7:35 a.m. - Holy Days for Jews, Muslims
By: RNS
Updated: September 29, 2008
The holy city of Jerusalem is a very crowded place this week.
For Jews, Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown Monday night.
The two-day celebration is held to mark the beginning of the new year on the Jewish calendar and to commemorate the creation of man.
Coincidentally, this year, it is also Ramadan, the month when the Muslim faithful believe God gave the Koran to the Prophet Mohammad. It is a time of fasting and self-reflection.
The unusual confluence of the two holy times has resulted in a good deal of foot traffic through the Old City.
The "Jerusalem Journal" reports Muslims and Jews walk past one another as they hurry to their separate prayer sessions.
By the tens of thousands, Muslims gather at the Dome of the Rock, the Jews just below at the Western Wall.
Israeli soldiers walk about in small groups to ward off trouble.
Jerusalem is the city history says Mohammad visited on his journey to heaven. Just as Jews pray facing Jerusalem from anywhere in the world, Muslims did so originally until the site was moved to Mecca.
For Muslims, Jerusalem is the third holiest city after Mecca and Medina.
For Jews, Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown Monday night.
The two-day celebration is held to mark the beginning of the new year on the Jewish calendar and to commemorate the creation of man.
Coincidentally, this year, it is also Ramadan, the month when the Muslim faithful believe God gave the Koran to the Prophet Mohammad. It is a time of fasting and self-reflection.
The unusual confluence of the two holy times has resulted in a good deal of foot traffic through the Old City.
The "Jerusalem Journal" reports Muslims and Jews walk past one another as they hurry to their separate prayer sessions.
By the tens of thousands, Muslims gather at the Dome of the Rock, the Jews just below at the Western Wall.
Israeli soldiers walk about in small groups to ward off trouble.
Jerusalem is the city history says Mohammad visited on his journey to heaven. Just as Jews pray facing Jerusalem from anywhere in the world, Muslims did so originally until the site was moved to Mecca.
For Muslims, Jerusalem is the third holiest city after Mecca and Medina.
