Al-Aqsa for pilgrimage. Born in
570 AD, Muhammad is believed by Muslims to be a messenger for Allah. He reformed the perspective that Allah should be worshiped through
prayer, reciting Allah's messages and only worshiping Allah. Muhammad declared himself to be the last prophet of the Judaic-Christian
Religions and he founded a third religion: Islam. The Dome of the Rock is an Islamic sacred shrine in Jerusalem, built on the Temple Mount. It is
believed this is where Muhammad ascended into heaven and was given the second pillar of Islam, to pray five times a day, from Allah, which is
still used today.