Posted on 01/05/2010 7:47:26 PM PST by Tamar Rush
The Iraqi government plans to convert the Tomb of the Prophet Ezekiel, one of the most sacred sites for Christians and Jews, into a massive new mosque.
What’s more, the Iraqis intend to erase all Jewish markings from the tomb so that no indication of its historic significance will remain for future generations.
The plan to transform the ancient burial site into a mosque was reported this week by Ur News, the Iraqi news agency, and Shelomo Alfassa, Director of Justice for Jews from Arab Countries.
Mr. Alfassa says that Iraq’s Antiquities and Heritage Authority “has been pressured by Islamists to historically cleanse all evidence of a Jewish connection to Iraq - a land where Jews had lived for over a thousand years before the advent of Islam.”
The desecration of the tomb, Mr. Alfassa adds, is taking place under “the pretext of restoring the site.”
Similar confirmation comes from Professor Shmuel Moreh, Israel Prize Laureate in Arabic Literature and Professor Emeritus at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who says that he is aware that the Hebrew inscriptions have been erased and that the plans for the new mosque are well underway.
The ancient burial site of Ezekiel is located in Al-Kifl, a small town south of Baghdad.
Ezekiel, whose prophecies included the Valley of the Dry Bones and the return of the Jews to Israel, lived in the sixth century B.C., having accompanied the exiled Judeans to Babylon.
(Excerpt) Read more at thelastcrusade.org ...
BTTT & save for later. Thanks for the post. Interesting...
Maybe Ezekiel won’t let them.
Most groups have moved around and conquered at times, but where are the examples of Christians building churches where some previous holy structure existed?
Ezekiel 37 1-14
1. The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the wind of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones:
2. And he led me around among them; and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, behold, they were very dry:
3. And he said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, you know:
4. And he said to me, Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O you dry bones, hear the word of the Lord:
5. Thus says the Lord God to these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live:
6. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord:
7. And I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to its bone:
8. And as I beheld, behold, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above; but there was no breath in them:
9. And he said to me, Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live:
10. And I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, a very large army:
11. Then he said to me, son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off:
12. Therefore prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel:
13. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up from your graves:
14. And I shall put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land; then shall you know that I, the Lord, have spoken it, and performed it, says the Lord:
15-17
15. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
16. And you, son of man, take one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the people of Israel his companions; then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
17. And join them one to the other into one stick; and they shall become one in your hand:
Bone/Bones (etzem/etzamot)
Stick/Sticks (etz/etzim)
Kifl is an archaic Arabic word meaning "double" or "duplicate", from a root meaning "to double" or "to fold"; it was also used of a fold of cloth. The name is generally understood to mean "possessor of a double portion".
The reason people believe Ezekiel to be Dhul Kifl is when the exile, monarchy, and state were annihilated, a political and national life was no longer possible. In the absence of a worldly foundation it became necessary to build a spiritual one. Ezekiel performed this mission by observing the signs of the time and deducing his doctrines from them. In conformity with the two parts of his book, his personality and his preaching are alike twofold, and the title Dhul Kifl means "the one to double" or "to fold".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhul-Kifl
"possessor of a double portion":
Large Iraqi Oil contracts with China.
Half of Iraqi Christians living outside Iraq as refugees, and those still in Iraq more persecuted than under Saddam.
Now a great mosque to be built over Ezekiel’s tomb.
Once US influence is removed from Iraq, I doubt it will ever be a nation many Americans believe will justify the sacrifice put into that place. They have a thirteen hundred year history of being Moslems.
bookmark
So when do we get the travelers aid, “Mosques of America” available, I would love to travel across country just to visit as many Muslim Mosques that I can find.
Being on holiday at the moment, I'm away from my reference shelves, but even cursory net searches will bring you up great examples. Cordoba Cathedral was a notable example, for instance. Some other examples are given at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianised_sites - even though it's Wikipedia, it's reasonably reliable and squares wit my more academic texts although it's far from an exhaustivve list.
The New world itself had many examples (e.g. the complete dismantling of a pyramid to build Museo Nacional de las Intervenciones) and other similar ones. In Europe, the common game was to usurp a holy well or similar site by retaining the holiness but associating it with a christian saint or deity.
It's a traditional game and noone was guiltless - as I have already said however, it is abominable today and to be condemned , whether at the Bamaiyan Buddhas, the BJP mobs in India or now at this Christian/Jewish site in Iran.
Yep.
That whole "messing with graves" thing is really BAD ju-ju.
As to Muslim intentions, Isaiah 8:10..
Didn’t Elisha see exekiel go into the heavens in a chariot of fire? There shouldn’t be a tomb with anything in it any way.
You mean Elijah. It was Elijah who was brought into Heaven via a flaming chariot.
” where are the examples of Christians building churches where some previous holy structure existed? “
The cathedrals of europe are built on the sites of pagan temples and oriented along ancient “trackways”. The Vatican is built on or near the temple of Cybelle.
You’re both reaching back into very ancient history when you mention Christian temples built on the site of pagan holy places. We could also examine the state of the law and individual rights 1,000 to 5,000 years ago. Most groups of people left those practices behind centuries ago, with the notable exception of the Moslems who’ve also desecrated Jewish holy sites around Jerusalem in recent years.
Some also love to cite the Spanish Inquisition and use that to take some of the condemnation off contemporary sharia law and veiled women and honor killings and death for apostates.
When is the most recent example of Christian churches being built over some other faith’s holy site? The most recent site for Islam seems to be this week.
Citing Christian practices from many centuries back as equivalent to Moslem practices this week is pretty weak. One group seems to have continued those practices.
What an idiotic perversion of a historical observation.
If I understand the present discussion correctly, we are discussing contemporary civilized behavior, not pre-18th Century common behavior wordwide.
Apples and oranges.
“but where are the examples of Christians building churches where some previous holy structure existed?”
As one example, the national cathedral in Mexico City was built directly atop the ruins of the main Aztec temple. The Zocalo was a major temple complex that was comletely razed. Some of the foundations can still be seen.
You’re correct! I knew it was a name that started with an E
“As one example, the national cathedral in Mexico City was built directly atop the ruins of the main Aztec temple. The Zocalo was a major temple complex that was comletely razed. Some of the foundations can still be seen.”
That cathedral was built in the 16th century. It is built in the center of the old Aztec capital, but there is also mention of the ruins of an Aztec temple which are away form the cathedral. No mention of it being right on top of an Aztec temple:
http://www.knowtruth.com/missions/mx99/nat_cathedral.htm
http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Mexico,+DF
And you’re still talking 400 - 500 years ago. Still seems to be only one religion following this practice in the 21sst century. What is your most recent example of any other religion building atop the ruins of a former holy site?
“The Zócalo is Mexico City’s main plaza. It is built over the site of the old Aztec capital’s main square. Many important buildings surround the square, including the National Palace, the Supreme Court of Justice, and, seen here, the huge, ornate National Cathedral.”
You’re right that Christians don’t do it nowadays. I was discussing the practice itself.
However, the muslims aren’t alone in the barbarous practice - the rabid nutters from the BJP in India demolished the babri mosque at Ayodhya to build a temple there on very specious grounds. That was early 1990s and the violence around it still rages today.
My post was because the initial ones seemed to assume that only Islamics ever did this which was not correct.
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