How Muslims Are Prevented From Visiting a Holy Site in Jerusalem

by on August 9, 2006 11
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Lauren Likkel

If you want to understand Muslim anger toward the West, this picture is helpful, for it shows one of the great griefs of Jerusalem. Taken two Fridays ago, by an astronomer at the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, it shows Muslim men, having been barred by Israeli soldiers from entering the Old City of Jerusalem so as to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, simply plunking down in the grass outside the wall of the Old City to pray in the direction of the mosque.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque is one of the three holiest sites in the Muslim religion, sacred to 1 billion people who believe the messenger of God came to that place.

Israeli authorities routinely bar Muslim men under the age of 45 from entering the Damascus Gate of the Old City on Fridays to pray at the mosque because they fear terrorist incidents when large crowds enter the Old City. You can understand the Israeli security concerns, arising from the suicide bombers of the second intifadah; and yet the resulting restrictions underscore the resentments created by Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem and the Old City, as well as by its occupation of the West Bank: Christians and Muslims often feel discriminated against. Just last Friday angry men clashed with police, and the police employed stun grenades.

By the way, Jordanian rule of Jerusalem, which lasted from 1949 to 1967, was even worse. Jews couldn’t enter the Old City, couldn’t get to the Western Wall of the Temple Mount, where the First and Second temple were destroyed (and where some religious nuts now want to build a third temple, and do what with the Al-Aqsa Mosque I don’t know). Here is a famous photo of Israeli soldiers arriving at the Western Wall in 1967:

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1967

Jerusalem is truly an international city and one filled with seekers of all description (includng many messianic nutjobs). Lauren Likkel’s picture demonstrates the unfairness of the Israeli occupation, and also why it is so important that the U.S. take a more evenhanded stance in this holy tinderbox, to turn down the temperature across the Arab world. There’s got to be a better way to manage things than depriving religious people of access to a sacred site.

About Philip Weiss

Philip Weiss is Founder and Co-Editor of Mondoweiss.net.
Posted in US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics

{ 11 comments... read them below or add one }

  1. Joey Cavod says:
    August 9, 2006 at 6:22 pm

    Those dumbells were praying in the wrong direction, or more likely, Weiss got the story wrong, as usual. When a Moslem prays, even while in Jerusalem, he faces Mecca (2,000 miles away in Saudi Arabia). So in many cases, even when a Moslem is in Jerusalem, his back is to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

    The name "Al-Aqsa Mosque" translates to "the farthest mosque". The location of the "farthest mosque" was not explicitly stated, but came to be associated with Jerusalem, though Jerusalem not mentioned at all in the Koran, and the actual referance may be to Damascus. It's disputed by scholars who believe that the location was chosen specifically because its holy nature to the Jews and that the Islamic claim to the Temple Mount is very recent

    Why are Muslims believers that "messenger of God came to that place" and Jews that want to rebuild a temple, where two sat for over 1000 years "nutjobs"?

    The Observer pays you for the this crap? Your reporting is a joke.

    Editors: Fire Weiss, or at least fact check his work.

  2. thewiseking says:
    August 9, 2006 at 7:38 pm

    poor little philly weiss is agonizing over the plight of muslims who just want to do a little praying. what little philly is unaware of is that for the last two thousand years muslims have desecrated, destroyed, and built their mosques upon the holiest of holy sites of jews and christians. jews were completely denied access to the western wall upon which muslims strewed their garbage and even little philly must know that they built their mosque upon the remains of the jewish temple. since the six day war jews have treated israeli arabs as citizens who participate in an open democracy.they are allowed complete access to their holy sites which are carefully protected and respected. they are given this privilege even though to this day they rain rocks down upon the heads of jews praying at the kotel. the security measures taken now are temporary and are akin to closing off parts of lower manhattan post-9/11. how would little philly weiss suggest the state of israel handle its security problem?

  3. anon says:
    August 9, 2006 at 7:49 pm

    The Koran mentions Mecca three times. It mentions Medina five times. It never mentions Jerusalem. There is no historical evidence to suggest Mohammad ever visited Jerusalem.

    Jerusalem appears in the Jewish Bible 669. The Christian Bible mentions Jerusalem 154.

    From 1948 to 1967, when East Jerusalem and the Temple Mount were occupied by Jordanian Forces following the 1948-9 Arab-Israeli War, Jerusalem itself was ignored by the Arab world. No Arab leader ever paid a visit, not even to pray at the al-Aqsa Mosque or the Dome of the Rock. During this 19 year period of Jordanian occupation, when no Jews were allowed there, the Arabs destroyed 58 of Jerusalem's Jewish synagogues. Even the Arabs of Palestine placed so low a priority on Jerusalem that the PLO's founding charter, the 1964 Palestinian National Covenant, made no reference whatsoever to it. Only when the Jews recaptured it after the 1967 "Six Day War" did the Arab world grow very passionate about Jerusalem.

  4. jimmy says:
    August 9, 2006 at 8:00 pm

    crazy arabs. they dont even know Islam. Praying at the wrong place. I bet they even pray to the wrong god. AT least they dont eat pork.

    Weis must be wrong, again! All one has to do is explain to those Arabs, that they dont know their own religion.

  5. jeffrey R. Williams says:
    August 9, 2006 at 11:14 pm

    The Third Temple is to be built adjacent to the Mosque,leaving out an outter courtyard. Source: Ezekiel 40-48. Does this help?

  6. SuperWolff says:
    August 10, 2006 at 12:00 am

    This is actually an Arab style football game. On the count of 3, they all run at full speed against the wall. The last one left alive, wins!

  7. Rowan Berkeley says:
    August 10, 2006 at 7:51 am

    "Jerusalem not mentioned at all in the Koran, and the actual referance may be to Damascus. It's disputed by scholars … "

    – no, it's disputed by pseudo scholars like you, 'Joey', who wouldn't recognise scholarly integrity if it bit their balls off.

  8. Joey says:
    August 10, 2006 at 9:55 am

    Jerusalem is 2000 km. from Mecca, not 2000 miles.

  9. ride on says:
    August 15, 2006 at 5:06 pm

    speak about balls, i love you rowan berkeley. now, how about that 'not-so-wiseking'?!

  10. DontCareAboutYourRaceOrReligion says:
    August 28, 2006 at 2:51 am

    Wow, racists supreme hang out here.

    Go look in the mirror and pat yourself on the back.

    You wonder how Hitler felt about the Jews, you're feeling it now towards the Arabs.

    History doesn't repeat but it does rhyme.

  11. higginslads says:
    September 16, 2008 at 1:54 pm

    LOL. Phil, it seems the Zionist disinformationists are out in full force on your site today.

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