Book Review
Jul. 5th, 2004 03:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariThe Rock : A Tale of Seventh-Century Jerusalem
by Kanan Makiya
This book is not so much a typical historical novel as it is a lyrical meditation on what makes a place sacred and the common ground (literally) of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, from the perspective of the latter. The story is about the 7th century conquest of Jerusalem by the early Muslim Arabs and the subsequent construction of the Dome of the Rock. The spiritual center of the book is the Rock of Foundation at the summit of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. According to tradition this is the place where Adam fell to earth after being cast out of Eden, where Abraham was directed to sacrifice his son, where Solomon's temple stood, where Jesus preached, and where Muhammad ascended into heaven. In addition to seamlessly weaving together all three religions' beliefs about the Rock, Makiya also ties in traditions and beliefs about the other rocks that figure in the three religions, specifically the rock of Calvary and the rock enclosed in the Ka'Ba in Mecca.
Perhaps some of what Makiya writes will be considered controversial, but I guess I was pretty oblivious to any of that since I don't adhere to Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. Despite that, though. I found the novel very interesting and beautiful as an exploration of those three religions, where they intersect, and where they diverge as well as an examination of the Holy Land and it's nature.
Despite the intellectual and even scholarly nature of his book, Makiya's prose reads very smoothly. He also provides a long explanation of the historical sources he drew from, chapter by chapter, at the end. The only thing I think he neglected to include is maps - I would have benefitted from a map of the Middle East as well as a detailed map of 7th century Jerusalem.
by Kanan Makiya
This book is not so much a typical historical novel as it is a lyrical meditation on what makes a place sacred and the common ground (literally) of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, from the perspective of the latter. The story is about the 7th century conquest of Jerusalem by the early Muslim Arabs and the subsequent construction of the Dome of the Rock. The spiritual center of the book is the Rock of Foundation at the summit of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. According to tradition this is the place where Adam fell to earth after being cast out of Eden, where Abraham was directed to sacrifice his son, where Solomon's temple stood, where Jesus preached, and where Muhammad ascended into heaven. In addition to seamlessly weaving together all three religions' beliefs about the Rock, Makiya also ties in traditions and beliefs about the other rocks that figure in the three religions, specifically the rock of Calvary and the rock enclosed in the Ka'Ba in Mecca.
Perhaps some of what Makiya writes will be considered controversial, but I guess I was pretty oblivious to any of that since I don't adhere to Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. Despite that, though. I found the novel very interesting and beautiful as an exploration of those three religions, where they intersect, and where they diverge as well as an examination of the Holy Land and it's nature.
Despite the intellectual and even scholarly nature of his book, Makiya's prose reads very smoothly. He also provides a long explanation of the historical sources he drew from, chapter by chapter, at the end. The only thing I think he neglected to include is maps - I would have benefitted from a map of the Middle East as well as a detailed map of 7th century Jerusalem.
