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The expression 'The Holy Land' ( ; Latin: 'Terra Sancta' ; Arabic: 'الأرض المقدسة', ''al-Arḍ ul-Muqaddasah'') generally refers to the Land of Israel and Palestine. It concerns the areas that hold significant religious importance to any or all three monotheistic Abrahamic traditions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
The Crusades were started on the pretext of recovering the Holy Land for the religion of the New Testament. More recently, the region is at the center of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Contents

Judaism

Christianity

Islam

Notes

References

Judaism

Main articles: Four Holy Cities, Jerusalem in Judaism, Zion

The core reason why Jews view the land as holy is due to the special status that the Hebrew Bible gives it with regard to Jewish religious observance, the fact that Jerusalem was the site of the Temple, and most of all, the fact that the Hebrew Bible refers to it as a divine gift.
Jewish kingdoms and states existed intermittently in the region for over a millennium.
Under foreign conquests, Jewish presence in the province dwindled due to forced mass expulsions and persecution by Romans, Christians and Muslims. In particular, the failure of the Bar Kochba Revolt against the Roman Empire resulted in widescale expulsion of Jews. It was at this time that the Romans changed the name Syria Palaestina to the geographic area, in an attempt to erase Jewish ties to the land, even changing Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina, but with little success as it had had with changing Judea to Palestine. The Mishnah and Jerusalem Talmud, two of Judaism's most important religious texts, were composed in the region during this period.
Judaism's holiest cities are Jerusalem, Hebron, Tzfat, and Tiberias.

Christianity

The Holy Land is significant in Christianity, mainly because it is the place of birth, ministry, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, the Saviour or Messiah to Christianity.
Holy cities for Christians of all denominations:

★ Jerusalem is believed to be the site of some of Jesus's teaching, the Last Supper, the subsequent institution of the Holy Eucharist as well as his entombment; Christians believe he was crucified on a nearby hill, Golgotha (sometimes called Calvary). It contains the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Church of All Nations.

★ Bethlehem is the birthplace of Jesus.

★ Nazareth is Jesus's hometown and the site of many holy places, including the Church of the Basilica of the Annunciation and Mary's Well.
During the Crusades, Christian pilgrims often sought out the ''Holy Places'' in the Outremer, especially early in the 12th century immediately after Jerusalem was captured. ^[1] The Holy Places included sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem as well as

★ Sephoria, where the Virgin Mary was said to have spent her childhood

★ The River Jordan, site of Christ's baptism

★ Cave dwelling of John the Baptist

★ Sea of Galilee

★ Mount Tabor, site of the Transfiguration of Jesus

★ Jericho, along the road to which was the location of the Good Samaritan's charity.

Islam

: ''See also: Religious significance of Jerusalem in Islam.''
Sharing similar religious beliefs with Jews and Christians, Muslims consider the land west of (but not limited to) the Jordan River to be sacred as mentioned in the Qur'an, (5:20-21).
The Quran also says,
:"And We rescued him and Lout (Lot) to the land which We have blessed for the 'Alamîn (mankind and jinns)."[21:71]
The "land which We have blessed", according to Abdullah Yusuf Ali refers to the land of Syria, which includes Palestine and the cities of Tyre and Sidon.^[2]
Early Islamic tradition by Az-Zujaj describes Holy Land as "Damascus, Palestine, and a bit of Jordan", and by Qatada as "the Levant (ash-Sham)" and by Maad ibn Jabal as "the area between al-Arish and the Euphrates", and by Ibn Abbas as "the land of Jericho".
Muslims also consider the depression below Mount Sinai, also known as the Tuwa, to be sacred as mentioned in the Qur'an (20:12). This place is usually referred to as the "Holy Valley" (الوادي المقدس).
In Arabic, the city of Jerusalem is commonly known as "al-Quds", meaning "the Holy".
The term "Holy Land" is also sometimes used by Muslims (although not in the Qur'an) in reference to the Hijaz, land of the holy cities Mecca and Medina.

Notes

1. Sean Martin, ''The Knights Templar: The History & Myths of the Legendary Military Order'', 2005. ISBN 1-56025-645-1
2. Ali (1991), p.934

References

★ The Holy Quran, , Abdullah Yusuf, Ali, King Fahd Holy Qur-an Printing Complex, 1991,

★ Hanan Isachar, Ceremonies in the Holy Land, Melzer 2005