Why use the term "holy city"?

Question

I find almost all news agencies refer to certain middle eastern cities as "the holy city of ...". Why do they do that? How do they know which are truly "holy" cities? For fair reporting shouldn't they say "the allegedly holy city of..."?

Is this just PC directed to Muslims that would never be afforded to Christians or Jews? When was the last time you saw a news paper or TV refer to "the Holy city of Jerusalem"?

Even in the USA we have cities named after saints (like San Francisco for St. Francis) but no one would ever say "the holy city of San Francisco"!

Answer 1

The "Holy City" is where the Pope lives.

Answer 2

I'd wave off the "allegedly" portion of describing a city... as well as blaming it on "political correctness"

I OFTEN see Jerusalem referred to as "Holy" on CNN,... as well it should be, to all three of the major faiths: It is the site of the Temple of Solomon, the Death and Resurrection of Christ, and of the Ascension of the Prophet Mohammad.

Medina, Mecca, and Quum also recieve the term "Holy"... They are sites that were BUILT on a holy-site, or grew famous for religiously significant events occuring there.

In the USA, obviously there are cities named after Saints... the Spanish Jesuits and Benadictine monks ran up and down the California coast establishing Missions... and of COURSE they would name them after Saints !! Yet they are NOT sites of miracles, so wouldn't be "Holy"

San Jose, San Francisco, San Carlos, San Leandro, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, San Dimas, San Luis Obispo....

Answer 3

Actually, Jerusalem is often referredto as "the holy city". The refernce is to the many religions that consider this a holy place. Muslims, Jews and Christians all have a holy stake in that one little city