- published: 08 Apr 2015
- views: 23085
Ramallah (Arabic: رام الله (help·info) Rāmallāh) (literally "Height of God") is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority. With a population of nearly 25,500, Ramallah was historically a Christian town, but today Muslims form the majority of the population, with a strong Christian minority.
Modern Ramallah was founded in the mid-16th century by the Haddadins, a Jordanian tribe of brothers descended from Ghassanid Christian Arabs. The Haddadins, led by Rashid Haddadin, arrived from east of the Jordan River near the Jordanian town of Shoubak. The Haddadin migration is attributed to fighting and unrest among clans in that area. According to modern living descendents of original Haddadin family members, Rashid's brother Sabra Haddadin was hosting Emir Ibn Kaysoom, head of a powerful Muslim clan in the region, when Sabra's wife gave birth to a baby girl. According to custom, the Emir proposed a betrothal to his own young son when they came of age. Sabra believed the proposal was in jest, as Muslim-Christian marriages were not customary, and gave his word. When the Emir later came to the Haddadins and demanded that they fulfill their promise, they refused. This set off bloody conflict between the two families. The Haddadins fled west and settled on the hilltops of Ramallah, where only a few Muslim families lived at the time. Today, a large community of people descended directly from the Haddadins live in the United States. The town is now predominately Muslim.
RADIO STATION | GENRE | LOCATION |
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Al-Quds Radio | News,World Middle East | Palestine |
Alaqsa Voice | Talk | Palestine |
Free Palestine Radio | World Middle East | Palestine |
Raya FM | Varied | Palestine |