Iconoclasm mainly concerns the destruction of icons, based on the Commandment of the Bible ‘Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image…’ (Exodus 20:4). Iconoclasm can be presented in two different ways. One is that of an ‘inside aspect’, taking place within a given religious system. The other is an ‘outside aspect’, through which a religious system destroys the religious symbols of another religion. Dealing mainly with the ‘outside aspect’, one may find many religious sites which were destroyed or had their functions changed while these were occupied by another religious group. The holy city of Jerusalem, which lived under different religious regimes, can present this phenomenon, as each regime changed the landscape of the city according to its own perspective.

圣像破坏主要涉及毁坏圣像，其依据是圣经的诫命“不可为自己雕刻偶像……”（出埃及记 20:4）。偶像破坏可以用两种不同的方式呈现。一个是“内部方面”，发生在一个特定的宗教体系内；另一个是“外部方面”，一个宗教体系通过它摧毁另一个宗教的宗教象征。主要处理“外部方面”，人们可能会发现许多宗教场所在被另一个宗教团体占据时被摧毁或功能改变。生活在不同宗教政权下的圣城耶路撒冷可以呈现这种现象，因为每个政权都根据自己的观点改变了城市的景观。