FIRST AXIS

Islamic and Christian

Holy Sites in Palestine :

Threats and Prospects of Survival

 First Session

Chairman :

H.E. Dr. Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri,

Director General of the Islamic Educational

and Scientific Organisation

-ISESCO-

Speakers :

1. H.E. Dr. Sheikh Ikrema Said Sabri

2. H.E. Ambassador Dr. Wajih Hassan Qassem

3. Archbishop Salim Essayegh

Israeli Violations

of the Blessed Al Aqsa Mosque

By : Dr. Sheikh Ikrema Said Sabri(*)

Introduction

The Significance of Al Aqsa for Muslims

A) The bond of religion and faith : The Muslim’s attachment to the Al Aqsa Mosque is an attachment to religion and faith. This bond, the strongest of all human bonds, can be inferred from the following religious texts :

1- In the first verse of Surat Al Israa, the Almighty says : “Glory to Allah  who did take His servant for a journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque, whose precincts we did bless in order that We might show him some of our Signs, for He is the one who hearth and seethe (all things)”. The Al Aqsa Mosque is the centrepiece of the miracles of the Night Journey and the Ascension which constitute part of the Muslim faith. The Night Journey began at the Holy Mosque in Makkah Al Mukarramah and ended at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Al Quds where the Prophet’s ascension to the heavens began.

2- Allah (SWT) says in another verse : “And listen for the day when the Caller will call out from a place quite near” (Qaf, verse 41). The interpretation of this noble verse is that one of the angels will announce the Day of Judgement from a place close to earth. A large majority of jurists and commentators believe that this place is the Rock of Bayt Al Maqdis, which is part of the Al Aqsa Mosque. The Rock of Bayt Al Maqdis, closer to the earth than to the heavens, is the earth’s gateway to the heavens. Needless to say that belief in the Day of Judgement is part of the Islamic religion and faith.

B) The bond of worship : Muslims are also attached to the Al Aqsa Mosque for reasons that are closely connected to worship, as we can deduct from the following texts :

1- Allah (SWT) says : “We see the turning of thy face (for guidance) to the heavens: now shall we turn thee to a qiblah that shall please thee. Turn then thy face in the direction of the Sacred Mosque, wherever you are, turn thy faces in thy direction” (Al Baqara, verse 144). Muslims faced the Al Aqsa Mosque in their prayers for sixteen months.

2- The value for one prostration (raka’a) in the Al Aqsa Mosque equals five hundred raka’as in other mosques. In this regard, the Prophet said : “The worth of praying in the Holy Mosque in Makkah is equal to one hundred thousand prayers in other mosques and to five hundred times the prayer in my mosque and the mosque of Bayt Al Maqdis” (narrated by Ahmed and Ibn Khuzaima from the virtuous companion Abu Dardaa. This hadith is reported in many other corroborated versions).

It is important to point out here that by the name “Al Aqsa Mosque”, we mean all the area of the mosque (the sacred precinct), which is equal to 144 dunams. The name does not refer to the covered structure only, but also to all the attached facilities, including the Dome of the Rock Mosque, the Marwani mussalah, the ancient Al Aqsa, the mastabas, porches, halls, wells, water facilities, courtyards and corridors.

3- The Prophet (PBUH) urged his followers to visit the Al Aqsa Mosque for praying purposes and placed it at the same level as the Holy Mosque in Makkah Al Mukarramah and his own mosque in Madinah when he said : “Pilgrimage is allowed to three mosques only : the Sacred Mosque, my mosque here, and the Al Aqsa Mosque” (agreed upon by the virtuous companion Abu Said Al Khadari, may Allah be pleased with him).

4- The Prophet (PBUH) also associated the Al Aqsa Mosque to the rites of Hajj (pilgrimage) and minor hajj (‘umra) when he said : “Allah will expunge every previous sin of he who can perform a pilgrimage or umra to the Al Aqsa Mosque” (narrated by Abu Daoud and Al Baihaqi as reported from Um Salma, may Allah be pleased with her).

5- A person living in Al Qods Al Sharif reaps the reward of those who dedicate their lives to worship. He is, in fact, considered to be in a continuous state of worship and jihad according to the Prophet’s hadith : “A community of my Ummah shall always champion righteousness and defeat their enemy. With fortitude, they shall meet whatever distress may befall them and staunch they will stand before those who oppose them, and so they shall remain until Allah’s fate takes place. Then He was asked : O Prophet of Allah, where are they ? He replied : In Al-Qods and the heart of Al-Qods” (Musnad Ahmed).

Therefore, Al Aqsa mosque is not like any other mosque. It has an elevated and special status in the hearts and minds of all Muslims, wherever they may be in the world. This has always been the case since the spiritual conquering of Al Aqsa through the miracle of the Night Journey and Ascension, and it shall remain so until the Day of Judgement.

Part I

Threats and Dangers

The Israeli threats against the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque are many and diversified ; they have almost become a daily occurrence. These threats can be categorised into four axes :

1- Excavations around and beneath the Al Aqsa.

2- Forced Entry of Jewish extremists into the Al Aqsa esplanades and their attempts to perform their religious rites there.

3- Military and armed incursions.

4- Plots to demolish or blow up the Al Aqsa and build the alleged Temple of Solomon on its ruins.

First Axis : Excavations around and beneath the Al Aqsa

These excavations begun early in the seventies of the previous century. They started with digging tunnel, focusing mainly on the western wall of Al Aqsa Mosque, which caused cracks in many historical buildings affiliated to Islamic waqfs along the western wall in the Selsela Gate, the Qattanine Gate and the Hadeed Gate. These monuments date back to the Ayyubid, Mamluk and Ottoman eras. The excavations resulted in the collapse in 1984 of the stairway leading to the offices of the Islamic Waqf Administration located in the Majlis Gate, and later in the collapse in 1988 of the passageway leading to the Ghawanmeh Gate. In 1996, the Israeli occupation forces opened a door to the tunnel underneath the Umariyya School on Murabiteen Street, north of the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque. This tunnel begins at the Maghrebi Gate, runs along the Western Wall, and then veers off east beneath the Umariyya School over a length of 490 meters.

Following a water duct, the excavations reached the Mamluk Qaytibay well in the western esplanade of the Aqsa Mosque in 1981. The Israeli Archaeology Department mistook the duct for a tunnel stretching under the Mosque of the Dome. But after a few hours, the fallacy of their claim was exposed and the tunnel turned out to be a water duct connected to a well the stones of which date back to the Mamluk era. With the help of Muslim worshippers, the Islamic Waqf Administration managed to close off with concrete the cavity left behind by the excavations, to prevent Jews from entering it again.

Not much information on the excavations undertaken under the Al Aqsa Mosque is available since, Israeli authorities prevent the Islamic Waqf engineers from inspecting them. But it is certain that removing all the soil from under the foundations of the Al Aqsa puts the mosque in danger. We have previously warned the occupying forces against the repercussions of such works, sharply reminding them of their responsibility in any damage that may be caused to the structure of the Mosque.

Second Axis : Forced Entry of Jewish Extremists into the Al Aqsa Esplanades

Let us first make it clear that the esplanades of the Mosque are part and parcel of the Al Aqsa of which the surface area is 144 dunams and it includes: the covered Al Aqsa Mosque, the Mosque of the Sacred Rock, the old mosque, the Marwani mussalah (prayer esplanade), the porches, the wings, the mastabas, the wells, the corridors and the external walls.

Jewish fanatics have attempted to break into the mosque’s esplanades from the outside to perform their religious rites there, the underlying primary purpose being to establish a state of fait accompli whereby the esplanades become divided up between Muslims and Jews. The guards of the Mosque and the Muslim worshippers have always and continue to repel such attempts and to prevent, with the help of Allah, any Jew from performing his religious rites in Al Aqsa.

Al Aqsa Mosque is for Muslims alone. We neither recognise nor acknowledge any Jewish claim to it, and we will not allow the Jews to gain a foothold in its esplanades. Almost a daily occurrence, these eruptions are too many to list them all. 

Third Axis : Military and Armed Incursions

1- The armed attack led by Harry Goldman, a reservist in the Israeli army, on 11/4/1982, and which resulted in the death of two persons. Sixty other persons were injured by Goldman and by the Israeli army that ran to his rescue. He was released shortly after his arrest.

2- The massacre perpetrated by the Israeli occupying forces against Muslim worshippers in the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque on 8/10/1990 where 23 persons perished and more than 200 hundred were injured.

3- Another massacre by the Israeli occupation forces against the faithful who were praying in the esplanades of the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque on Friday 28/9/1996, on the occasion of the Tunnel Intifada where 14 died as martyrs and dozens were injured.

4- A third massacre by the Israeli occupation forces against Muslim worshippers praying in the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque on Friday 29/9/2000, marking the beginning of the Al Aqsa Intifada. Six people died and dozens were injured in this incident.

5- Dozens of relentless raids conducted by Israeli occupation forces on the esplanades of the Al Aqsa Mosque on Fridays. These raids have resulted in injuries to hundreds of people, the asphyxiation by poisonous gas of thousands of Muslim worshippers while praying. These raids are too many to list here.

Fourth Axis : Plots to Demolish, Blow up or Burn Al Aqsa Mosque

Dozens of attempts have been made to demolish, blow up or burn the mosque in order to build the alleged Temple of Solomon on its ruins. The most infamous of these attempts are :

1- The accursed fire, which was started on 21/8/1969 by Michael Dennis Rohan, who claimed to be Australian. The Israeli authorities alleged that he was mentally unstable, as a ploy to acquit him without trial and to close the case. This only proves that the occupation authorities were an accomplice in the fire.

2-A group of Jewish fanatics who intended to blow up the Aqsa Mosque were arrested on 21/5/1980 with huge amounts of explosives in their possession.

3- In 1982, a plot to blow up the Dome of the Sacred Rock, hatched by a group of Jewish extremists among whom featured soldiers from the special units, was uncovered.

4- In 1983 four armed Jews were caught carrying bags of explosives ; they were planning to sneak into the underground passageway leading to the Marwani mussalah. The guards of the Mosque managed to foil their plan before it was carried out.

5- On 26/1/1984, a group of Jews attempted to enter the esplanades of the mosque carrying three hand grenades and six bags of explosives with the intention of blowing it up.

6- 18 hand grenades and ten kilograms of explosives were found on 27/1/1984 near the Eastern wall of the Mosque. The perpetrators fled across through Bab Rahma cemetery when the guards surprised them.

7- A pilot from the Israeli Air force took off in his plane in the direction of the Mosque. The aircraft was armed with missiles but, fortunately, he was stopped by Israeli Air Force fighters.

8- On 12/7/2000, the two chief rabbis of Israel (Bakshi Doron and Yisroel Meir Lau) requested the Israeli prime minister to place Al Aqsa Mosque under Israeli control.

9- On 7/8/2000, Israel’s Chief Rabbinical Council formed a religious committee to examine the project of building a synagogue in the esplanades of Al Aqsa.

10- On 28/9/2000, Ariel Sharon entered Al Aqsa esplanades to inspect the site where the  temple could be rebuilt. This walkabout was to trigger Al Aqsa Intifada.

11- On 25/2/2001, the Israeli professor Rafatil Yisraeli called upon the Israeli government to impose, as a first step, a partition of Al Aqsa Mosque between Muslims and Jews.

12- On 28/2/2001, an Israeli film examining the possibility of blowing up Aqsa Mosque is shown.

13- On 21/5/2001, the architect in charge of the administration of the so-called Jewish quarter in the old part of the city of Jerusalem presented the Israeli Prime Minister with a secret plan to build a synagogue on the esplanades of the Al Aqsa Mosque.

14- On 17/7/2001, an Israeli terrorist group of fanatics threatened to blow up al Aqsa.

15- On 29/7/2001, an attempt by the so-called Custodians of Temple Mount to smuggle the foundation rocks of the Temple onto the esplanades of Al Aqsa was aborted.

16- On 4/10/2001, the so called Custodians of Temple Mount undertook another failed attempt.

17- On 6/10/2001, the Custodians of Temple Mount prepare a plan to erect the so-called temple on the esplanades of Al Aqsa.

18- On 26/12/2001, the Israeli rabbis request the Prime Minister to place the esplanades of Al Aqsa Mosque under Israeli control.

19- On 23/03/2002, a Zionist organisation undertook to build the alleged Temple on the ruins of the Aqsa Mosque.

20- On Saturday 24/7/2004, the Israeli Public Security Minister announced that radical Jewish formations plan to demolish the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque using a remote control plane loaded with explosives, or a plane flown by a Kamikaze pilot. The Supreme Islamic Authority and many other Islamic organisations issued statements in which they denounced the criminal plot and imputed all responsibility to the government of Israel.

21- One week later, on 31/7/2004, the Israeli Public Security minister declared once again that the Israeli government cannot protect Al Aqsa Mosque from Jewish radical groups. The Supreme Islamic Authority, the Expounder of the Islamic Religious Law and the body of scholars and preachers all issued statements in which they underlined the responsibility of the Israeli government vis-à-vis these groups which are certainly not more powerful than the state, and which cannot carry out their criminal plans without the assistance of the Israeli government.

22- Another week later, on 7/8/2004, the Israeli Public Security minister warned a third time against the plans of Jewish extremists to attack Al Aqsa Mosque. The Islamic organisations and waqf bodies issued statements denouncing and condemning all plots intended against Al Aqsa Mosque, and attributing the full responsibility of any damage that may befall this Mosque to the Israeli government.

Part II

Survival Prospects

The Muslims’ Position vis-à-vis the Violations of Al Quds

From 1967 to date, the guards and Muslim worshippers stand as one man in the face of the fanatics’ attempts to break through the external gates of Al Aqsa mosque. Dozens of martyrs and hundreds of injured and imprisoned people have sacrificed themselves in defence of Al Aqsa to the limits of their capacities. But outside Palestine, all that we have heard from the regimes and governments of the Arab and Islamic world is condemnation and denouncement. The populations of these countries, on the other hand, sometimes organise demonstrations in protest against the violations of Al Aqsa though in some cases, the regimes and governments prevented populations from demonstrating or protesting.

Future prospects

What would happen if the Jewish fanatics actually carried out their threats against the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque ?

We cannot predict what will happen, nor is it easy for us to fathom what the situation will be like when it happens. But Muslims cannot sit with their hands tied, in Palestine or elsewhere. Israeli officials have realised the gravity of these threats. Officials at the Knesset have stated that if the radical Jewish groups were to perpetrate their attack on Al Aqsa, it would be the end of the State of Israel. The Israeli mayor of Al Quds has described Al Aqsa as a powder keg waiting to explode.

Our greatest fear is that international powers will intervene to internationalise Al Quds, exploiting the attack on Al Aqsa and claiming the defence of holy sites.

We refuse this internationalisation in the same way that we refuse the judaisation of Al Quds. Internationalisation is, in fact, a more dangerous fate because, if it were to happen, other countries will have the power to rule over Al Quds and grab its holy sites. We are fully conscious of the fact that the West controls these international institutions and bodies. It would exploit the new situation to control the East once again, this time under the mantle of international legitimacy.

It will then be extremely difficult to stand in the face of the whole world. In the judaisation scenario, the enemy is one country, Israel, and therefore confrontation is less dangerous. It is easy for the Islamic world to put an end to Israeli occupation.

Once again I say : in the light of the difficult circumstances facing the Arab and Islamic World which are manifest in the division and weakness prevailing these days, it is difficult for the person to make predictions or fathom the prospects of what may happen in Palestine, the Middle East and the whole world. We must be ready for any emergency, and then each incident will dictate the course of action to follow, and what Allah proposes shall happen.

(*) The General Mufti of Al Quds and Palestine, Emminence of the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque.