Ever wonder about the term "Holy City" almost always used in media items concerning Qom in Iran, Mecca in Saudi Arabia, and other, usually Muslim majority cities? What determines a "holy city"?
The ever-reliable Wikipedia entry on the topic uses this definition:
A Holy City is a city important to the history or faith of a
specific religion. Such cities may also contain at least one
headquarters complex (often containing a religious edifice, seminary,
shrine, residence of the leading cleric of the religion and/or chambers
of the religious leadership's offices) which constitutes a major
destination of human traffic, or pilgrimage to the city, especially for major ceremonies and observances. A holy city is a symbolic city,
representing attributes beyond its natural characteristics. Marketing
experts have suggested that holy cities may be the oldest brands, and more specifically, place brands because they have value added via the perception of religious adherents.[1]
The list of cities that follows this entry includes not only Mecca, Medina and Qom but also centers of religion like Baltimore, Mexico City, Clearwater, FL and Madrid, most of which are said to be holy to Roman Catholics.
If one asked a resident of Baltimore if he regarded the decaying center of Chesapeake Bay commerce as "holy", what do you suppose his response might be? Does living in a " holy city" provide spiritual benefits that an ordinary, secular municipality like Omaha or Denver cannot?
When the city of Qom is mentioned in the Iran media or Mecca in the Arab counterpart, are they proceeded by a term in the local language that corresponds to "holy"? When an Iranian newspaper runs an article about some disaster in Baltimore do they describe the home of the Orioles and Ravens as a "holy city" or a place that worships birds? Does the sanctification of Baltimore give its sports teams an advantage over less sacred burgs like Minneapolis and Seattle?
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