Temple Mount mosques continue to serve as breeding grounds for anti-Israeli, American incitement

Temple Mount mosques continue to serve as breeding grounds for anti-Israeli and anti-American incitement in the post-Arafat era

Special Information Bulletin Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S) December 2004 Temple Mount mosques continue to serve as breeding grounds for anti-Israeli and anti-American incitement in the post-Arafat era

1. Throughout the course of the violent confrontation between Israel and the Palestinians, the Temple Mount mosques in Jerusalem, similarly to other mosques in the Palestinian Authority administered territories, have served as hotbeds of preaching to hatred and violence. Such inflammatory sermons are given by clerics to audiences numbering tens of thousands of people (including Israeli Arabs), with some of them broadcast every Friday to the entire Palestinian public through the Voice of Palestine radio station.

2. It must be emphasized that the clerics who preach in the mosques and use them to deliver lessons in Islam (most prominent among those is Sheikh 'Ikrima Sabri), are employed by the Palestinian Ministry of Waqf (charitable trust in the name of Allah). They receive their salaries from the Palestinian Authority, regardless of their explicit association with radical Islam.

3. Beside their anti-Israeli incitement and provocation, the Temple Mount mosques have for many years served as breeding grounds for incitement and provocation replete with radical Islamic motifs also aimed against the US .

4. There are two factors that imbue the sermons given at the Temple Mount , Al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock mosques with special meaning for their listeners and for the Palestinian public in general. First is the Islamic (and national) significance of these mosques; second is the status of 'Ikrima Sabri as the senior Palestinian cleric in the Palestinian Authority administered territories, whose sermons should reflect an official Islamic stance on the position of the Palestinian Authority by which he is appointed (even if the views he holds are more extreme than those held by the Palestinian Authority seniors).

5. Reports made by the Israeli police, that maintains public order in the Temple Mount mosques, as well as (partial) reports by the Palestinian media, reveal that the mosques continue to serve as major breeding grounds for incitement and that they are systematically used for preaching to hatred against Israel and the US and even for the encouragement of terrorism. It seems that the Palestinian Authority in the Abu Mazen age has taken no significant measures against these major breeding grounds for incitement, even though it made certain to issue a message of restraint in a sermon given at the Al-Tashrifat Mosque at the presidential headquarters in Gaza City (with Abu Mazen present)[1].

[1] On December 3, 2004, the Palestinian television broadcasted fragments from a Friday sermon held at the Al-Tashrifat mosque at the presidential headquarters in Gaza City. It was broadcasted by Sheikh Muhammad Jamal Abu al-Hunoud who read a written sermon, with Abu Mazen present. The preacher spoke in favor of the "path of conciliation and restraint" and against "extremism and the tendency toward fanaticism".

6. On December 10, 2004, the Friday prayers on the Temple Mount were attended by 27,000 worshippers.

7. The following, among other things, was said in an Islamic lesson given by Muhammad Jamal al-Rifa'i, known for his inciting sermons: a. A request from Muslims to resolve their conflicts according to the Quran and not according to "the White House and the loathsome Bush". The Sheikh referred to the Sharm el-Sheikh Conference as "the Devil's summit". b. A claim that the "sons of Israel" steal and inflict harm upon others as, according to the Sheikh, is said in the Quran.

8. On that Friday, a sermon was given by Sheikh Hian Hilmi Nameq Idrisi[2]. The Sheikh, known for his extremist sermons, lashed out against the US and compared its actions in Iraq to the actions of the Mongols and the crusaders against the Arabs. He claimed that the US was producing "state terrorism", fighting entire peoples and putting the world peace at risk.

[2] A judge in the Supreme Shari'ah Court of Appeals, a preacher in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, a member of the board of the Jordanian Waqf (charitable trust in the name of Allah), and Chairman of the Friends of the Blind Association in Al-Bireh,

9. At the same time that a message of restraint was issued from the Gaza City mosque in the sermon attended by Abu Mazen, harsh incitement against Israel and the US was heard in the Temple Mount mosques. The following was said in an Islamic lesson given by Sheikh Muhammad Jamal al-Rifa'i. Rifa'i, known for his inciting sermons, was issued a warning by the Israeli police in the past. The lesson was given during the Friday prayers, attended by 30,000 worshippers. Sheikh Muhammad al-Rifa'i:

a. Described the sequence of events on Judgment Day. God, according to him, will first settle the score with the shahids ("martyrs"), the prophets and the righteous. They will be followed by the usurpers, the rulers and the leaders (i.e. leaders of Arab countries), who allowed the Americans to establish military bases on their territory in order to fight the Iraqis and steal the Muslims' oil.

b. Read to his audience a well-known verse from the Quran, featured on numerous posters and obituaries: "Among the Believers [i.e., Muslims] are men who have been true to their Covenant with Allah; of them some have completed their vow and found their death [in battle], and some still await [their turn]; but they have never broken [their vow] in the least" (Surah 33, Al-Ahzab, verse 23). This is one of the most popular verses with the Palestinian terrorist organizations, used to praise shahids ("martyrs") in general and perpetrators of suicide bombing attacks in particular.

c. Asked Allah to destroy the armies of the infidels based in Iraq, kill their children and plague them with troubles, release the prisoners and heal the wounded.

10. The following was said in a sermon given on December 3 by Sheikh 'Ikrima Sabri, the Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian holy places, and the top religious and Islamic authority in the Palestinian Authority (he was appointed by the Palestinian Authority). 'Ikrima Sabri, a skillful speaker who espouses extremist views, is known to be one of the most prominent clerics in the Palestinian Authority administered territories. In the past, he voiced his support for suicide bombing attacks and embedded explicit anti-Semitic motifs into his sermons and publications.

11. The key issues mentioned in the sermon given by Sheikh 'Ikrima Sabri in the Al-Aqsa Mosque[3]:

i. The Sheikh complained that a book called "The True Quran" (Al-Furqan al-Haqq) was distributed in US schools and spread over the Internet as part of the "Crusader-Zionist attack on Islam". The purpose of this "diabolical" book, as he put it, was to distance the Muslims from their religion, and its distribution was a "cultural war against Islam and the Muslims" [Note: The book in question, an imitation of the Quran, was distributed in the US by a Christian missionary group in Texas within the context of its missionary activity with Muslims. 'Ikrima Sabri uses the distribution of this book as leverage for harsh incitement against the US (and the Zionists) and for accusing them of "cultural war" against Muslims].

ii. Over the next few years, said the Sheikh, the US is going to try to weaken the Middle East, which represents the Muslim world. It will do so by reinforcing Israel's military and economy, weakening Arab states and distributing Arabic programs opposed to the principles of Islam for the purpose of distancing Muslims from the Quran.

b. Leveraging the Geneva Document for anti-Israeli incitement: The Sheikh mentioned the ongoing propaganda for the Geneva Document, noting the document was illegitimate. He stated that the document was "one concession after another of our legal rights on our holy land" (noting that Palestine and Jerusalem belonged to Islam). The writers of the document, says Sabri, delude themselves into thinking "that the occupation will stop its ploys of expansion, its killing, its bloodshed, confiscating lands and constructing settlements". He wondered who it was that gave the Geneva Document negotiators the right to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinian refugees, stressing that the right of return is a legitimate right that cannot be taken away. The Sheikh also wondered who gave those who signed the Geneva Document the right to relinquish the Wailing Wall which is part of the "wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque" and an Islamic waqf, and hand it over to the "occupation authorities"[4].

[4]. This part is based on fragments of the sermon broadcast on the Voice of Palestine ( December 3, 2004) and on a report made by the Israeli police.

12. Attended by 32,000 worshippers, the Friday prayers were given by Sheikh Yusuf Abu Sneineh: A resident of East Jerusalem, Sneineh is one of the senior preachers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, known in the past for his inciting sermons against the US and in favor of suicide bombing attacks.

a. " Palestine will not be liberated by talking": The Sheikh asked everyone to come together, not to accept the proposed solutions and not to surrender. Palestine, according to the Sheikh, will become Somalia or Sudan.

b. The establishment of an Islamic state and the destruction of the enemies of Islam: The only solution to the problems faced by the Palestinians and the only way to liberate the Palestinians is to establish an Islamic state whose flag will fly above the Temple Mount, headed by an Islamic caliph. The Sheikh asked Allah to destroy the enemies of Islam.

c. Anti-American incitement: The Sheikh lashed out at President George W. Bush who, during his previous tenure, engaged in shedding Muslim blood. He mentioned the "persecution of Muslims" by the US in Afghanistan and in Iraq, and the acts of killing in Fallujah, that testify to the US' "policy of hatred" towards Muslims. He mentioned the direct and implicit threats against Syria and Lebanon, whose purpose, according to the Sheikh, was to exert pressure upon Hezbollah. He also mentioned the pressure exerted by the US on Sudan to abolish the status of Islam as the country's official religion.

Long read, but worth it.

It was a long time ago that I lost my faith in an entity called the "moderate Muslim". The events of that day (the cheering Muslim hoardes in the streets), and nearly EVERY day since Sept. 11 (and before, through the benefit of hindsight) around the world have led me to believe that what very few Muslims we may call "moderates" are not the rule, but the exception. Moderate Muslims are the heretics of their own religion, and their very small lot is spat upon by the largest number of Muslims around the world, whose Imans cheer them on every Friday as they kill Jews, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus and other Muslims all around the world for no greater crime than existing, or "offending" Allah.

Muslims also can't quite seem to grasp the fact that there are billions of adherents of other religions in the world, so most Muslims seem to believe that murder is the solution to their problem (esp. to the Jewish people--shades of Hitler here).

wherever the muslims conquer the deface the native religious institutions.
they built two mosques on Judaism's hloiest site, they destroyed innumerable Hindu temples and erected mosques. they converted the eastern orhtodox's Vatican equivalent into a mosque(haggia sofia). Imagine what they might have done if they conquered Rome.

You mean you're not pro-life?? or are you just a plain racist scum?

Now now, don't get your hoo hoo in an uproar. What does my comment have to do with race? Do you a s s u m e people at the Hadj are of one race?

Hold up! This is all going to change very soon. I am sure now that America has spent a gazillion dollars and sent in the troops to help with the disaster, they will be apologizing publicly for ever having spoken against America and Israel (also helping).

They will now and forever be thankful and appreciative of America. If you hear dripping, that's the sarcasm.

In 1967, after the liberation of occupied Jerusalem, Gen. Dayan met with the Ilamic bigwigs to indicate that Israel would leave them in charge of the mosques on the Temple Mount and would let them administer without Israeli interference. I guess Dayan hoped that by doing so, the Muslims would be willing to make peace. Big mistake. The WW 2 equivalent would have been for Zhukov, Eisenhower, and Montgomery occupying Berlin and telling Hitler and Company they could keep the Fuhrerbunker.

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