Moslem Claim to Jerusalem Rests on Wobbly Verse

Israel National News ^ | 19:19 Aug 28, '03 / 30 Av 5763

[yonif]

A commentator in the official Egyptian government weekly, of all places, writes this week that the entire Moslem claim on Jerusalem and El-Aksa is based on a mistaken reading of one chapter of the Quran. Ahmed Mahmad Oufa wrote that the verse that mentions a night journey by Muhammed to a mosque has nothing to do with Jerusalem, as is generally claimed, but with a mosque near the holy Moslem city of Medina.

Prof. Moshe Sharon, Middle Eastern expert in the Hebrew University, commented on Arutz-7 today: "This is not a new claim. We must remember that Jerusalem is not mentioned at all in the Quran [though it is mentioned hundreds of time in the Bible - ed. note]. The verse in question is in Sura [chapter] 17, which states that Muhammad was brought at night from one mosque to a "more distant" - aktsa, in Arabic - mosque. The first Moslem commentators did not explain this as referring to Jerusalem at all, of course, but rather as a miraculous night journey or night vision or some such. In the beginning of the 8th century, however, they began associating this with Jerusalem, because they had a need to start giving sanctity to Jerusalem, and so they started connecting this verse with Jerusalem... Originally, however, the Moslems recognized the area of the Dome of the Rock as holy because of the Jewish Temple of King Solomon."

It should be noted that the Al Aksa mosque was built on the Temple Mount 621 years after Mohammed's death. Prof. Shamir expressed great surprise at the fact that such an article would be published in Arabic and in an Arabic-speaking country.

[yonif]

Ping.

[jimkress]

Ahmed Mahmad Oufa

Well, after printing this, his life expectancy should be measured in minutes.

[txzman]

It also should be noted that all of Mohammed's "visions" were conveniently extrapolated into factual events in order to show the miraculous power and God's shining on him, especially the night journey.

Same with any supposed "miracles" which amount to "We are going to win the battle tomorrow", or even worse, attributed in the Hadith - tradition stories and oral history long after his death.

Like all the Quran, Muslims have to work very, very diligently to prop up their religion.

Explaining how Mohammed copied parts of the Old and New Testament and got the timing and matching all obviously screwed up is still my favorite question to Muslims.

[lobo59]

What else would you expect from a false prophet who was a demented pedophile. He was a child rapist marrying an 8 year young girl. Did he promise the perverted masses who follow him many virgins and comely yopung boys or was it only comely young virgin boys?

[APRPEH]

does that mean the muslims no longer claim the kotel (western wall) as holy since mohamad parked his magic horse there?

[alex]

I wondering who can you discuss it with a straight face? One tribe's holy book says one thing and another tribe's holy book says quite the opposite, so what? who cares? One with a bigger rifle will win anyway.

[alnitak]

It should be noted that the Al Aksa mosque was built on the Temple Mount 621 years after Mohammed's death

This is just plain wrong. The Dome Of the Rock was the FIRST mosque built (at least, that still survives) and was completed in the year 691. I have never heard a good explanation as to why the muslims would choose to build their first mosque in Jerusalem rather than Mecca or Medina.

10 seconds on google will show many links, this is one of the briefest: Dome of the Rock

[lobo59]

Islam and reality constantly collide. What ever their claim today, until the area was liberated by the Jews, the area was a moslem slum and used as a latrine. Of course this is the way all islamic phony holy sites should be treated, it is just most meaningful when they do it themselves.

[polemikos]

Sharon ought to print up a million copies of this article and air drop them over all the Palestinian areas.