by Dr. Nessia Shemer
WAQF in 1924: "The site is one of the oldest in the world. Its sanctity dates from the earliest (perhaps from prehistoric) times. Its identity with the site of Solomon's Temple is beyond dispute."
"For Al-Aqsa We Will
Run Over Settlers" is the name of a new song put online recently by two
Palestinian singers from Ramallah. The popular slogan "Al-Aqsa is in
danger" has been used by extremist Islamic elements for decades, since
the days of Haj Amin el-Husseini, the grand mufti of Jerusalem who was
Hitler's friend, to incite the street. This blood libel, accepted with
consensus across the Muslim world, claims that Israel is plotting to
collapse the Temple Mount mosques in order to build the third temple in
their place.
At the basis of this
narrative are certain alleged axioms taken for granted as truths, namely
that the Jewish religion has no connection to the place, that a Jewish
presence on the mount is detrimental to the holiness of the mosques,
before even mentioning, heaven forbid, Jewish prayer there. It is
interesting that according to the Quran itself (Chapter 17, verses 4-8)
there most certainly were Jewish temples on the mount. Additionally, the
Supreme Muslim Council (the highest body in charge of Muslim community
affairs in Mandate Palestine under British control) issued a pamphlet in
1924 clearly stating: "The site is one of the oldest in the world. Its
sanctity dates from the earliest (perhaps from prehistoric) times. Its
identity with the site of Solomon's Temple is beyond dispute."
Another basic premise
is that prayer for non-Muslims must be prohibited at the site. As a
general tenet, prayer is the most important act in Islam, because it
expresses the belief in Allah. Anyone who does not pray, according to
Shariah law, is a heretic deserving of death. Prayer to the one God is a
universal principle that does not only belong to Muslims, but to other
believers whoever they may be, certainly to Jews and Christians. The
importance of prayer appears in explicit abundance in the Quran, which
states that only especially evil people infringe on the rights of others
to pray, such as Pharaoh, who forbade the Jewish people from praying,
or the heretics of the Quraish tribe, who prevented the Prophet Muhammad
from praying at the Kaaba in Mecca.
Today, however, a
paradox has been created whereby Muslims are preventing other religions
from expressing their right to pray. If we examine this matter
throughout Muslim history, we will discover that the great Salah al-Din,
the liberator of Jerusalem from the Crusaders, had no problem signing
the Treaty of Jaffa in 1192, which allowed the Christians, among other
things, free entrance into Jerusalem and its holy places.
A third basic premise
is that a Jewish presence on the mount is a provocation that leads to
bloodshed. The riots, however, are not caused by a Jewish presence, but
by the lack of it. The mount is essentially abandoned to radical
Islamists, for whom the goal is bloodshed regardless. Sheikh Raed Salah,
the head of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel,
otherwise known as the Al-Aqsa sheikh, operates the "Murbitat" group
(the male and female holders of the holy places on Earth). The Murbitat
activists, who maintain a permanent presence on the mount, spark
provocations when Jews visit the site. Their salaries are paid by the
Hamas-affiliated NGO Emarat Al-Aqsa.
One more myth, which is
prevalent in Israeli society, is that as long as Muslims are allowed to
do what they want on the Temple Mount the status quo of "the Temple
Mount for them and the Western Wall for us" will be preserved. However,
according to the official ideology of the radical Islamist elements and
the Palestinian Authority, not only do the Jews not have a claim to the
mount, they do not have a claim to the Western Wall either, which
Muslims essentially consider to be the wall where the Prophet Muhammad
tied his horse, Al-Buraq, before ascending to heaven.
Let us end with one
final point of thought: Had the Muslims captured the Temple Mount in
1967, would they have willingly relinquished the site to a rival
religion?
Dr. Nessia Shemer is a lecturer in the Middle Eastern History Department at Bar-Ilan University.
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=10523
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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