Temple Mount becoming mosque for Muslims only

Top archaeologist blasts Israeli inaction as Islam 'takes over' Judaism's holiest site

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JERUSALEM – The Israeli government is "doing nothing" while the Muslim custodians of the Temple Mount discard Jewish artifacts and attempt to turn Judaism's holiest site into an exclusive prayer zone for Islam, a leading Israeli archeologist charged today.

Hebrew University's Eilat Mazor said the Waqf, the site's Muslim custodians, "want to turn the whole of the Temple Mount into a mosque for Muslims only."

"They don't care about the artifacts or heritage on the site," Mazor told the Israeli news site YnetNews.com.

"The Waqf has acted terribly, taking thousands of tons of artifacts from the First Temple, the Second Temple, as well as Muslim artifacts, and throwing them away."

Mazor was referring to Muslim excavations near a new mosque constructed at the Temple Mount's Solomon's Stables. During the excavations, the Wafq reportedly disposed truckloads of dirt containing Jewish artifacts from the First and Second Temple periods. After the media reported this, Israeli authorities froze the construction permit given to the Wafq.

"There is a total ignorance of history and archeology. Artifacts showing ancient history are hidden," Mazor said.

Meanwhile, Muslims here this week are protesting work by the Israeli antiquities authority to repair a ramp near the Temple Mount even though the work, at the Western Wall plaza, is not taking place on the Mount and poses no threat to the holy site. Muslim leaders are calling for a "new intifada" to protest the routine Israeli repair work.

Mazor, a third-generation Israeli Temple Mount archaeologist, is the discoverer and lead archaeologist of Israel's City of David, believed to be the palace of the biblical King David, the second leader of a united Kingdom of Israel, who ruled from around 1005 to 965 B.C.

Mazor slammed the inaction of the Israeli government while Islam "takes over" the Temple Mount.

"The (Israeli) authorities have failed to deal with this issue. The only ones paying attention are the police, and they are only interested in quiet, so they do nothing," Mazor said.

But the Israeli government lately has been active on the issue of the Temple Mount.

WND broke the story last week Olmert has given permission for Jordan to build a large minaret adjacent to a mosque on the Temple Mount to call Muslims to prayer at the holy site. The minaret will stand at a site on the Mount where Jewish groups here had petitioned to build a synagogue.

A minaret is a tower usually attached to a mosque from which Muslims are called to the five Islamic daily prayers.

There are four minarets on the Temple Mount. The new minaret will be the largest one yet. It will be the first built on the Temple Mount in more than 600 years and is slated to tower over the walls of Jerusalem's old city. It will reside next to the Al-Marwani Mosque, located at the site of Solomon's Stables.

Aryeh Eldad, a Knesset member from Israel's National Union party, last year drew up plans with Jewish groups to build a synagogue near the Marwani Mosque. The synagogue was to be built in accordance with rulings from several prominent rabbis, who said Jews can ascend the Mount at certain areas.

A top leader of the Waqf told WND Olmert's granting of permission to build the minaret in the synagogue's place "confirms 100-percent the Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount) belongs to Muslims."

"This proves Jewish conspiracies for a synagogue will never succeed and solidifies our presence here. It will make Muslims worldwide more secure that the Jews will never take over the Haram al-Sharif," the Waqf official said.

Sources in the Jordanian monarchy and the Waqf told WND Olmert earlier this month gave Jordan's King Abdullah official permission to build the minaret. The sources said the minaret will rise 130 feet above the ancient walls of Jerusalem.

A senior Olmert adviser today confirmed to WND the Israeli prime minister told Abdullah he will allow the minaret's construction.

The adviser said he could not speak on the record because Israel has been waiting for an "opportune time" to officially announce permission for the new minaret.

In October, King Abdullah announced plans to build the fifth minaret, although at the time the Jordanians reportedly did not have Israel's permission to commence construction. Abdullah said the minaret would bear the symbol of the Jordanian monarchy.

The Temple Mount's first minaret was constructed on the southwest corner in 1278, the second was built in 1297 by order of a Mameluke king, the third by a governor of Jerusalem in 1329 and the last in 1367.

Prominent Israeli archeologist Gabi Barkai of Tel Aviv University blasted the new minaret plans.

"I am against any change in the status quo on the Temple Mount. If the status quo is being changed, then it should not just be the addition of Muslim structures at the site," Barkai said.

Rabbi Chaim Richman, director of the international department at Israel's Temple Institute, told WND Olmert's decision to allow the minaret "is repugnant to anyone who knows what it is to be a Jew."

"The decision and Israel's general attitude toward the Temple Mount is the manifestation of spiritual bankruptcy in the country's leadership. Olmert is turning his back on our Jewish heritage while the rest of the world looks at us with amazement at how we can be so insensitive to our own spiritual legacy."

The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism. For Muslims, it is Islam's third holiest site.

The First Jewish Temple was built by King Solomon in the 10th century B.C. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The Second Temple was rebuilt in 515 B.C. after Jerusalem was freed from Babylonian captivity. That temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in A.D. 70. Each temple stood for a period of about four centuries.

The Jewish Temple was the center of religious Jewish worship. It housed the Holy of Holies, which contained the Ark of the Covenant and was said to be the area upon which God's "presence" dwelt. The Al Aqsa Mosque now sits on the site.

The temple served as the primary location for the offering of sacrifices and was the main gathering place in Israel during Jewish holidays.

The Temple Mount compound has remained a focal point for Jewish services over the millennia. Prayers for a return to Jerusalem have been uttered by Jews since the Second Temple was destroyed, according to Jewish tradition. Jews worldwide pray facing toward the Western Wall, a portion of an outer courtyard of the Temple left intact.

The Al Aqsa Mosque was constructed around A.D. 709 to serve as a shrine near another shrine, the Dome of the Rock, which was built by an Islamic caliph. Al Aqsa was meant to mark the place where Muslims came to believe Muhammad, the founder of Islam, ascended to heaven.

Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Quran. Islamic tradition states Muhammad took a journey in a single night from "a sacred mosque" – believed to be in Mecca in southern Saudi Arabia – to "the farthest mosque," and from a rock there ascended to heaven. The farthest mosque later became associated with Jerusalem.

Most Waqf officials deny the Jewish temples ever existed in spite of what many call overwhelming archaeological evidence, including the discovery of Temple-era artifacts linked to worship, tunnels that snake under the Temple Mount and over 100 ritual immersion pools believed to have been used by Jewish priests to cleanse themselves before services. The cleansing process is detailed in the Torah.

According to the website of the Palestinian Authority's Office for Religious Affairs, the Temple Mount is Muslim property. The site claims the Western Wall, which it refers to as the Al-Boraq Wall, previously was a docking station for horses. It states Muhammed tied his horse, named Boraq, to the wall before ascending to heaven.

In an interview with WND, Kamal Hatib, vice-chairman of the Islamic Movement, which will take part in the podium installation ceremonies, claimed the Al-Aqsa Mosque was built by angels and that a Jewish Temple may have existed, but not in Jerusalem. The Movement, which works closely with the Waqf, is the Muslim group in Israel most identified with the Temple Mount.

"When the First Temple was built by Solomon – God bless him – Al Aqsa was already built. We don't believe that a prophet like Solomon would have built the Temple at a place where a mosque existed," said Hatib.

"And all the historical and archaeological facts deny any relation between the temples and the location of Al Aqsa," he continued. "We must know that Jerusalem was occupied and that people left many things, coins and other things everywhere. This does not mean in any way that there is a link between the people who left these things and the place where these things were left."

Last June, in a widely circulated WND interview, a former senior leader of the Waqf contradicted his colleagues, saying he has come to believe the first and second Jewish Temples existed and stood at the current location of the Al Aqsa Mosque.

The leader, who was dismissed from his Waqf position after he quietly made his beliefs known, said Al Aqsa custodians passed down stories for centuries from generation to generation indicating the mosque was built at the site of the former Jewish temples.

He said the Muslim world's widespread denial of the existence of the Jewish temples is political in nature and is not rooted in facts.

"Prophet Solomon built his famous Temple at the same place that later the Al Aqsa Mosque was built. It cannot be a coincidence that these different holy sites were built at the same place. The Jewish Temple Mount existed," said the former senior Waqf leader, speaking to WND from an apartment in an obscure alley in Jerusalem's Old City.

The former leader, who is well known to Al Aqsa scholars and Waqf officials, spoke on condition his name be withheld, claiming an on-the-record interview would endanger his life.

He told WND "true" Islamic tradition relates the Jewish temples once stood at the site of the Al Aqsa Mosque.

"[The existence of the Jewish Temple at the site is obvious] according to studies, researches and archaeological signs that we were also exposed to. But especially according to the history that passed from one generation to another – we believe Al Aqsa was built on the same place were the Temple of the Jews – the first monotheistic religion – existed."

He cited samples of some stories he said were related orally by Islamic leaders:

"We learned that the Christians, especially those who believed that Jesus was crucified by the Jews, used to throw their garbage at the Temple Mount site. They used to throw the pieces of cotton and other material Christian women used in cleaning the blood of their monthly cycle. Doing so, they believed that they were humiliating, insulting and harming the Jews at their holiest site. This way they are hurting them like Jews hurt Christians when crucifying Jesus.

"It is known also that most of the first guards of Al Aqsa when it was built were Jews. The Muslims knew at that time that they could not find any more loyal and faithful than the Jews to guard the mosque and its compound. They knew that the Jews have a special relation with this place."

Currently, even though the Jewish state controls Jerusalem, the Waqf serve as the custodians of the Temple Mount under a deal made with the Israeli government that restricts non-Muslim prayer at the site.

The Temple Mount was opened to the general public until September 2000, when the Palestinians started their intifada by throwing stones at Jewish worshipers after then-candidate for prime minister Ariel Sharon visited the area.

Following the onset of violence, the new Sharon government closed the Mount to non-Muslims, using checkpoints to control all pedestrian traffic for fear of further clashes with the Palestinians.

The Temple Mount was reopened to non-Muslims in August 2003. It still is open but only Sundays through Thursdays, 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., and not on any Christian, Jewish or Muslim holidays or other days considered "sensitive" by the Waqf.

During "open" days, Jews and Christian are allowed to ascend the Mount, usually through organized tours and only if they conform first to a strict set of guidelines, which includes demands that they not pray or bring any "holy objects" to the site. Visitors are banned from entering any of the mosques without direct Waqf permission. Rules are enforced by Waqf agents, who watch tours closely and alert nearby Israeli police to any breaking of their guidelines.

Jews Blocked From Praying at Kotel by Arab Protestors
14:00 Feb 08, '07 / 20 Shevat 5767

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=121195

(IsraelNN.com) Jews were being blocked Thursday from reaching the Kotel (Western Wall) to pray, by the hundreds of Arab protestors demonstrating against construction near the Temple Mount.

Spokesman Aryeh King, representing the Jewish associations in the eastern part of the capital, said that if the Jerusalem district police did not disperse the crowd, he would petition the High Court.

Islamic clerics leading the demonstration as well as Arab politicians threatened an intifada “worse than the previous one in 2000” if the Israel Antiquities Authority did not immediately halt the repair work and excavations at the site.

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When Laura Bush and any other nation reps visit al Aqsa mosque, acceding to muslim conditions that no one may wear a cross or carry a Bible to the Temple Mount, they give the world's acceptance of this boorish behavior by the "religion of peace".

Any one of them can be taken out with a shoulder-mounted grenade launcher. Hint, hint IDF....

Unfortunately, secular Zionism is nothing more than a Hebrew-speaking Irish Republicanism and doesn't give a hoot about Har HaBayit. After all, isn't the Jewish mission to bring secularism, enlightenment, democracy, and equality to the world? Who cares for primitive, superstitious animal sacrifices? [/sarcasm] Throw in the fact that the muzzies are attacking the historicity of the TaNa"KH and they can do no wrong.

Mashiach is coming. The Temple will be rebuilt, the Sanhedrion reconvened, and Israel and the world will acknowledge the Creator and live by His laws. Know it.

The Israelis should have evicted the moslems after the Six Day War. I don't think they could have Halakhically built the Temple (and the entire Jewish population of Jerusalem would have to vacate the city during Pesach, I believe, according to the Lubavitcher Rebbe), but the Mount would be in Jewish hands (and after all, if Har HaBayit isn't under Jewish sovereignty, why should Tel 'Aviv be?). The fact that a "Jewish" state allowed the holiest spot in the world to remain buried under moslem filth is a chillul HaShem of monumental proportions.

These people are either certifiably crazy or perhaps merely evil. Islam built a mosque 1700 years before Islam existed?

6 posted on 02/08/2007 6:57:34 AM MST by silverleaf

I understand from reliable sources that Laura Bush is a believer in Replacement Theology.
That is a belief started in the 4th century which states that G-d is finished with Israel.
It states that the Roman church has replaced Israel.
James Baker III and Condoleeza Rice are also adherents to Replacement Theology.

b'shem Yah'shua

Believe or not there that teaching in lots of Christians churches replacement thelogy

I got question hey Laura WHO is Jesus A Jew that Messiah coming back some day I don't think he won't too pleased what your husband doing to Israel in this adminisation OKAY

Mashiach is coming. The Temple will be rebuilt, the Sanhedrion reconvened, and Israel and the world will acknowledge the Creator and live by His laws. Know it.
The Israelis should have evicted the moslems after the Six Day War. I don't think they could have Halakhically built the Temple (and the entire Jewish population of Jerusalem would have to vacate the city during Pesach, I believe, according to the Lubavitcher Rebbe), but the Mount would be in Jewish hands (and after all, if Har HaBayit isn't under Jewish sovereignty, why should Tel 'Aviv be?). The fact that a "Jewish" state allowed the holiest spot in the world to remain buried under moslem filth is a chillul HaShem of monumental proportions.

12 posted on 02/08/2007 8:52:05 AM MST by Zionist Conspirator

It was Moshe Dyan who insisted on giving back the Temple Mount to haSatan in 1967.
But we are now coming up on 40 years in the wilderness.
Many dramatic events will occur this year.
We should be reading Psalm 107 for guidance.

b'shem Yah'shua

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