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'Muslim extremists' ignore Vatican, build mosque
AP/Jerusalem Post ^ | 11/14/01 | Laurie Copans

Posted on 11/16/2001 1:08:51 PM PST by veronica

JERUSALEM - Working under cover of darkness, Muslims in Jesus' boyhood town of Nazareth have begun constructing a mosque alongside the Basilica of the Annunciation, despite protests by the Vatican and Israeli authorities.

The Vatican, in a statement issued in Rome, called on the Israeli government to stop "Muslim extremists" from building the mosque next to the church marking the site where Christians believe the angel Gabriel told Mary she would give birth to Jesus.

"Building the mosque here will in effect put this holy place in a state of permanent siege and make its gate a gathering place for the most hostile elements," the statement said, according to the Vatican news service Fides.

Israeli authorities charged today that the work constituted a provocation and threatened to stop the construction by force, even as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins. Local Christians warned the work could re-ignite the interreligious violence that erupted at the site last year.

Construction on the mosque began Monday, without the necessary permits, but the Israeli Lands Authority ordered it halted. The Wakf, or Islamic Trust, stopped the work today but said it will start again if it does not get the necessary permits within a week.

Witnesses said crews were working at the site Monday and Tuesday nights in an apparent attempt to keep the construction secret.

A lawyer for the Muslims, Dan Shafrir, said the construction had been going on day and night. The Israeli Lands Authority promised to help the Islamic Trust obtain the permits for the Muslim-owned land if the construction was stopped, Shafrir said.

"We're not hiding anything from anyone," Shafrir said. "Whether or not we get the permits, we will continue construction in a week."

The construction was halted only temporarily, and steel beams arrived at the site today, said Ahmed Saleh Hamudeh, the head of the Islamic Trust in Nazareth.

Christians are a minority in Nazareth, and tensions over the mosque have been running high between the Christian community and the Muslim majority in the city of 70,000. Nazareth is the largest Arab city in Israel.

Under pressure from Christian leaders, including the Vatican, the previous Israeli government worked out a compromise in 1999 to defuse a tense situation in which Muslims were praying in a large tent a few meters from the church, as a planned millennium visit by Pope John Paul II neared. The Vatican had hinted the issue could force the cancellation of the pope's visit, which took place as scheduled in March 2000.

According to the agreement, the tent was removed, and a mosque would be built on one third of the 2,000-square-meter plot, but only after the millennium year.

Church leaders in the Holy Land complain that Israel made excessive concessions to the Muslims, while ignoring promises made to Christian leaders, including the pope.

Despite the pledges of the previous government, Israeli officials are indicating that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will not allow construction of the mosque.

"A decision on the matter will be made by the government" due to the sensitivity of the issue, Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nachshon said. "We are absolutely against the work going on at the moment."

Israel believes that starting construction days before the start of Ramadan is a cynical use of the holiday by the Muslims, with the hope authorities will not act to stop the work, a government official said on condition of anonymity.

The authorities will forcibly halt the work if necessary, the official said.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, himself a Muslim, sided with the Christians in the dispute, saying in December 1999 that the Muslims should not build the mosque so close to the church.

The Muslims say a Crusader-era sage is buried at the site, and they hoped to build a large mosque there. Church leaders wanted the plot for a plaza to accommodate millennium pilgrims.


TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events
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To: thefactor
! It's not like the Christians ever tried to convert the entire world to their religion

Oh yeah, when was that? And what in the heck are you mumbling about anyway?

61 posted on 11/16/2001 1:09:59 PM PST by Lent
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To: Patria One
I don't know if they "profaned" the Temple Mount. However they did build the Dome of the Rock on a vacant lot about 1300 years ago.

The only vacancy I see here is from your mind.LOLOLOL!

62 posted on 11/16/2001 1:10:12 PM PST by Lent
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To: thefactor
I never once in my post mentioned any sort of violence whatsoever

And neither did I. However, common sense says that you don't go plopping your mosque down on ground that others consider Holy and have considered Holy for thousands of years.

My remark about the WTC was prompted because of your registration in NY. Do you think your neighbors would appreciate it if a mosque attempted to build on the site of the WTC? I'm sure that that action would create a little violence.

63 posted on 11/16/2001 1:10:13 PM PST by afraidfortherepublic
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To: Publius6961
Not so outlandish a claim, seems to me. Luther's thesis and Gutenberg occur at the end of the 15th century.
64 posted on 11/16/2001 1:10:14 PM PST by tsomer
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To: hsszionist
now they've really done it they've irritated the Pope.

I must admit I am surprised. Just goes to show that Muslims respect no one, including someone who has been unconditionally supportive for the most part, and that even the Pope can be pushed too far. Refreshing actually, because his embracing of Arafat time and time again despite what he perpetrates is nauseating. Good thing I'm not Catholic. :)

65 posted on 11/16/2001 1:10:15 PM PST by agrace
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To: BenF
Your right. They hate Bulls&%t!
66 posted on 11/16/2001 1:10:16 PM PST by Nachum
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To: Lent
Please mmumumummmble see mummble post mmmm #58 mmumumumble.
67 posted on 11/16/2001 1:10:16 PM PST by thefactor
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To: thefactor
Maybe Christians did cop an attitude but that was several hundred years ago, we grew out of it. The policy now is live and let live. Apparently the radical muslims haven't gotten to that stage yet and show no signs of doing so, at least not in this Millenium.
68 posted on 11/16/2001 1:10:16 PM PST by Copperhead61
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To: veronica
The Vatican, in a statement issued in Rome, called on the Israeli government to stop "Muslim extremists" from building the mosque next to the church marking the site where Christians believe the angel Gabriel told Mary she would give birth to Jesus.

I'm Catholic and a loyal son of the Church, but the Vatican really has some nerve to ask the Israeli authorities to intervene on their behalf to stop this construction when they're among the first to criticize the Israelis anytime they defend themselves.

I agree with the Vatican, BTW and hope this is stopped...this will put Christians in a continual state of seige at this site and the moslems would never stand for this if the roles were reversed. Hope this helps the Vatican toopen their eyes and see what the Israelis are up against.

69 posted on 11/16/2001 1:10:17 PM PST by pgkdan
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To: BenF
Just making a political observation, Ben, plus pointing out the moral lesson that when you do the right thing the first time it's always better for everybody.
70 posted on 11/16/2001 1:10:17 PM PST by Romulus
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To: thefactor
Yes factor, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the Muslims trying to hastily throw up a Mosque on a site of holy signficance to Christianity for over 2,000 years, because centuries ago Christians were mean to Moslems in their attempts to stanch the violent spread of the Islam into Europe. It's logic like this that explains why I get choked up when I see ibuprofen.
71 posted on 11/16/2001 1:10:17 PM PST by No Left Turn
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To: thefactor
Saw #58 and still mumbling.
72 posted on 11/16/2001 1:10:18 PM PST by Lent
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To: thefactor
Did they ever convert King Joseph's Tomb back into a tomb? Or is it still a Mosque? Remember last year when they were knocking down all of the parapets and painting the dome green? How many artifacts are there in Israel that nobody gives a fig whether or not King Joseph's Tomb is restored?
73 posted on 11/16/2001 1:10:21 PM PST by gridlock
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To: veronica
My, my. Those peaceful, tolerant moslems embracing diversity again.

Notice that they violate existing laws, and sneak around in the dark like...well, like a bunch of terrorist wannabes, actually....to accomplish an agenda sure to create trouble.

And we, poor fools, continue to tolerate them. (Sigh)

74 posted on 11/16/2001 1:10:21 PM PST by neutrino
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To: gridlock
Read it and weep.

The Events at Joseph's Tomb

This is what awaits the Church of the Annunciation.

75 posted on 11/16/2001 1:10:32 PM PST by gridlock
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To: afraidfortherepublic
Absolutely. That is also why I made special mention of Sept 11th and why this is getting so much press and debate now. I live ten blocks from ground zero. The stench is still as strong today as it was two months ago if the wind is just right. But putting up a mosque in a city that is mostly Islamic and putting one up here are two different things. Just ask yourself that if you could remove all of the muslims from that holyland by force (kill most of them), would you? And forcibly rip down anything and everything that looks like a mosque, could you?
76 posted on 11/16/2001 1:10:33 PM PST by thefactor
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To: veronica
Time to start eliminating mosques!
77 posted on 11/16/2001 1:10:33 PM PST by Mat_Helm
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To: thefactor
I understand this would not be such a big deal if Sept 11th had never happened

It did, and it is.

78 posted on 11/16/2001 1:10:33 PM PST by RightWhale
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To: thefactor
Why is it always an extreme? Why do you assume that we are like the Muslims? It would not be necessary to kick out masses of people, or desireable. The annexation would intially be violent yes, but when most of the trouble makers are dealt with, things would quiet down.
79 posted on 11/16/2001 1:10:33 PM PST by Nachum
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To: thefactor
Really though, I understand this would not be such a big deal if Sept 11th had never happened.

That's bunk! This has been going on for years. The intent of the Muslims in this instance is to insult Christianity and the Catholic church.

Methinks you are a Catholic hater too????

80 posted on 11/16/2001 1:10:34 PM PST by katnip
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