[War & Business] The Reason Behind the Battles to Reclaim Holy Sites

On the 7th (local time), Pope Francis (first on the right) visited Mosul in northern Iraq, devastated by the civil war. Mosul (Iraq) = AP·Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Pope Francis's historic visit to Iraq spread a rare message of peace throughout the Middle East, but the civil wars raging across Iraq and the entire region remain as difficult to quell as the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the battles to reclaim 'holy sites'?a major driving force behind conflicts between various sects and warlords?are deeply intertwined with the history of the Middle East.

Even when looking at a world map, few regions concentrate as many religious holy sites as the Middle East. From Jerusalem, a shared holy site for Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, to Ur, the hometown of Abraham visited by the Pope this time, Bethlehem, known as the birthplace of Jesus, and the Saudi Arabian cities of Mecca and Medina, ancient cities frequented by pilgrims are interwoven with holy sites like a spiderweb.

The abundance of holy sites in the Middle East is largely because, since ancient times, these sites served not only religious functions but also played a crucial role in the regional economy. Temples located at these holy sites issued and managed gold coins dedicated to the gods for thousands of years. They also independently set exchange rates for trading with currencies and goods from other regions, generating enormous minting profits.

This explains the biblical story of Jesus driving out the money changers from the temple in Jerusalem. In these sandy lands where even drinking water was scarce and agriculture was impossible, and large-scale population support was unfeasible, commerce could not develop. Therefore, these regions had no choice but to rely heavily on currency exchange businesses centered around temples and tourism catering to pilgrims visiting the holy sites.

Even today, holy cities tend to have relatively small populations compared to their fame. The population of the holy city Jerusalem is less than one-tenth that of Tel Aviv, Israel's largest metropolis. The population of Mecca is only about one-quarter that of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Most of these cities' income comes from tourism revenue generated by pilgrims. Considering that Bethlehem, with a population of less than 30,000, attracted 4 million pilgrims annually before the COVID-19 pandemic, faith at these holy sites was directly linked to income and livelihood.

In contrast, large cities where oil is produced in large quantities or commerce is well developed, regardless of religion, are now filled with skyscrapers instead of temples. This presents a stark contrast to holy cities where ancient temple buildings remain among the tallest structures. The reason women are arrested by police for removing their hijabs in Mecca but can walk around in bikinis in Dubai reflects differences in religious devotion stemming from economic disparities between cities. The biblical verse that God dwells in the 'lowest places' is no empty phrase.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.