Tension at the Temple Mount
Pastor Dale Morgan
Mar 30th, 2007 7:29 AM
*Tension at the Temple Mount*
The clash between Israel and the Islamic world, between the Bible and
the Koran, has a cosmic focal point— the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. As
the site of the two biblical Temples, it is the holiest place in Judaism.
But today it is home to the Mosque of Al Aksa and golden Dome of the
Rock, ostensibly the place where Mohammed ascended to heaven, though the
Koran never mentions Jerusalem by name. It is the third holiest place in
Islam.
Unlike any place on earth, the mount has the potential to stir up Arab
and Moslem passions for jihad. When Ariel Sharon visited the site in
2000, the second intifada (Palestinian uprising) erupted, leading to
years of violence and bloodshed. If the mosques ever collapse in an
earthquake or from sheer old age, it seems inevitable that all the Arab
and Islamic nations would come up against Jerusalem for holy war (see
Zechariah 12).
So when Israel began a simple renovation outside the site near the
Western Wall, the Moslem world was up in arms. The project is aimed at
repairing an ancient walkway leading to the Temple Mount that was
damaged three years ago in a snowstorm. In the first stage,
archaeologists are excavating to make sure that precious artifacts will
not be damaged.
“All the work we are conducting here is absolutely outside the limits of
the Temple Mount,” said archaeologist Gideon Avni of the Israel
Antiquities Authority. “Nothing will be conducted within the area of the
compound.”
Nevertheless, the Arabs immediately accused Israel of deliberately
trying to undermine the foundations of the Mosque of Al Aksa. Raed
Salah, the fiery leader of the radical Islamic Movement in Israel,
accused the government of, “the crime of demolishing a part of the
blessed Al Aksa compound…[and] pushing the entire region toward a
religious war.” Some Palestinian offcials urged their people to rise up
in a third intifada.
The Wakf, or Islamic Trust, that administers the site, said it was
caught completely off guard. “We warned them not to do it, but there was
no coordination,” said Wakf chairman Adnan Husseini. “they did not tell us.”
Israel said the Wakf was informed about the project, but it was not
coordinated— a signal from Israel that it will not allow the Moslems to
extend their authority beyond the Temple Mount, and especially, to the
plaza of the Western Wall.
Riots erupted a few days after the project began, despite the deployment
of 3,000 police in and around the Old City, and restrictions barring all
Arab men under the age of 45 from entering the grounds of the Al Aksa
Mosque. Police stormed onto the Temple Mount to confront Arab stone
throwers and quickly restored order. And drawing lessons from the deadly
riots after Sharon’s visit in 2000, this time the police used non-lethal
force.
Copyright 2006 israel today Magazine. All rights reserved