Jordan’s Role in ensuring the protection

of Islamic and Christian Holy Sites

in Al Quds Al Sharif

By : Engineer Raef Yusuf Najm(*)

Introduction :

On 16/9/1922, the League of Nations recognised the principality of East Jordan. Then in May 1923, Great Britain declared the country under British Mandate in accordance with the League of Nations’ mandate system. Prince Abdullah Ibn Sharif Al Hussein took over as head of the principality, before being enthroned 25/5/1946.

These events coincided with the 1922 election of the Supreme Islamic Council in Palestine under the presidency of Haj Amine Al Husseini who was elected by the Muslim nation in Palestine. The first action that this council took was to launch the restoration of the Al Aqsa Mosque and protect it against old age deterioration and the absence of sound architectural bases in previous restoration works. These two factors caused defects in the mosque and cracks in the main pillar and bases, the deterioration of the wooden beams as a result of wood decay, and the dislodging of many mosaic pieces and of the coloured plaster windows.

Since these restorations necessitated huge amounts of money, the Supreme Islamic Council immediately dispatched envoys to Hijaz, Egypt, India, Iraq, the Arab Gulf and Istanbul, and sent letters to many Muslim kings and princes whose philanthropy was anticipated. It was only natural that the British, and the enemies of the Islamic Council in Palestine, hindered the work of these envoys. Through their commissioners there, the British influenced the princes and maharajas of India whose contributions did not exceed a meagre twenty-three thousand pounds. The enemies of the Islamic Council also wrote to the princes and leaders of Arab and Islamic countries warning them against making contributions and claiming that ‘the members of the Islamic Council used these contributions to assassinate their political opponents, not to restore Al Aqsa Mosque’. As a result, only the following contributions were collected :

The above table shows that the largest contribution came from Sharif Al Hussein Ibn Ali, exceeding even the contribution of the whole of India at a time when it included Pakistan and Bangladesh, the two countries that subsequently obtained their independence. This is clear evidence of Sharif Al Hussein Ibn Ali’s keen interest in the blessed Al Aqsa mosque. Through correspondence, Haj Amine Al Hussein and Prince Abdullah Ibn Hussein liaised about the restoration operations (some of these letters were preserved in the archives of Al Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock Restoration Committee). Then this role was handed down from Sharif Al Hussein Ibn Ali to his son King Abdullah and then to the late King Al Hussein Ibn Talal. Today, it is being shouldered by the young King Abdullah II Ibn Hussein. Hashemite Jordan’s role in the preservation of the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque and in the protection of its sanctity and its restoration and maintenance spans a period of more than eight and is still being played despite the difficult and complex political circumstances prevailing in Al Quds and Palestine.

With regard to Christian holy sites, the Hashemites (during their rule of the West Bank in 1952-1967) gave total freedom to the various denominations to restore and maintain their churches and monasteries. The Church of Resurrection was fully restored in 1967 during the Hashemite rule and shortly before the Israeli occupation ; the restoration included the cupola and the walls. The keys to the Church of Resurrection are still in the possession of the two Muslim families Nusseibeh and Joudah. The procession that follows the Road of passion from the Lion Gate (Asbat) to the Church of Resurrection, crossing the fourteen Stations of the Cross, is preceded and protected by Muslim archers.

Jordanian Institutions working for Al Quds

1- Ministry of Waqf, Islamic Affairs and Sanctities in Amman :

This Ministry has supervised Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem since the integration in Jordan of the West Bank in 1952. The decision to divide the two banks in 1988 did not influence this situation in the least as this Ministry and the courts of justice that fall under the jurisdiction of the supreme magistrate were not concerned by this decision.

This Ministry manages and maintains the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque. It has created in Al Quds a directorate called the Waqf Administration to which is affiliated the Division of Islamic Monuments. This division carries out, inasmuch as its financial resources allow, the documentation and maintenance of endangered Islamic landmarks. Under the supervision of the Centre for Documentation, Restoration and Maintenance of Al Quds Monuments, created by the Arab League in Amman in 1982, and then frozen in 1991 ; the Division has managed to restore a substantial number of these landmarks. During this period, the following landmarks were restored :

The Kilania School, the Mazharia School, Turkan Khatun, the Kurdish post, the Luluiyya School, the Bayram Jawish Mausoleum, the Saadia School, the Jaliqiyya School, the Dome of Suleiman, the Toshtumiriyya School, the Maghrebi Mausoleum, the exterior of the Ashrafiyya School,  the Ghadiriyya School, and the Jawhariyya school.

2- The Supreme Magistrate District :

This Amman-based facility supervises all religious courts in Jerusalem. Full co-ordination between the two authorities takes place in matters of family law.

3- Al Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock Restoration Committee :

This committee was created by virtue of Jordanian Law No 32 of 1954 and presided over by the Supreme Magistrate because the post of minister of waqf did not exist at that time. The law was amended in 1991 and appointed the minister of waqf and Islamic affairs and sanctities as president of this Committee. The Committee has ten members who represent the different parties in charge of matters related to the holy city.

The Committee has a technical arm that works at the site of Al Aqsa Mosque. This team of architects, technicians and administrative staff supervises restoration works in the various religions and historical landmarks located within the precincts of the Holy Mosque and the ancient walls which cover a 500-meters long and 288-meter wide surface area (or 144 dunams).

The most important projects carried out by this Committee are :

a) Restoration of the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque after the fire of 21/8/1969. The Committee was awarded the Aga Khan World Prize for Architecture upon completion of the construction works. The value of the prize was donated to the Restoration Fund.

b) Restoration and gold glazing of the Dome of the Rock. This project was completed in 1994. The Committee is currently repairing the internal marble and faience tiling in the neck of the external dome.

c) Rebuilding Salah Eddine El Ayyoubi’s minbar. Works on the minbar will be completed in 2005.

d) Restoration of minarets, domes, stone walls and esplanades within the precincts of the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque.

Pending implementation at the appropriate time, the Committee has also prepared drawings for new infrastructure for the whole site, including water, electricity and telephone networks and reliable irrigation systems.

4- Royal Commission for Al Quds Affairs :

Following the 1967 Israeli occupation, this commission was created by royal decree to take charge of the affairs of Al Quds and promote issues related thereto at international forums and for the international public opinion. The Commission issues a monthly political information bulletin that documents the arbitrary practices of Israel. Information, legal, historical, architectural, religious, economic and social sub-commissions were created to study the conditions of the inhabitants of Al Quds and identify the means and ways of improving them.

The Commission closely monitors developments at the United Nations, the Security Council and UNESCO and co-ordinates with the delegations taking part in the meetings of these organisations. In 1994, His Majesty King Abdullah ordered the reorganisation and enlargement of the Commission to include world-known Arab and Islamic figures. Thus, its membership was enlarged from nine to twenty-members and its presidency was entrusted to His Highness Prince Al Hassan Ibn Talal ; it had previously been headed by a former prime minister.

There are many Jordanian non-governmental organisations that work for Al Quds. The most important of these are :

1- The General Islamic Conference of Bayt Al Maqdis in Amman. This Conference convened for the first time in 1966 and focuses on information and culture. It has published several books and publications and organised many exhibitions dedicated to Al Quds. It also organises international and local conferences and sensitisation symposia.

2- Several associations of which : the Association for the Protection of Al Quds, the Al Quds Day, the Bayt Al Maqdis Forum and the Al Quds Charity Association.

3- The Cooperation Institution which operates within the old city of Al Quds by documenting and restoring its monuments.

Cooperation between the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and UNESCO on Al Quds :

- World Heritage Committee :

After the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem early in June 1967, and in response to the destruction and expropriation of Islamic historical monuments situated in the vicinity of the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque, the United Nations Organisation issued Resolution No 2253 on 14/7/1967.

In this resolution, the UN expressed its deep concern vis-à-vis all the changes that occurred in Jerusalem after its occupation, and Israel’s attempts to change the character of the city.

1- It urged the Israeli government to rescind all the measures taken with the aim of changing the status of the city.

2- To refrain from making any further transformations in Al Quds.

The United Nations repeatedly reiterated this decision, but as is customary for Israel with unfavourable decisions, it ignored and refused to implement it, safe in the knowledge that no party can bind it to this resolution. The same attitude was observed with the appeal made in 1968 by UNESCO when its General Conference called upon Israel to preserve the cultural heritage of Jerusalem and to refrain from any excavation works.

At the 17th session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, held in Paris on 17/11/1972, the convening countries adopted a thirty-eight article convention on the protection of the world cultural and natural heritage. The convention provided for the signatory countries’ commitment to refrain from all actions likely to undermine cultural and natural heritage, directly or indirectly, and to engage in cooperation that fruitfully complements but does not replace the action of the concerned countries. To this end, it set up the “World Heritage Committee”.

The 1981 Resolution :

Inspired by this convention, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan submitted to UNESCO, on 16/12/1980, a complete file on Jerusalem, documented with photographs (the old city), in Arabic, French and English. The file was put together by a committee made up of the following persons :

- Engineer Raef Najm, member of the Royal Commission for Al Quds Affairs

- Dr. Ibrahim Chabouh, representative of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (ALECSO)

- Dr. Azzeddine Bach Chawch, director of the National Monuments Institute in Tunisia

After a heated debate that took place within the World Heritage Committee and in which participated then, the Jordanian Ambassador Mr. Taher Al Masri and the members of the three-partite committee, the World Heritage Committee took a decision, passed by two-thirds of the participants, to accept the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan’s nomination of Jerusalem. One of the arguments used by the Jordanian delegation was based on the provisions of Article II of the Convention on the Protection of World Heritage, stipulating that each country should submit to the World Heritage Committee a list of the world cultural and natural heritage sites located on its territory. The nomination of a site located within a region where sovereignty or jurisdiction is disputed by several parties does not impinge on the rights of the conflicting parties.

In the May 1981 Session, the World Heritage Committee took a decision to place Jerusalem on the World heritage List. This decision was opposed by the United States of America while some European countries abstained from casting their vote.

Decision of 1982 :

In 1982, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan submitted another file prepared by the same commission in the three languages, requesting that Jerusalem be registered on the list of Endangered World Heritage. The decision was indeed issued after a positive vote of two-thirds of the World Heritage Committee members, and later on adopted by the UNESCO General Conference. Thus, UNESCO became bound, by virtue of its Charter, to provide technical and financial assistance to the Jordanian government in preserving heritage in Jerusalem. However, this contribution did not exceed the amount of USD160, 000, paid in instalments over a number of years, and had a minimal effect on the restoration of some historical landmarks of Jerusalem.

Decision of 1983 :

On 4/11/1983, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, along with nineteen other Islamic and Arab countries, presented a draft resolution which was approved by UNESCO General Conference under the number 22M/9. This resolution reads as follows :

1- Whereas the Israeli authorities persist in their excavations and pursue construction works and operations that undermine the historical and cultural character of the holy city ;

2- Whereas these incessant archaeological excavations and construction works, carried out since 1967, are causing the holy city permanent damage which is extremely difficult to repair ;

3- Whereas Al Aqsa Mosque is the subject of increasingly serious threats as a result of the excavations and armed aggressions perpetrated against it by extremist groupings ;

4- Whereas the creation of Jewish settlements around the city of Jerusalem and the implanting of small Jewish religious communities inside them is aimed at judaising the city of Al Quds ;

UNESCO General Conference strongly condemns the obstinacy of Israel in its defiance of the resolutions and decisions of the Executive Board and General Conference and its judaisation and annexation policy, and calls upon all UNESCO Member States to take the necessary measures deemed appropriate for putting an end to this situation.

The General Conference thanks the World Heritage Committee for its decision to place the city of Jerusalem on the list of Endangered World Cultural Heritage, and urges it to continue exerting all efforts aiming at the protection and rescue of the cultural assets of the city.

The General Conference thanks the Director General of UNESCO for all his efforts in following up on the implementation of the decisions and resolutions of the General Conference and of the Executive Board, and urges it to keep the Executive Board seized of all developments of this situation.

Jordan was represented in this session by a delegation made up of the following persons :

- Engineer Raef Najm, Head of delegation

- Mr Ahmed At-Tawil, Cultural counsellor at the Jordanian Embassy in Paris

- Mr. Salem Badr, from the Jordanian Embassy in Paris.

The resolution was passed by 64 countries out of the ninety-three countries represented in the Conference, and voted against by 14 countries among which are the United States of America, Israel and England. 15 other countries abstained from voting.

Appointment of UNESCO’ Director General personal envoy to follow up on the situation in Jerusalem :

Following the 1983 Resolution, UNESCO Director General, Mr. Amadou Mahtar M’bow, appointed Mr. Lumiere, a Belgian lecturer at the Leuven University, as his personal envoy and requested him to visit Jerusalem twice a year and submit a report containing his observations and recommendations.

The first meeting between Mr. Raef Najm and Mr. Lumiere was held in Paris on 9/11/1983. The following principles were agreed upon :

1- The Islamic and Christian heritage in Jerusalem must be restored.

2- No religious building can be demolished or removed for the purpose of rebuilding an older monument in its place.

3- UNESCO does not have the power to bind Israel to the respect of its resolutions and decisions.

4- If the United States of America can be talked into endorsing UNESCO resolutions it initially voted against, this may serve as a pressure tool against Israel to implement these resolutions.

The second meeting with Mr. Lumiere took place in Amman late in October 1983 and was chaired by His Highness Prince Al Hassan. Several other co-ordination meetings were held, the last of which took place in Paris on 21/7/1993 in the presence of :

- Mr Federico Mayor, UNESCO Director General

- Mr. Raef Najm, representative of the Jordanian Government

- Mr. Lumiere, personal envoy of UNESCO Director General

- Dr Antoine Dababna, Cultural counsellor at the Jordanian Embassy in Paris.

And during this meeting, it was agreed that the Islamic Waqf Administration in Al Quds and the Restoration Committee are the sole responsible parties to overhaul, renovate and restore the blessed Al Aqsah mosque. 

Position of UNESCO Director General Mr Amadou Mahtar M’bow :

Since the beginning of his mandate as Director General of UNESCO, Mr. Amadou Mahtar M’bow was always supportive of the stance of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. In the address he delivered at Al Quds symposium organised by the Islamic Conference in December 1980, he said that the protection of Jerusalem was a universal duty which must be discharged. He underlined that the UNESCO Charter stipulates the preservation and protection of world heritage, including books, works of art and monuments that have a special historical or scientific significance. He also stated that any UNESCO Member State that occupies the territory of another country should refrain from conducting any archaeological excavations in the occupied territory. He recalled the international appeal addressed by UNESCO’s General Conference in 1968 to Israel to preserve the cultural heritage of Jerusalem and refrain from any excavation works.

The first meeting between Mr. Amadou Mahtar M’bow and Engineer Raef Najm took place in Paris on 11/11/1983. In this meeting, Mr. M’bow reiterated the following :

1- The necessity of devising a general plan for the restoration of Islamic and Christian monuments in Jerusalem. This plan would address the financial and technical aspects, as well as implementation mechanisms.

2- The creation of a planning and financing committee comprising some Arab leaders, under the presidency of His Majesty King Al Hussein.

3- The implementation of a restoration plan under the aegis of the Islamic Waqf Administration in Al Quds as was the case since 1967, and the development of the Jordanian Technical Restoration Committee body based in Jerusalem.

4- The necessity of addressing the restoration issue with His Eminence the Pope in Rome in order to obtain his moral support. As a result of his position on the issue of Jerusalem and his cooperation with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and its leadership, Mr. Ahmed Mokhtar Mbo was opposed and fought by the United States of America which withdrew from the UNESCO, causing a reduction in the general budget of this world cultural institution, and ensuring at the same time that Mbo’s term as director general of UNESCO was not renewed. Mr. Frederico Mayor, a Spanish national, was elected to succeed Mr. Ahmed Mokhtar Mbo in heading UNESCO.

Position of UNESCO Director General Federico Mayor :

At first, Mr. Mayor seemed hesitant to provide assistance to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in its disposition towards Jerusalem and the restoration and preservation of holy sites there. He attempted to minimise the responsibility of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan by involving other Arab countries in the restoration of the Dome of the Rock. He also addressed official messages to the Hashemite Kingdom in this regard, the last of which was sent in 1993. Jordan’s response to this last message emphasised the following points :

1- The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan officially took over the responsibility of managing, preserving and restoring Islamic holy sites in Al Quds Al Sharif and the West Bank in 1952, immediately after the Palestinian people proclaimed the annexation of the West Bank to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the approval by the Jordanian Parliament of this move. The United Nations Organisation recognised the Jordanian Kingdom with its two banks and dealt with it as such. Therefore, this responsibility must continue to be borne by Jordan and without the intervention of any other country. However, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan welcomes any financial or technical assistance from third parties on condition that it transits via the Jordanian channels in charge of restoration.

2- The Hashemite family’s responsibility towards Islamic holy sites in Al Quds began during the reign of King Abdullah Ibn Al Hussein and continued under the rule of His Majesty King Al Hussein Ibn Talal.

3- The 1967 Israeli occupation did not affect the Hashemite Jordanian responsibility over holy Islamic sites. Several resolutions were issued by the United Nations and UNESCO condemning Israel for all its practices against these sites, including the excavations, the burning of the blessed Al Aqsa on 21/8/1969, or the armed aggressions on worshippers. These resolutions called upon Israel to refrain from changing the status that prevailed prior to the occupation in 1967.

4- UNESCO placed Jerusalem on the list of Endangered World Heritage and issued resolutions to this effect in 1981, 1982 and 1983. It considered the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan as the party in charge of this heritage and donated the sum of USD160, 000 to the Jordanian government as a contribution to the restoration of some endangered landmarks in Jerusalem.

5- The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan created Al Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock Restoration Committee in 1954 by virtue of a Jordanian law. This Committee has carried out all the phases of restoration since its creation and to date in the Israeli presence in Jerusalem. The Ministry of Waqf and Islamic Affairs and Sanctities and the Islamic Waqf Administration in Al Quds, as well as the Division of Islamic Monuments affiliated to it, have documented and restored a number of historical landmarks following the best technical standards of restoration in the world, and have co-ordinated this venture with UNESCO’s technical experts.

6- The intervention of any country other than the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the restoration and maintenance of Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem is subject to the approval and intervention of the Israeli occupation forces, such as the Israeli Jerusalem municipality or the Israeli Ministry of Religions, an obstacle that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has managed to bypass and will do so for as long as the Israeli occupation has existed. Therefore, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has petitioned the UNESCO Director General to support its position which finds its roots in the interest the Hashemite family displays in the Muslims’ first direction of prayer and their third holiest place. In line with international law, which considers East Jerusalem an occupied territory, that Mr. Mayor was called upon to take into consideration the status prevailing since 1952, and the effort and funds spent by the Hashemite family and the government of His august Majesty King Hussein.

Subsequently ; His Majesty King Hussein visited Paris and met with Mr. Frederico Mayor. During the meeting, emphasis was laid on the position of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on Jerusalem and its sanctities and the attachment of the Hashemite to it.

On 18/4/1994, UNESCO participated in the great celebrations held in Amman on the occasion of the completion of the restoration of Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. The celebrations were attended by Mr. Lumiere, personal envoy of the UNESCO Director General.

It is worth noting that the good relations between the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the UNESCO have cultural and heritage aspects embodied in its close cooperation with both the Ministry of Education and the General Directorate of Monuments.

Israeli Attempts to Remove Jerusalem from the List of Endangered World Heritage :

At the 28th annual session, held in China in July 2004, Jordan was represented by a delegation as well as by the Deputy Director of Jordanian Monuments. During this session, Israeli authorities submitted a request to remove Jerusalem from the list of Endangered World Heritage, and another request to place the Negev Desert on the World Heritage List.

In reaction, the Arab group participating in the annual meeting drafted a seven-article document in English and French (as stipulated by the regulations of the World Heritage Committee). In this document, the group requested that Jerusalem be kept on the list of Endangered World Heritage since there has been no change in status, and in view of the difficulties that face restoration works. It urged the relevant authorities to facilitate restoration and maintenance works within the walls of the old city, and allow workers and restoration material easy access to the sites. The group encouraged UNESCO Director General to take an initiative towards the implementation of the UNESCO General Conference’s Resolution (R39/32C) of October 2003, providing for the drawing up of the broad lines of an action plan and proposals for the preservation of heritage in Jerusalem. Upon its submission to the meeting on 2/7/2004, the document was approved unanimously. The Israeli proposal on the Negev, on the other hand, was rejected thanks to the unanimous decision of the representatives of Arab countries in the World Heritage Committee to reject it. Thus, the old city of Al Quds remains on the list of Endangered World Heritage.

Jerusalem’s Old City : A School of Islamic Architecture

It is well-known that all ancient Islamic capitals bear the architectural characteristics of a specific era in Islamic history. For example, Damascus is famous for its Umayyad architecture, Baghdad for its Abbassid architectural heritage, Cairo for the Fatimid architecture and Istanbul for the Ottoman architectural style. But Al Quds remains a living testimony to all these schools of architecture though at no time in history did it ever serve as an Islamic capital. Its importance lies in the fact that it was the destination of the Night Journey of the Prophet (PBUH), and the location of the noble Al Aqsa Mosque. For Christians, the significance of this city is owed to its housing the Church of Resurrection built by Saint Helena in 335 AD at the exact spot from where Jesus, peace be upon him, ascended to the heavens.

 Within the ramparts of the old city of Jerusalem stand more than 200 Islamic monuments and sixty Christian holy sites. Jordan has played an outstanding role in the restoration of some of these religious and historical landmarks during the twentieth century, and continues to do so in the beginning of the 21st century.

Following is a synopsis of the most prominent landmarks restored and preserved by the Jordanian institutions :

Restoration of Al Aqsa Mosque after the Fire :

The Israelis plotted to burn the blessed mosque on 21/8/1968 and entrusted this mission to Michael Rohan, a Jew of Australian descent. But one of the guards of the Mosque surprised him before he could accomplish his heinous deed. He was arrested, hastily tried by Israel and deported to Australia. But on 21/8/1969, he came back and carried out his despicable crime. The mere fact that he was allowed to return to Jerusalem by the Israeli authorities is a clear indication and ample proof of Israel’s complicity in this crime.

Jewish reverence for dates that have a major significance in their history is well known, and the date 21/8 commemorates an important event related to the destruction of the Temple. For this reason, they wanted the same date to coincide with the burning of the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque.

The fire was started in the morning of 21/8/1969 after Muslims finished the dawn prayer in the Holy Mosque and departed. It was started in three locations :

Firs : In the Mosque of ‘Umar in the eastern corner of the compound. This site represents the location of the first mosque built by Umar Ibn Al Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, when he was handed over the keys of Jerusalem by Sophronius, the city Patriarch. Earthquakes destroyed that mosque before the reign of Abdulmalik Ibn Marwan who built in its place another mosque which was completed in 692 AD.

Second : The minbar (pulpit) of Salah Eddine El Ayyoubi and his mihrab, thus destroying the symbol of the victory of Salah Eddine when he liberated Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187 AD.

Third : The upper window located south-west of Al Aqsa Mosque. This window rises to a height of ten meters from the floor and cannot be reached form the inside without the use of a tall ladder which Dennis Michael Rohan did not have. The window fire was started from the outside which means that there were other accomplices who helped Rohan from the western external side, under Israeli control since Israel demolished the Maghrebi quarter and laid claim to the Maghrebi gate.

The Israelis believed that the three starting points of the fire would connect with each other and totally destroy the southern facade of the mosque, then spread north to the rest of the edifice. But they were not that lucky because the upper window fire spontaneously went out in the absence of a fire accelerating agent between this window and the middle of the southern wall, the window being made of stone and the southern wall, from the west to the centre, as well. Consequently, only the middle of the southern facade and the eastern facade were burnt. The fire spread north and destroyed about 1500 square meters out of the 4,000 square meters of the total surface area of Al Aqsa mosque, i.e. about one third of the mosque.

On the same day Al Aqsa Mosque was set ablaze, the Israeli municipality cut off the water supply at the Holy Mosque to prevent the citizens from putting out the fire. Furthermore, the Israeli fire brigade arrived very late and long after the Jerusalemites had the fire under control. Their firemen did nothing but were present in order to feature on the news reports of the international visual and written media and to mislead the world into thinking that they had accomplished their duty. Arab fire brigades that came from Hebron and Ramallah helped put out the fire.

There are video recordings of the rescue operation carried out by the Palestinian young people who used barrels to manually carry water from the wells in the noble sanctuary to the fire site, brought the burning carpets outside in the esplanades, and collected the small pieces salvaged from the minbar of Salah Eddine El Ayyoubi. These relics are now preserved in the Islamic museum of Haram Al Sharif.

The ringleader of the arsonists of Al Aqsa mosque, Dennis Michael Rohan, was declared by the Israeli authorities mentally unstable and was deported back to his country. He was neither imprisoned nor punished in any way. As for the other members of the gang who abetted Rohan from the outside (they helped him leave the mosque and protected him against the wrath of the Jerusalemites), they remain unidentified and unpunished.

Therefore, this fire was started with premeditation by the Israelis who carefully planned for it at official levels and over two consecutive years in 1968-1969, and it was started with the participation of several persons.

The following is a listing of all the parts destroyed by the destroyed inside the precincts of the Holy Mosque :

1- The minbar (pulpit) of Salah Eddine El Ayyoubi is a rare artistic specimen fashioned out of tiny wooden pieces intricately woven into each other without nails, screws or glue. The minbar was a symbol of the victory of the commander Salah Eddine and his conquest of Al Quds. By burning it, the Israelis wished to erase this symbol. The minbar was the handwork of Noureddine Zanki who kept it in a place called Al Hulwiyya in Aleppo, Syria. It was transferred by Salah Eddine El Ayyoubi to Al Quds in 1187 AD.

2- The Mosque of ‘Umar. This mosque had a clay ceiling with wooden beams and stood for the conquest of Al Quds by ‘Umar Ibn Al Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him.

3- The Arba'in mausoleum which is adjacent to the Mosque of ‘Umar.

4-The Mihrab of Zakaria close to the Arba'in mausoleum.

5- Three out of the seven porches stretching from south to north, along with the pillars, arcades and the decorations and part of the ceiling which collapsed during the fire.

6- Two supporting pillars with the wide stone arch stretching between them under the dome of the Mosque.

7- The wooden internal dome with its plaster colourful and golden arabesques and all the inscriptions, and floral and geometrical engravings on them.

8- The coloured marble mihrab.

9- Half the southern wall and all the coloured marble inlays in it.

10- Forty-eight windows made of wood, plaster and stained glass characterised by the unique decoration and slanted carvings designed to prevent a direct penetration of sunlight into the Mosque.

11- All the Persian carpets.

12- The opening of Surat al Israa laid in golden mosaic above the mihrab and stretching over 23 meters to the east.

13- The decorated wooden bridges that carry lanterns and that stretch between the peaks of pillars.

Removing the traces of the fire and restoring Al Aqsa Mosque :

The first step taken by the Al Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock Restoration Committee after the burning of the mosque was to photograph this heinous crime and to document the burning with material proof, including a photo of the upper western window, burnt from the outside only, to refute the claim of the Israeli government that Dennis Michael Rohan acted single-handedly, photos of the Jerusalemites manually putting out the fire using barrels and other recipients, photos of the remains of the burnt Salah Eddine minbar, and photos of the internal wooden dome and other parts of the mosque structure.

The first step was to remove all traces of the fire and clean the place, then conduct the necessary historical, archaeological and architectural studies before restoration. The Restoration Committee was reorganised to include a full technical team that began its activities early in 1970 by preparing the drawings under the supervision of the Restoration Committee. A decision was taken to conduct all operations directly through the Restoration Committee to guarantee high quality and standards and to ensure the preservation of the archaeological, historical and artistic origins. The Restoration Committee ensured co-ordination with UNESCO and the Italian institution ICCROM (International Centre for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments), as well as with technical experts from Belgium. The Committee sought the assistance of foreign experts who participated in the architectural and technical studies. All of this played a part in the fact that the Committee was awarded the International Aga Khan Prize for Architecture after the conclusion of the restoration after nomination by the Aga Khan Committee itself.  The value of the award was donated to the restoration fund.

The restoration task force started by carrying out excavations until they reached the rock foundation nine meters below Al Aqsa Mosque. The Israelis witnessed that these excavations did not uncover any vestiges of the alleged Temple. Otherwise, they would raise a ruckus about the work of the Restoration Committee. The burnt and demolished part was rebuilt using concrete in the foundations, pillars and ceiling. During the excavations, a tunnel leading from the middle of the southern wall to the heart Al Aqsa Mosque was discovered. Before the burning of Al Aqsa Mosque, the Israelis had secretly dug this tunnel from the side under their control looking for vestiges of the Temple.

It is said in law that the thief always leaves behind him traces of his passage. In this case, the traces were fresh drops of candle wax that fell to the floor of the tunnel, which meant that the Israeli had entered the tunnel shortly before the burning of Al Aqsa Mosque. This tunnel was sealed off with concrete before restoration works began. These included the following :

1- Laying the foundations of the new walls and pillars that burnt down, and rebuilding new pillars, bridges and ceiling in reinforced concrete.

2- Laying a new concrete floor instead of the old deteriorated one.

3- Building arches in white and red stones, and the stonewalls that support the ceiling.

4- Rebuilding Omar Mosque, the mihrab of Zakaria and the Arba'in mausoleum, and restoring their original historical facades and arches.

5- Installing new coloured marble pillars instead of the destroyed ones.

6- Manufacturing and fitting 48 windows made of wood, plaster and stained Galilee glass, and carving the plaster in the same ancient style with a 60° slant to prevent direct sunlight from penetrating into the mosque.

7- Erecting two marble pillars and the great stone arch linking them under the dome.

8- Lining the internal walls with coloured and engraved marble.

9- Laying a new golden mosaic above the mihrab and over a length of twenty-three linear meters spelling the introductory verses of Surat al Israa. An accurate and detailed coloured drawing of this strip was first fashioned in actual size, outlining every piece of the mosaic.

10- Repairing and decorating the internal wooden dome with the help of two experts commissioned by UNESCO for this task. The gypsum adornments salvaged from the fire were affixed to the wood of the dome by injecting a binding agent between the gypsum and the wood. 21-carat gold leaf was used on the plaster engravings. One third of the engraving of the wooden dome was completed with the help of the two experts, while the remaining two thirds were completed by the Jerusalemite artisans who had been working with them.

11- Installing power lines, an alarm system, fire extinguishers and a lightening conductor.

12- Installing an external lead dome instead of the old aluminium one. The external roof was covered with lead plates manufactured locally from old Ottoman lead.

13- Installing a stone floor for the mosque on top of the reinforced concrete floor.

14- The Restoration Committee drew up the executive and decorative plans for the minbar of Salah Eddine EI Ayyoubi after in-depth computer-assisted studies conducted at a cabinet that specialise in carvings. The minbar will be built in Amman and transferred to Al Aqsa Mosque to be placed in its old spot. The costs of rebuilding the minbar are estimated at one million dollars.

The cost of removing the traces of the fire and restoring Al Aqsa Mosque was estimated at seven million dollars which came out of the treasury of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, in addition to a limited external donation amounting to 750,000 dollars from the Joint Palestinian Jordanian Committee, and the contributions estimated at 200,000 dollars collected from Palestinian citizens in the aftermath of the fire. The Restoration Committee was well aware of all these arrangements.

Restoring the Noble Dome of the Rock :

This dome was restored several times in its long history, but the most significant of these operations was the one carried it out after His Majesty King Al Hussein Ibn Talal donated the ten million dinars necessary for its renovation. I was tasked by the Al Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock Restoration Committee to draw up the restoration plans which included the following procedures :

1- Removal of the old aluminium plates crumbling as a result of expansion and retraction and the absence of expansion dividers, and removal of all the aluminium beams, affected by sagging, from the ceilings of the eight porches.

2- Installation of an external wooden dome over the old aluminium ribs by using the tongue and groove process.

3- Installation of 184 wooden beam fashioned on the old Umayyad pattern.

4- Installation of a 24-carat gold-plated copper dome of a thickness of 0.8 mm. The gold plating is 2.0 micron thick.

5- Installation of a fire alarm and sprinkler system.

6- Installation of a 3-mm thick lead roofing for the eight wings.

An international tender was floated and awarded to the British Mayfin company. The restoration works were completed in April 1994 and an inauguration ceremony was simultaneously broadcast by CNN from Amman and Al Quds and relayed the speech of His Majesty King Al Hussein.

During the current year (2004), the faience tiling in the neck of the external dome is being restored through the injection of a binding agent between the tiles and the surface of the dome. The marble tiling of the internal walls, which suffered cracks as a result of old age, is being restored in an artistic way using the same old cracked tiles.

His Majesty King Al Hussein donated the funds necessary for the refurbishing of the whole Dome of the Rock building with custom-made carpets from Turkey.

Restoration of the Minbar of Salah Eddine EI Ayyoubi :

The ancient minbar burnt by the Australian Jew Dennis Michael Rohan on 21/8/1969 was made by Noureddine Zanki in Aleppo in 564 AH-1168 AD to be transferred to Al Aqsa Mosque after its liberation from the Crusaders. But Zanki died before he saw his wish fulfilled. The minbar remained in a locality called Al Hulwiyya until the reign of Salah Eddine EI Ayyoubi who transferred it to Al Aqsa Mosque after liberating Al Quds in 583 AH-1187 AD, without, however, transferring the mihrab with it.

In 1974, the Restoration Committee entrusted the late artist Jamal Badrane with the task of drawing sketches of the burnt minbar. He managed to produce forty drawings in actual size, drawing inspiration from the salvaged pieces of the burnt minbar and old photographs. In 1998, the Restoration Committee tasked the Jordan Mihrab Company with the drawing of architectural and decorative sketches of the minbar in actual size using the computer and the drawings of Mr. Jamal Badrane. The architectural cabinet managed to complete these drawings, producing more than 300 highly detailed and accurate blueprints after discovering that the original design was based on the gold ratio of          , the same ratio used by the architect working on the Dome of the Rock and its decoration. The new minbar is at present being manufactured at the Arts Institute of the Balqaa Applied Technology University in the city of Salat. About 75% of the work has been completed and the minbar will be ready in 2005, inshallah, to take its place inside the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque.

The importance of this minbar is not only historical; it is also artistic, the pulpit being a unique piece of artwork in the world. The minbar is made up of small wooden pieces joined together without nails, screws or glue. The decorative carvings were done at six levels and on both sides of the wooden pieces. The destroyed minbar was made of oak with inlays in ebony. Ivory was used in the inlays of the minbar.

The Syrian government donated the wood used in the new minbar and Sudan donated the ebony and ivory. Hard at work fashioning the new minbar, the artisans are of different Islamic nationalities and are supervised by specialised master craftsmen. The cost of the new minbar is estimated at two million Jordanian dinars.

Al Marwani Mussalah :

The Marwani mussalah (open plan mosque) is located in the eastern side of the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque and lower than its ground level. It is a levelled area of about 3,850 square meters.

This praying place was initially a water reservoir that had been built by the Roman Emperor Adrian in the second century, along with the stone wall currently surrounding Al Aqsa mosque. Its overall structure closely resembles that of the Roman Ramla reservoir with stone pillars and junctions. That the reservoir was built at the same time as the wall is evident since the southern and eastern walls of the reservoir are a continuation of the wall surrounding Al Aqsa Mosque. Instead of an addition built long after the wall, the reservoir was built at the same time, as can be inferred from the joining of the stones.

The reservoir was used to collect water flowing into it from surrounding areas, through horizontal aqueducts made of stone and feeding into vertical canals in the external walls of the reservoir. One of these vertical canals can still be seen today and is located at the level of the main entrance of the Marwani mosque. It is semi-circular and is lined with a Roman fuller of limestone mixed with ground clay and sand. The flooring of the reservoir is made of stone, but is covered with layers of silt that have accumulated over the years.

During the Umayyad reign, this reservoir was converted into a mussalah and was named the Marwani Mussalah. It remained so until the Crusaders converted it in 1099 into a stable for the infantry. The rings for tethering horses can still be seen on some of the pillars. The place used to be accessed from the single-panel gate located in the southern wall of Al Aqsa Mosque, which is also the southern wall of the Marwani mussalah.

After the liberation of Al Quds by Salah Eddine El Ayyoubi in 1187 AD, the gate was closed off with rocks and the mosque goers used an upper gate located on the northern part to gain access to the Marwani mosque via a large stone staircase. Salah Eddine did not stop at this ; he also brought large amounts of fill from outside the mosque and deposited it along the southern and northern walls to prevent further invasions by the Crusaders in their successive raids.

The status did not change until the Israeli occupation began its excavations in 1967 south of Al Aqsa Mosque under the supervision of Professor Benjamin Mazar, President of the Hebrew University, assisted at that time by Mr. Dan Bahat. The Israelis removed the fill to a depth of twenty meters all along the southern wall, but they did not unseal the gate.

During the Hashemite restoration works, the idea of converting this structure into a prayer space saw the light. It coincided with the activity of the Islamic Movement in the Palestine of 1948, led by Sheikh Raed Salah for the restoration of mosques. The movement collected about half a million Jordanian dinars, purchased the marble tiling and flooring and recruited workers and volunteers, in co-ordination with the Directorate of Islamic Waqf in Al Quds and with the Restoration Committee. Volunteers from Al Quds participated in this exercise and the Marwani mosque was restored and reopened for prayer in 1996.

Faced with the problem of natural ventilation, the Directorate of Waqf opened the northern gate the width of which is equal to the span of the two old northern arches. The Waqf Administration removed huge amounts of fill in order to reopen the gate. While engaged in this, they clashed with Israeli opposition who claimed that the Muslims were removing Jewish vestiges and smuggling them outside. The employees of the Waqf Administration faced up to these Zionist allegations and proved to the world that the fill did not initially belong in the site and contained no vestiges. This fact was confirmed by Israeli archaeologists who had searched for vestiges in the fill and found none. The northern gate was opened and became a real part of the Haram's landscape. The Marwani mussalah now welcomes the devout hailing from all parts of Palestine and who find inside it serenity, calm and a beautiful atmosphere. This achievement was made possible by the good intentions, firm determination and the willpower to fight all the occupier’s attempts to abort this undertaking.

This is the Marwani mussalah, and it has no relation whatsoever to the erroneous name of Solomon's Stables, a claim that the Zionists and Israelis have been circulating.

In 2002, the Zionist media insidiously launched the rumour that the Marwani mussalah was on the verge of collapse because its southern wall jutted out by 40 to 100 centimetres as a result of the heavy weights it carries and the absence of a proper slant for the evacuation of rainwater from the roof. This allegation was far from the truth because the Restoration Committee had redressed the protuberance using stones of the same nature. This imbalance had resulted from the effect of erosion and inclement weather for over hundreds of years. The thickness of the protuberance was 35 cm over a surface of 90 square meters, and resulted from the penetration of rainwater through the cracks formed in the stones, seeping out again carrying with it some of the old binding material and leaving cavities of various shapes in the wall which is 2.40-m thick at the protuberance level and 5-m thick at the bottom. These cavities were injected with a new binding agent.

In 2004, the Islamic media once again took up the question of Al Aqsa Mosque. This time they claimed that the eastern wall had moved as a result of the last earthquake, and that it would collapse under the heavy horizontal load and the weight of the Muslim worshippers inside the Marwani mussalah. Once again, the Restoration Committee proved, with technical reports in hand, that the eastern wall was sound and solid and under no threat whatsoever. However, at the same time, the Restoration Committee began in December 2004 installing a tension rod system between the columns and the eastern wall as a preventive measure in case of future earthquakes. This was achieved by drilling holes in the pillars of the three wings of the mussalah and in the southern wall and installing 24mm thick bars and 2cm thick stainless steel plates.

The real design behind the Zionist media campaigns about the walls of Marwani mussalah is to condemn and close this mosque and to intervene in the technical and administrative affairs of the Waqf Administration in Al Quds, and the activities of the Restoration Committee. There is also a long-term goal which is to seize the Marwani mussalah and gain access to it from the currently sealed off single-panel southern wall. Proof of this lies in the fact that the Israeli Monuments Directorate built a large marble esplanade and a wide marble staircase in front of this gate and above the Umayyad vestiges it discovered in 1968.

Historical Schools :

A number of historical schools have been restored. Some of them are located in the old city and others within the precincts of Al Aqsa Mosque. These restorations fall under the budget allocations used by the Centre for the Documentation, Restoration and Preservation of Al Quds Monuments, which allocations amounted to 732,000 dollars. Some of these schools are :

1- The Kilania School, built in 753 AH/1352 AD, is located on the Bab Selsela road. The restoration of this school was carried out in 1984-1985. Restoration works included the renovation of the main facade, the replacement of disintegrated stones, the installation of wrought iron windows and mucharabia panels, the repair of the muqarnasat (stalactite vault) above the main entrance, the restoration of the domes and the laying of electric and drainage systems.

2- The Mazharia School, built in 885AH/1481 AD, is situated near the Hadeed Gate, one of the western gates of Aqsa Mosque. Restoration works included the renovation of the main facade, the replacement of disintegrated stones, the repair of the muqarnasat, the renovation of the southern porch of the school and the mihrab, the renovation of the upper floor, and the laying of drainage and electric systems.

3- The Luluiyya School, built in 781AH/1380 AD, is situated on the Qarmi road. Restoration works included the renovation of the main facade, the replacement of disintegrated stones, the refurbishment and re-tiling of the rooms, the installation of wrought iron stairway railings and the laying of drainage and electric systems.

4- The Jaliqiyya School, built in 707 AH/1308 AD, is situated in the northern part of the Selsela Gate. Restoration works included the renovation of the main facade, the replacement of disintegrated stones, the restoration of the terrace and of the dome.

5- The Toshtumturiyya School, built in 784 AH/1384 AD, is located south of the Selsela Gate. Restoration works included the renovation of the main facade, the repair of the muqarnasat, the refurbishment of the rooms and the restoration of the school’s wings.

6- The Ashrafiyya School, built in 887 AH/1483 AD, is located west within the precincts of Al Aqsa Mosque. Restoration works included the renovation of the main facade and its coloured midmak (clay and rubble outer layers), the renovation of the main stone stairway leading to the upper floor and the muqarnasat. In 2004, the Cooperation Institution undertook the restoration of the interior of the school for the purpose of using it, along with Al Aqsa Library located on the ground floor, as a centre for manuscript restoration. UNESCO is to supply this centre with the necessary tools and equipment.

7- The Ghadiriyya School, built in 836 AH/1433AD, and located north of the Mosque esplanades. Restoration works included the renovation of the eastern side of the school's main facade, the refurbishment of the rooms and the roof.

8- The Jawhariyya school, built in 844 AH/1440 AD, and situated outside but near the Hadeed Gate. Restoration works included the replacement of disintegrated stones in the main facade and the refurbishment of the rooms.

There are fifty-five historical schools in the old city of Al Quds. All of these schools discharged their educational mission at a certain time in history. But now they are inhabited by poor families. To preserve the Palestinian presence within the old city, the restoration works are being carried out without the eviction of the residents.

Restoration of the Selsela Dome :

This dome, located east and parallel to the Dome of the Rock, has more of a historical than religious importance. It is pentagonal in shape and has open sides. The dome is sheeted with lead and its internal and external sides are lined with faience tiles.

This dome was restored several times in previous times. But the last of these restoration operations dates back to the sixteenth century ; the dome was left unrestored for more than four hundred years. In 1980, Al Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock Restoration Committee realised that the Selsela dome was in a sorry state of disrepair and conducted a survey to document the state of the building. The shaky pillars were reinforced and the colourful faience tiling, which was about to come loose, was removed, cleaned and replaced back. The missing or badly damaged tiles were replaced by new ones. The old warped lead sheets were removed and replaced by identical new lead sheets manufactured on the spot by melting the old lead sheets removed from the Dome of the Rock and the Selsela Dome and injecting them after removal of impurities, rolling them into 3 mm thick sheets through a locally made mould manufactured specially for this purposes. The same process was applied to Al Aqsa Mosque dome.

Restoration of the Nahawiyya Dome :

The Nahawiyya dome is located south-west of the Dome of the Rock. It was built by the great king 'Issa in 604 AH/1207 AD for the specific purpose of teaching the Arabic language and its sciences, with a special emphasis on Arabic grammar, hence its name (literally the grammar school). Under this dome were taught the book of Sibawayh, Abu Ali Fares's Al Eeddah, and Al Manteq by Abu As-Sakeet. The dome could accommodate 25 students. In 608 AH, the great king 'Issa covered the school with a dome which became known as the grammar dome (Al Qubbah Nahawiyya). In the twentieth century, it was converted into a library for the Supreme Islamic Legal Council. Currently, it serves as the headquarters of the president of the Supreme Islamic Council, thus ensuring that this body remains close to Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock in the current situation of Israeli occupation.

The building is made up of two rooms separated by a hall. It was restored by the Restoration Committee, its sealed windows were opened so that the internal stone arches and the beautiful stone engravings could be revealed. The restoration was completed in 2003.

Restoration of the Islamic Museum :

The Islamic Museum is located in the south-western part of Al Aqsa Mosque. It is made up of a historical building that houses different Islamic relics which reflect a history that extends over fourteen centuries since the Hijra. It was restored with the help of local skills and resources operating in difficult occupation conditions.

The building of the Islamic museum needs more effective efforts to develop and equip it with the latest technology. This necessitates the participation of international experts specialised in the restoration and management of museums, so that the unique pieces enclosed within can be displayed to the best effect and in optimal conditions. The location of the museum within the precincts of Al Aqsa Mosque is in itself a unique asset in the display of its contents. Any delay in the execution of these restoration works undermines the material condition of the archaeological and historical pieces kept there without proper and modern conservation techniques, which would expose them further to deterioration. It is also not advisable to shelve this matter pending the improvement of the political situation in Al Quds in the light of the relentless Israeli programmes whose aim is the judaisation of Al Quds Al Sharif. Any further delays may expose these valuable Islamic assets to more damage and deterioration. We may find nothing worth displaying in the future as a result of the absence of a catalogue and a systematized documentation of these vestiges. There are neglected pieces outside the museum, such as pieces of the burnt Salah Eddine minbar.

Restoration of the Qattanine Marketplace :

This market is made up of two parallel rows of sixty shops, covered by a ceiling with beautiful stone knots that alternate with light openings. The market has two gates the first one of which is located halfway through the western wall of Al Aqsa Mosque, and the second on the Wad Street adjacent to the Mosque. The whole market stands outside the western wall of Al Aqsa Mosque. The Restoration Committee restored this souk in cooperation with the Waqf Administration in Al Quds in 1973, and returned it to its state when first created by Prince Seif Eddine Tankuz Annassir in 737 AH/1336 AD. Thus, the shops' doors slide in a downward slope and become a shelf on which the goods are displayed. In the souk, which used to be a cotton marketplace in the old times, are sold handicrafts and oriental sweets.

The restoration works consisted of removing the bleaching from the walls and the stone knots, cleaning and dying the stones, repairing the ceiling light openings, tiling the floors, and the fitting of wooden doors. At the two extremities of the market are the Ain bathhouse and the Chifa bathhouse which are being restored by the Cooperation Institution.

Liberating Al Quds with Faith and Action :

Human life is counted in years ; and when people leave this world, they become just a memory ; but nations and countries remain alive as long as their civilisation lives on, and fall into oblivion when that civilisation disappears. History is rich with the tales of many nations that ruled with glory over a period of time, then disappeared in the folds of history, no longer able to give humanity as much as it did when it was young and powerful.

But Allah has wanted Al Quds, with its historical and religious landmarks, to survive and live on despite the invasions, the catastrophes, the fires and the bombings, and despite its struggle and that of its people against calamitous events. But why should this be strange when this city was twinned in the Quran with Makkah Al Mukarramah, in an eternal bond between the Holy Mosque and Al Aqsa Mosque in the divine verse : “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)”.

Throughout history, Muslims and Christians have lived in Al Quds as one Palestinian people. Their coexistence was marred only by the Crusade invasions, then the Zionist and colonialist Israeli invasion which is trying to judaise the land and the people through all forms of crime and tyranny.

History has proved that Al Quds can be persevered only in the hands of its inhabitants. So many parties usurped it, but its inhabitants soon regained their unity and then Al Quds, renewing once again with its Arab identity. Since the Islamic conquest, the Palestinian people have contributed in edifying Islamic civilisation which soon expanded and encompassed them, and arts and sciences flourished under this civilisation. The success of the Palestinian people in protecting the religious holy sites and historical landmarks in Palestine in general, and in Al Quds in particular, is owed to the coexistence, cooperation and solidarity of its Muslim and Christian inhabitants under the banner of Islamic civilisation and culture. The Palestinian people have always triumphed over the enemies, even a delayed triumph, thanks to its unity, the strength of its will, its fortitude and its determination to play its role in protecting the land and the sanctity of its historical landmarks.

Palestine, with Al Quds and its holy sites, its heritage and history, its people and land, has been enduring for a century the arbitrariness and tyranny of an enemy represented by the Zionist Israeli colonialism. These dangers reached their peak at the turn of the twentieth century, a situation that urgently requires from the Palestinian people and the Arab and Islamic nation the protection of the land and its sanctity from judaisation and obliteration.

At this phase in the history of their resistance, the Palestinian people continue  their struggle to liberate their homeland and once again exercise their full right to protect their land, holy sites and historical landmarks,  after Zionism wreaked havoc in Palestine in general, and in Al Quds in particular, after its perpetration of the most abject forms of tyranny and aggression against these people, their sanctities and their historical landmarks, in stark violation of the resolutions of the Security Council, the United Nations Organisation and UNESCO.

The Palestinian people have embraced the path to liberation and shed all love for worldly matters. Today, it is fighting with Stone Age weapons a highly trained army, and has little regard for anything in its quest to achieve martyrdom against Jews whose attachment to worldly life is unequalled, as they were described in the Quran.

If we trace back the history of the Ummah, we will find that the Companions of the Prophet (PBUH) were only victorious after he cleansed their hearts from impure sentiments and their souls from envy and injustice, freed their minds from the love of pleasures and power and their hearts from lethargy, and after he brought them together through bonds of family, brotherhood and religion. Thus, the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, renounced all worldly pleasures and temptations, and lived an acetic life. They were content with whatever Allah made available for them in terms of food (dates and water), and they triumphed over their enemies and conquered many lands.

A Spartan life is a prerequisite of victory and a pampered life is the most dangerous enemy of victory. When Muslim rulers of Spain indulged in pleasures, led a life of decadence and wealth, and pledged allegiance to entities other than Allah, seeking their help against each other, their might was broken and they were expelled from Andalusia in the most humiliating way. History is repeating itself. The universe is ever moving, the law of change continues, life inexorably plods on, and the law of divine intervention perseveres : “And did not Allah Check one set of people by means of another, the earth would indeed be full of mischief : But Allah is full of bounty to all the worlds...”.

Let no one think that our present and current reality is one of weakness, for the present and reality are ever changing. It is a thin line linking the past to the future, the only constant is that of the past, and the future is in the hands of the Almighty.

To bypass this crisis, the Ummah must emulate the practice of the first Muslims and adhere to the divine injunctions in words and deeds. The first Muslims preserved the unity of ranks, word and deed, and that constituted a major element in the continuity of their power and might over so many centuries. But when they ceased to act according to this old tradition, they split and fell prey to divergence, in the same way the Ummah is divided today at the levels of individuals, communities, governments and states.

What the Ummah needs is to purify souls, foster love in people’s hearts and teach them to shun hatred, greed and selfishness. It needs to nurture altruism and consecrate the feeling of belonging to a faith and a nation. After achieving this, we will certainly find ourselves as one body, if one member of it complains, the rest of the body reacts. The Prophet (PBUH) said : “Victory comes after steadfastness and relief after affliction, after difficult times happy ones shall come”.

Today, we have dwarfed the great Arab cause. Before it was called the cause of Palestine, then, as we became more humble, we called it the West Bank cause, then it shrunk further and became Al Quds cause, only to shrink even further and become the cause of East Al Quds. Today, we hear new concepts aimed at turning the whole cause into an issue of religious sites. We need to draw lessons from the Zionist practices, because Israel is still pursuing what remains of Yafa, 'Akka, Safad, Annassira and west Hebron. It is farming lands, bulldozing old houses and demolishing mosques on the pretext of laying roads and establishing new settlements. Israel wants a totally judaised Palestine and is working steadily towards that aim. It is readying itself for a new war that relies on new weaponry and nuclear arms stacked in its arsenals, unused in any of its previous wars because there was no need for them. Furthermore, Israel is busy developing its nine atomic research centres.

Al Quds is urging the leaders of the Arab and Islamic Ummah to join ranks and to speak in one voice. If Al Quds and Al Aqsa Mosque constitute no impetus for this unity, then what can we possibly do ? The Zionist enemy is arrogantly prancing around before our eyes and in our own homes.

The first step on the right path is to know the truth, spread it, embrace it, raise the youth's awareness about it, and refute Zionist allegations and fallacies. Then we need to prepare ourselves for leaving this dark tunnel in which we have wedged ourselves, in the same way that the Zankis and Ayyubids prepared themselves during the French occupation of Al Quds Al Sharif. The sensitisation phase was carried out during the reign of Imad Eddine Zanki ; the preparation phase took place during that of Noureddine Zanki, and the third and final phase, the liberation, was carried out during the reign of Salah Eddine EI Ayyoubi.

There is little doubt that looking up to the future should stem from a strong belief in the inevitability of progress and movement forward and from contributing, in the process, to modern development which should espouse the treasures of the prestigious civilizational history of Palestine, for only in this way can we act in the present.

Any effort, no matter how small or important, cannot go from the phase of imagination and thought into that of reality and application unless it is bolstered by strong faith and deep belief in the inevitability of struggle and dedication to the fulfilment of aspirations. Between faith and act is an intrinsic relationship and neither can exist without the other ! Otherwise, hopes will remain floating in the world of the imaginary unless they are translated into acts and deeds that live in the hearts and minds of individuals and institutions ; and in the end all these efforts will, God forbid, be nothing but words floating in the air or on the surface of water.

(*) The Restoration Committee for the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, Amman.