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~Zaria~
12-25-2012, 07:39 PM
Interesting......

from The Global News Service of the Jewish People website.


Comments?

(Ps. The 'Holy Temple' refers to Masjid-ul Aqsa.)


Stop Islamic Wakf’s work on the Temple Mount

By Chaim Richman ·

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- This year, as Israel observes the traditional period of national mourning for the destruction of the Holy Temple on Tisha b’Av (which starts at sundown on Saturday), it has again been revealed that the Islamic Wakf is carrying out unsupervised work at the Temple Mount, potentially causing irrevocable damage to Judaism’s holiest site.

Of all the unsolved questions surrounding Jerusalem’s ancient biblical past, this modern mystery seems to present the greatest riddle: How is it that in the State of Israel, a country that is home to priceless archeological treasures that are safeguarded by a governmental Antiquities Authority known for its sweeping powers and far-reaching control, archeological crimes are regularly and systematically committed with impunity by serial offenders whose identity is known to the police?

The crimes, perpetrated in broad daylight in the national homeland of the Jewish people, inflict irreparable damage to the very core of the Jewish people’s identity. The Temple Mount, one of the most significant ancient sites in the world, has somehow acquired a sort of legal extra-terrestrial status, with a sort of perverse diplomatic immunity wielded by the Islamic Wakf that controls it.

The Israeli attorney general again has reiterated that the Temple Mount is under Israeli sovereignty. But, he adds, authorities must be “extra sensitive” in applying Israeli law to the site. He added that any time authorities need to “test the application of law in the Temple Mount complex, they should be pragmatic and take the area’s unique status into consideration.”

No matter what boastful pronouncements are uttered and repeated about Israeli law and Israeli sovereignty, the Mount for all practice and purpose remains outside the range of both Israeli supervision -- and Israeli responsibility. From whom do orders concerning the Temple Mount emanate? The blame for this outrageous state of affairs is shamelessly shifted and shunted from one bureaucrat to the other.

Infrastructure work is currently being carried out within the Dome of the Rock at the very heart of the Temple Mount -- the Foundation Stone. Torah teaches that this spot is the very center of creation, from which the universe was founded, hence its name.

It was upon this stone that the Ark of the Covenant rested within the Holy of Holies in Solomon’s Temple, into which chamber only the High Priest ventured once a year, on the Day of Atonement. But today it is far from being inviolate. Several weeks ago, when revelations of the current work first came to light in the Hebrew press, the news was accompanied by photographs of scaffolding, tools and debris resting on the sacred Foundation Stone itself.

A group of concerned Israelis filed a complaint with the Israel Police commissioner. The police responded by admitting that they were aware the Waqf had begun work at the Dome of the Rock more than six years ago, adding that the actions “were being performed with the approval of the Israel Antiquities Authority and under its supervision.”

Unfortunately, this response merely demonstrates the nebulous, tempestuous relationship of the Israel Police to affairs on the Temple Mount -- as well as their ambivalence. It has come to light that the IAA completely denies either approving or supervising these works on the Mount.

In the 1967 Six-Day War, Jerusalem again became a united city, and its sovereignty over the Old City returned to Israel. During the war -- on June 7, 1967 to be precise -- then-Prime Minister Levi Eshkol declared “no harm whatsoever shall come to the places sacred to all religions.” The Knesset passed the Preservation of the Holy Places Law, protecting the Holy Places against desecration and guaranteeing freedom of access to all.

In return for obeying the law, Israel agreed to leave the administration of the site in the hands of the Waqf. Since then, every Israeli president and prime minister in succession has pledged the government’s total commitment to Israel’s holiest site, the Temple Mount, site of the First and Second Holy Temple -- and the location of the future Holy Temple, according to every prophet of Israel.

As mind boggling and ludicrous as it seems, in recent years the Wakf has denied any non-Muslim connection to the site. The Waqf’s agenda is the final status of Jerusalem; to advance this cause, all physical evidence of the historical Jewish connection to the Temple Mount is a liability.

So in addition to the Wakf’s policy -- facilitated by the Israel Police against the position of the Israeli Supreme Court -- of preventing all non-Muslims from praying or expressing any religious sentiment at the site, the Wakf “caretakers” also exercise a free and heavy hand in the deliberate destruction of antiquities. While archeologists are prevented from investigating the site, work also is carried out without permit and any archeological supervision. It is one thing to prevent exploration; bulldozing ancient structures and using heavy machinery without any supervision is another thing.

The sages of Israel teach that the prayers of all mankind assemble together in the Foundation Stone before ascending to Heaven. This succinct teaching sums up the essence of what the vision of the “house of prayer for all people” (Isaiah 2) is really all about. The Temple Mount is har habayit, “the Mountain of the House.” It’s the house -- the home -- not just another issue. It is our center; it’s future represents the hope of all humanity. And it is a reflection of the honor of the God of Israel in this world. But a house built on a weak foundation will not stand.

We mourn over the site’s past; we yearn for its glorious future. But it is high time that we honor the vision of the Holy Temple by safeguarding the beleaguered Mount and by stemming the tide of its present destruction.

(Rabbi Chaim Richman is the international director of the Temple Institute in Jerusalem.)


http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012...e-third-temple
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YusufNoor
12-25-2012, 08:22 PM
crimes going on in Israel by...Muslims? ^o)

i'm sorry

that just makes me confused. :heated:
Reply

جوري
12-25-2012, 10:10 PM



You're talking to people so moronic they don't even know that the wailing wall they wail by was built by Suliman the great not 'king' Solomon..
Borrowed history and stolen land and Hollywood movies but that crap won't cut it!
Reply

AFR
12-26-2012, 05:59 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by شَادِنُ
You're talking to people so moronic they don't even know that the wailing wall they wail by was built by Suliman the great not 'king' Solomon..
Borrowed history and stolen land and Hollywood movies but that crap won't cut it!
\

This interests me, could you tell us a little more? Or do you have a link? Who is the Suliman who built the wall?
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جوري
12-26-2012, 02:35 PM
Ottoman period 1517–1917


Wailing Wall, Jerusalem, by Gustav Bauernfeind (19th century).


In 1517, the Turkish Ottoman Empire under Selim I conquered Jerusalem from the Mamluks who had held it since 1250. The Ottomans had a benevolent attitude towards the Jews, having welcomed thousands of Jewish refugees who had recently been expelled from Spain by Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in 1492. Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent was so taken with Jerusalem and its plight that he ordered a magnificent fortress-wall built around the entire city, today's Old City wall.
There are various accounts of Suleiman's efforts to locate the Temple's ruins. Rabbi Eliezer Nachman Puah, (ca. 1540), relates:
”I have been told that in the day of Sultan Suleiman the site of the Temple was not known and the Sultan had every corner of Jerusalem searched for it. One day the man in charge of the work, despairing after much searching and inquiring in vain, saw a woman coming with a basket of rubbish and filth upon her head. He asked her: “What are you carrying on your head?” – And she replied: “Rubbish.”
“And to where are you carrying it?”
“To such and such a place.”
“Where do you live?”
“In Bethlehem.”
“Is there no dunghill between Bethlehem and this place?”
“It is a tradition among us that whoever takes a little rubbish to that place performs a meritorious act.”
The curiosity of the officer was aroused and he commanded a great number of men to remove the rubbish from that place...and the holy site was revealed. When the Sultan learned of this, he rejoiced greatly and ordered the place to be swept and sprinkled and the Western Wall washed with rosewater...”[22]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Wall



You don't have to search far to know that most Jewish history is fabricated .. that is if people wanted to read history in lieu of watching Hollywood movies..
I think people whose tax money is funneled daily to the colonial settler state to bomb little children would be appalled to learn that there's no relation whatsoever between those European Jews and the land they colonized.. not even Biblicaly and even if they had a direct relationship to Abraham :saws:

:w:

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~Zaria~
12-26-2012, 03:08 PM
Shukran,

Back to the topic - does anyone have any direct, reliable information with regards to Wakf and the claims that they are responsible for working on, and causing damage to Masjid-ul Aqsa??
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جوري
12-26-2012, 03:14 PM
This article is written so that Zionists can keep on excavating beneath the mosque to destroy it so they can build their alleged third temple for their 'promised one' which is the Dajjal!

May Allah :swt: yaja3al kydihim fi nihorihim!

From time to time, there is a great deal of talk about excavations carried out by Zionist soldiers below Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa under the pretext of finding old antiquities that date back thousands of years to prove that they have a historical right to this blessed spot.

The Palestinian issue is considered the most important Islamic issue that all Muslims should support and stand in the face of its enemies and opponents, including the Zionists' attack on Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa. Consequently, we turned to the President of the Islamic Movement in Palestine and head of Al-Aqsa Foundation for Reconstruction of Islamic Sanctities, Shaykh Raed Salah, to clarify the truth about this attack and its serious dimensions. He kindly talked to Al-Bayan Magazine and said:

Some people may ask: How did we detect the issue of building a Jewish synagogue under Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa?
His response to this question: First of all, some information was leaked to us about significant excavations being carried out by Jewish bodies under Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa. We came to know that these excavations are more serious than all the excavations carried out by the occupation authorities many years ago. Given that, we launched Al-Aqsa Foundation for Reconstruction of Islamic Sanctities in the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948 C.E., in an attempt to access the excavation site and know what is happening there through secret methods.


We succeeded in accessing the specified excavation site and confirmed this by taking photos and filming several parts of the site. This was in addition to filming many other sites full of excavations and other Zionist hostilities which are currently being conducted directly under Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa.

Accordingly, we determined the location of these excavations on the map as well as their exact distance from Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa. This revealed the following:

- The Jewish body has built seven rooms to be a center to reflect the Jewish history, past and present. There is a 3-dimensional model in each room representing these historical stages. In one of these rooms, there is a model for what they call the "Destruction of the Temple". All these rooms are under Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa.

The construction of this building is very serious and its message is much more serious. Through these rooms, the Jewish body is trying to falsely claim that the history of the Jews extends under Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa. This is a blatant assault and false, misleading and deceptive message for all the people on earth.

- At another site, there is a model symbolizing "The Temple Mount in Jerusalem". On the top, they have placed a model representing the Dome of the Rock. Those responsible for these sites show the removal of the Dome of the Rock before visitors and put in its place a model that symbolizes their alleged temple. They do so before tourists whom they bring from many countries. The Jews use this site in particular as an exercise in brainwashing to prepare the world for a desired goal, which is building the alleged temple at the expense of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa.

- At the third site, there is a large model, the size of a room, surrounded by chairs in a circular graded form. Those responsible for this site receive chosen visitors and bring them to this place for brainwashing to convince them of the myth of the alleged temple and motivate them to support the scheme of building the Temple.

- At the fourth site, a two-floor Jewish synagogue was discovered 97 meters from the Dome of the Rock and parallel to it.

In addition to this site, we uncovered a very serious matter: through the tours we carried out, we discovered that there are excavations executed directly under Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, in more than one direction and at various depths. All, however, are centered directly under Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa.

As for the impact of these excavations and the new discoveries on the structure of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, there is no doubt about the evidence of this activity, as there are cracks in the existing buildings of the Masjid. After examination, it becomes clear that the sole reason for this is the continuous Israeli excavations since 1967 C.E., the year in which the Zionist Jews occupied the city of Jerusalem.

Moreover, these excavations are supported by those who aim to reach the old structure of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and Al Musalla Al-Marawani, which are located directly underground. These two buildings are parts of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa which is apparent above the ground. This means that these excavations are a grave prelude to appropriating these two buildings, one part after the other.

Blatant assault:
We should not forget that these recently instituted excavations and constructions are considered a blatant assault against the prestige and eminence of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa in the eyes of Muslims. It is the place to which the Messenger of Allaah,

, was taken on the journey of Al-Israa’ and it is the counterpart of the Honored Ka‘bah. This twinning is mentioned in the Surah (chapter) of Al-Israa’. It is also a religious, historical and cultural right of Muslims.

Regarding our demands in this respect, we have already announced all the previous information during a press conference. We explained it before the media and published all the photographs and maps in our possession all over the word. We will also bring this information to whom it may concern in the Arab and Muslim worlds, the Muslim World League, the Mosques Unions as well as all the heads of states and kings whom we can reach. We hope that these materials are held as a trust by all those who have it, so that each one assumes his role to ward off these serious assaults against the holy sites of Islam.
The scholars and preachers' role:
We are also preparing a message directed to Muslim scholars and preachers urging them to handle the issue of the dangers and excavations which threaten Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa on pulpits all over the world, particularly the pulpits of Al-Masjid Al-Haraam in Makkah and Al-Masjid An-Nabawi in Al-Madeenah. All this is to connect Muslims to what is happening in Jerusalem and to keep Al-Aqsa as well as all other Muslim holy sites alive in each Muslim's soul. The most important target of occupation is to keep the issue of Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem away from the Muslims' hearts and souls.
There are also significant steps being undertaken to reach out to the Arab and Muslim communities in Europe and America. Plans are underway to hold a conference in Europe to uncover the dangers which surround Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and mobilize the entire world to ward off this assault. There is also a plan to hold a similar conference in America for the Arab and Muslim communities there. There are also efforts to organize a large-scale demonstration in the United States to support Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa.

Continuous moving to this place:
On the Palestinian level, we emphasize that we will continue to move to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, through processions of visitors which come from Al-Muthallath (the Triangle), Galilee and Negev, as well as the coastal cities: Acre, Haifa, Lod, Jaffa and Ramle, on a daily basis. This is within the framework of Maseerat Al-Bayaariq (the Journey of Banners) which started years ago and aims at creating a permanent link between the Palestinians who live in the territories occupied in 1948 C.E. and Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa instead of the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza Strip who are prevented from reaching the holy city.

We consider this permanent link, which is performed daily by tens of thousands of worshippers, a safety harness which maintains Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and wards off daily Jewish attacks. This will contribute to avoiding serious danger and will protect Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa from a great assault.

Although we, in the territories occupied in 1948 C.E., excuse our brothers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip because they are prevented from reaching Jerusalem and live under a state of siege and barriers, this, however, absolves neither the Palestinian Authority nor the different Palestinian parties from the liability of making Jerusalem its top issue, especially under the current status quo.

Here I say: All Muslims should maintain constant vigilance, because the coming years will witness several attempts of sustained attacks against Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and its future. Therefore, we, as Muslims, are required to be eligible to bear the trust through motivating all Muslims to fulfill their duty towards the Muslim holy sites and respond to the slogan that was sounded years ago: "Al-Aqsa is in danger!"
PHOTO CAPTION
Excavated passageway under Masjid al-Aqsa
http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/in...cles&id=165551



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~Zaria~
12-26-2012, 03:45 PM
^ JazakAllah khayrun.

Indeed, this is what we are all believe at present - that the current excavations are being led by Zionists.

Its really strange though that the views being shared amongst the Jews themselves (on their websites) are completely different.


Wakf, mentioned in the OP refers to:

The Jerusalem Islamic Waqf is an Islamic trust best known for controlling and managing the current Islamic edifices on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem.

The Waqf has governed access to the geographic region since the Muslim reconquest of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1187. Israel allowed the Waqf to retain its authority over the Temple Mount, after Israel's capture of the Old City of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War of June 1967.

After hostilities had ceased, Israel informed Waqf authorities of their decision to allow their ongoing control of the Haram al-Sharif or the Temple Mount as it is known by Christians and Jews.


The Waqf consists of a director, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, and the Islamic Council.

If Masjid-ul Aqsa is indeed under the guardianship of Wakf, then how are these Zionist-led excavations occuring?


According to the poster of this video, the recorded bulldozing is sanctioned by the 'Palestinian Wakf' - http://israelmatzav.blogspot.co.il/2...ss-temple.html


Propaganda?
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جوري
12-26-2012, 03:49 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by ~Zaria~
Propaganda?
That's how I'd classify it indeed.

Al-Anfal (The Spoils of War)[8:30]

[RECITE]
[top] [next match]

Waith yamkuru bika allatheena kafaroo liyuthbitooka aw yaqtulooka aw yukhrijooka wayamkuroona wayamkuru Allahu waAllahu khayru almakireena
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جوري
12-28-2012, 11:53 PM
Sheikh Tiseer tameemi, the former judge has warned that Al Aqsa might collapse at any minute from all the excavation that the Zionists are doing:

المسجد الأقصى على وشك الانهيار في أي لحظة
الجمعة 28 ديسمبر 2012




مفكرة الاسلام: حذر قاضي قضاة فلسطين السابق الشيخ تيسير التميمي من خطورة سقوط المسجد الأقصى المبارك بسبب الحفريات الصهيونية تحت جدرانه وفي محيطه.
وبحث التميمي مع الأمين العام للجامعة العربية نبيل العربي خلال استقبال الأخير له أمس الخميس بمقر الجامعة في القاهرة الواقع الصعب في مدينة القدس المحتلة ومقدساتها وسبل حشد الدعم لها.
وأشار إلى خطورة الإجراءات القمعية التي يقوم بها الاحتلال في مدينة القدس المحتلة، خاصة البناء المتسارع للمستوطنات ومحاصرتها بالبؤر الإستيطانية، وعزل المدينة عن محيطها الفلسطيني.
وأطلع التميمي العربي على الاعتداء السافر على قدسية المدينة، خاصة المنع المتكرر للمصلين من الصلاة بالمسجد الأقصى، وإجراء الحفريات تحت جدرانه وبمحيطه حتى وصل الأمر إلى مرحلة خطيرة، وأصبح آيلا للسقوط في أية لحظة بسبب تلك الأعمال الخطيرة".


http://www.islammemo.cc/akhbar/arab/...28/161326.html
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جوري
01-14-2013, 06:02 PM
The final stages of destroying Al'Aqsa to build the so-called third temple:

باحث آثار: "إسرائيل" بدأت المرحلة الأخيرة لهدم "الأقصى"
Monday 14 January 2013




مفكرة الاسلام: أكد خبير آثار مصري أن سلطات الاحتلال الصهيوني بدأت المرحلة الأخيرة لهدم المسجد الأقصى المبارك، لبناء ما يسمى بـ"هيكل سليمان" المزعوم. وطالب الدكتور عبد الرحيم ريحان مدير عام البحوث والدراسات الأثرية والنشر العلمى بسيناء المنظمات الدولية والعربية والإسلامية، بالعمل إيقاف أعمال الهدم المتعمد لأساسات المسجد الأقصى فورا، وإيفاد لجنة عربية إسلامية للمعاينة على الطبيعة وترميم وإصلاح ما تم هدمه وتقوية أساسات الأقصى . وأشار إلى أن الاحتلال يدعي العثور على آثار من عهد الهيكل الثانى المزعوم، فى محاولة يهودية مكشوفة لتهويد وتزييف التاريخ فى الماضى والحاضر، مشيرا إلى أن الاحتلال بدأ خطوات تهويد باب الخليل أحد أبواب البلدة القديمة، كما أن بناء سر كبير يربط بين ساحة البراق وباب المغاربة يتيح لقوات الاحتلال اقتحام المسجد الأقصى، وكذلك يمهد الطريق أمام الأعداد الكبيرة من المغتصبين لاقتحامه، كما يخططون لإقامة مركز للزوار أسفل ساحة البراق. وأضاف أن سلطة الاحتلال خصصت 30 مليون دولار للتنقيبات فى الأنفاق الواقعة غرب المسجد الأقصى، وتنفيذ أعمال التهويد فى حائط البراق وأوكلت الحكومة تنفيذ هذه الأعمال للمنظمة الصهيونية المعروفة باسم (صندوق تراث المبكى) التابعة لمكتب رئيس الحكومة، وهي تهدف إلى تدمير الآثار الإسلامية التى تعود للعهود الأموية والأيوبية والمملوكية وسرقة أحجارها لطمس معالمها وتهويدها وهدم الجسر الأثرى وبناء جسر حديث. وتخطط من خلال التنقيبات لضمان الوصول إلى مسجد البراق وتحويله إلى كنيس وتوسيع ساحة البراق، وتقويض أساساته من الجهة الغربية، وتركه لعوامل الطبيعية ليتهاوى تمهيدًا لإقامة الهيكل المزعوم مكانه. وأضاف أن سلطة الاحتلال تستخدم مواد كيميائية فى أساسات الأقصى لتحقيق سرعة تآكل الصخور والأعمدة لسرعة إنجاز مخطط الهدم، وتعمم صورة للمسجد الأقصى المبارك وقد أزيلت منه قبة الصخرة بادعاء أن هذه الصورة تمثّل “جبل المعبد” خلال فترة الهيكل الثانى.
http://www.islammemo.cc/akhbar/arab/...14/162587.html
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~Zaria~
01-14-2013, 06:13 PM
^ Google translate:

Egyptian expert stressed the effects that the Zionist occupation authorities began the final phase of the demolition of Al Aqsa Mosque, to build the so-called "Temple of Solomon" alleged. He called Dr. Abdul Rahim Rihan Director General of Research and archaeological studies and scientific publishing Sinai international organizations and Arab and Islamic countries, to work off the demolition deliberate foundations Aqsa Mosque immediately, and dispatch an Arab committee Islamic to display the nature and restoration and repair what has been torn down and strengthen the foundations of Al Aqsa Mosque.

He pointed out that the occupation claims to find traces of the Second Temple period alleged, in a bid Jewish exposed to Judaize and falsification of history in the past and the present, pointing out that the occupation began steps Judaize Jaffa Gate one door the old town, and the building big secret linking Square bright and Mugrabi allows for the occupation forces to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as paving the way for large numbers of rapists to break into, is also planning to establish a visitors center down Buraq Square.

He added that the occupation authority has allocated $ 30 million for the excavations in tunnels west-Aqsa Mosque, and perform the conversion in the Wailing Wall and entrusted the government to implement these actions of the Zionist Organization (known as Heritage Fund Wailing) of the Prime Minister's Office, which is aimed at destroying the Islamic monuments dating back to the covenants Umayyad, Ayyubid, Mamluk and steal stones to obscure landmarks and Judaize archaeological and demolition of the bridge and building a modern bridge. And planning through excavations to ensure access to the Buraq mosque and convert it into a synagogue and expand Buraq Square, and undermine the foundations of the western side, and leave it to natural factors demolished in preparation for the establishment of the alleged Temple place.

He added that the occupation authority chemicals used in the foundations of the maximum to achieve the rapid erosion of rocks and columns for the expeditious completion of the planned demolition, and circulated a picture of the Al-Aqsa Mosque has been removed from the Dome of the Rock claiming that this is a "Temple Mount" during the Second Temple period.
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~Zaria~
01-14-2013, 06:20 PM
Masjidul Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock – An Important Clarification









Al Aqsa Dome of the Rock

Ebrahim Moosa – Cii News | 09 October 2012

For many years now, emails and graphics that purport to reveal the “True Masjid al Aqsa” have disseminated themselves widely across the internet. “Dear Muslims, Please make sure you and your children know which is the real Masjid Al Aqsa,” a message would typically read, alongside an accompanying graphic that boldly highlights certain buildings within the Haram al Sharif compound in Jerusalem(Al Quds). It laments that “many Muslims think the Al-Sakhrah Mosque, also known as the “Dome of the rock,” is the Al-Aqsa Mosque!!” before proceeding to boldly assert – with the assistance of visual aids – the differences between ‘Masjidul Aqsa’ and the ‘Dome of the Rock’.

The message usually concludes with a warning: “Please make sure you and your children, your friends all know which is the real Masjid Al Aqsa. Check your house for pictures!! many people have picture in there homes showing the wrong mosque!!”

At the heart of such campaigns, lies an apparent desire to thwart an alleged Zionist strategy that seeks to play up the importance of the Dome of the Rock Mosque, particularly in photographs, in order to draw the public’s attention away from ‘al-Aqsa mosque.’ “Israel wants to eliminate the picture of Al-Aqsa mosque from the minds of people, so that when the time comes for it to destroy it and build its temple, it can show the Dome of the Rock and claim that Al Aqsa is intact,” is one rationale that is repeatedly offered.

As noble and well-intentioned such initiatives may be, at this juncture in the history of Masjidul Aqsa, they can also be deeply problematic. Most messages are far too simplistic in their conclusions, fail to grasp the complete Islamic guidelines on Masjidul Aqsa, and potentially even play into the schemings of the Zionists whom these campaigns purportedly seek to expose.






The problematic graphic purportedly distinguishing Masjidul Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock

Much of the confusion arising from this matter can arguably be traced back to the onomastics, or the names that human beings themselves have lended to buildings within the Holy City with the passage of time. Referring to the Isra, or the miraculous night journey of the Prophet(PBUH) from Makkah to Jerusalem, Allah says: “Glory be to Him Who made His servant to go in a night from the Sacred Mosque[Masjidul Haram] to the Remote Mosque [Masjidul Aqsa] of which We have blessed the precincts, so that We may show to him some of Our signs; surely He is the Hearing, the Seeing.” Quoting from the book “Baitul Maqdis and Masjidul Aqsa” by Mohammed Hassan Sharab, the leader of the Islamic Movement in Occupied Palestine 1948, Sheikh Raed Salah, highlights that The Aqsa Mosque mentioned in the Surat Isra’ refers to all of the Haram Al-Sharif, and that the rewards promised in the Ahadeeth for praying in it can be achieved by praying in any part of the land surrounded by the wall.”

The classical Hanbali scholar, Mujir ad-Din al-Hanbali expounds on the constituents of the Quranic Masjidul Aqsa even further. “al-Aqsa is the name of all what is within its compound inside the walls, the building in the foremost area and others, the Dome of the Rock Mosque, the corridors, etc.; al-Aqsa means all that is within the walls,” reads the explanation in his book al-Uns al-Jaleel.

Thus, Islamically speaking, the entire enclosed area, also known as the Haram al Sharif, is to be designated as the al-Aqsa Mosque. In practical terms this encompasses more than 200 buildings, domes, schools, wells, fields, walls and pavements. Quite clearly, this would include not only the mosque with the golden dome, the Dome of the Rock, nor the mosque with black lead dome, Al Masjid Al Qibli. Rather, both would constitute mere sections of the larger Al Aqsa mosque compound.






A comprehensive understanding what constitutes Masjidul Aqsa


As the aforementioned messages demonstrate, it is not uncommon to encounter references to the black domed Masjid in the foremost area of the Haram al Sharif compound as ‘Masjid al Aqsa’. These are not entirely frowned upon. However, it should more rightfully be titled Masjid Al-Qibly, stemming from its nearness to the Qiblah. This structure constitutes the nucleus of Islamic activity within the Haram al Sharif, and is undoubtedly most significant comprising both a Mimbar and Mihrab. Still, its can lay no claim to nobility in isolation, but is rather dependent on its affiliation to the wider Masjid al Aqsa, for its sacredness.

The current structure of Masjid Al-Qibly(the black-domed Masjid) was certainly non existent at the time of the Miraj. It’s origins can be traced back to 637 when the Muslim conqueror of Al Quds, Umar bin al Khattab RA first erected the structure. Faced with the dilemma of being unable to build an enclosed structure that would encompass the entire area of Masjidul Aqsa, Umar RA had to settle for a simple crude mosque, which had to be positioned on a specific location orientated southward towards the Ka’bah in Makkah. Umar RA consulted some people as to an appropriate site for the mosque and Ka’b al-Ahbar, a Yemenite Jew who converted to Islam, proposed that the mosque be placed behind the Rock so that the old and new directions of prayer (qiblah) merge, as it were, with one another. However, Umar RA disapproved, reasoning that such a course of action would imply imitation of the Jewish religion. Hence, the mosque was erected in the front of the Rock, that is, the southern part of the original al-Aqsa Mosque, thus making those who pray turn their faces towards the qiblah and their backs towards the Rock. “We were not commanded to venerate the Rock, but we were commanded to venerate the Ka’bah”, he explained.

Umayyad Khaliphs subsequently adapted the building making them the first to erect the Masjid al Qibly according to its current configuration. Renovations and additional structures were added later on by succeeding Abbasid, Ayyobian, Ayoubi, Mamluke, and Ottoman Khaliphs.

The Umayyads were also first to erect a Dome over the famous Rock situated at the centre of the Masjid al Aqsa compound. This rock, itself, was the Qiblah of the Prophets of the Children of Israel – peace be upon them – and is presumed to be the departure point for the ascention of Muhammed SAW into the heavens on the journey of Miraj. However, its significance truly lies in being just another part of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque; and its eminence shouldn’t be exaggerated.

According to Islamic teachings, a prayer in Al Masjid Al Aqsa – whether inside the Dome of the Rock, Al Masjid Al Qibli, underneath any of its trees, or beneath any of its domes – is equivalent to many prayers elsewhere. This is because all the walled area is actually Al Masjid Al Aqsa, and the sacredness is not confined just to the Dome of the Rock and Al Masjid Al Qibli, or either.

Inaccurate references to the southern musalla of the Al-Aqsa Mosque (Al-Qibly Prayer Hall) as “Al-Aqsa” or failure to recognise the position of the Dome of the Rock within the wider Al Aqsa, may in fact further Zionist claims for other parts of this holy compound, a strategy that is now being actively pursued. Having seen previous attempts at destroying or invading Masjidul Aqsa frustrated, there is a currently a determined drive to divide the mosque into Jewish and Muslim sections – a plan modeled on a similar division of the Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron where the Prophet Ibrahim(AS) is buried. Under the guise of religious pluralism and freedom of worship at the Temple Mount, an Israeli member of parliament has drafted a bill that mandates separate hours for Jewish and Muslim prayer at the holy site. An Israeli judge also recently ruled in favour of Jews performing Talmudic rituals inside al-Aqsa Mosque, asserting that Jews have the “right to pray in the courtyards of al-Aqsa mosque,” in defiance of the protests of Muslims.

In this treacherous climate, the most worthy service that those seeking to educate the public on Masjid al Aqsa should embark on is realising the distinction between the Al Aqsa sanctuary, and what is now commonly referred to as Masjid al Aqsa, and disseminating these findings widely. As Ismail Adam Patel writes, “It is extremely important to appreciate that it is the land of the Al Aqsa sanctuary that is most precious and blessed. When the Quran refers to Masjid al Aqsa, it is this land of al Haram al Sharif(al-Aqsa sanctuary) that is implied, and not any of the buildings. Although the buildings within the noble sanctuary, like the black domed Masjid al Aqsa and gold domed Dome of the Rock are of great historical significance, however, one must understand that it is the land that is holy and blessed and not the bricks and mortar.”


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