A reflecttion on a recent visit to Al Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock
A Sabeel witness trip is something very special. I had the opportunity to spend ten days in East Jerusalem, Hebron, Bethlehem, Susiya, Nazareth, Jericho and points in between during November 2015. I would like to share one of the visits we had in relationship to an issue that has been developing for years.
The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem invited our group (15 from the US, 3 from Canada, 5 from Sweden, 3 from the UK, 1 from France) to visit the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. This is the most contested real estate in the world and there is a dangerous confrontation that has been developing for years but especially in the past several months. This space is considered to be the third most holy site for Muslims due to the Night Ride of Mohammed. It is also considered to be the site of the First and Second Temples for Jewish people, the first destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE and the second by the Romans in 70 CE.
Officially the Religious Authorities in Israel define Temple Mount as a site not to be visited due to religious restrictions of purification and other reasons that have been observed for years. But now religious settlers are appearing on the top of Temple Mount and demanding that they be allowed to be there, to pray there and Muslims are enraged by this intrusion of their holy space.
We observed the intrusions when we were approaching the Dome of the Rock. Five settlers were surrounded by six Israeli police officers with their automatic rifles ready to fire. As the eleven Israelis moved through the area outside the mosque, a group of Muslims chanted while sitting at tables between Al Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock. We could feel the tension in the encounter and heard from our guide that the intrusions are happening on a regular basis with Israeli police protecting the settlers. Windows of Al Aqsa have been damaged and a beautiful stained glass window destroyed, also damage inside the mosque from tear gas canisters.
We had read about these intrusions and realized how serious it has become in recent months. The movement to take over the entire area of Temple Mount has been seen as a fringe group over the years. However, with members of the Knesset living in the settlements and their support of the settlers this movement has a legitimacy it has never before. Some Knesset members have the Temple Mount thus inflaming the issue. (Prime Minister Netanyahu has subsequently forbidden these visits by MKs.)
A Jerusalem Post article mentioned that there are 9 NGOs, partly funded by the government, developing plans for the 3rd Temple in place of the Dome of the Rock. Of course this is denied by the government. A model of this temple is in the Jewish Quarter and plans are being made for the return of animal sacrifice. Even the possibility of this happening inflames the people of Islam not only locally but throughout the world. It is an extremely volatile situation and even though the State of Israel seems to recognize the issues they have continued to allow the settlers to intrude in the area.
The State of Israel needs to adhere to the Status Quo that was adopted in 1967. The King of Jordan is in charge of the entire area of Al-Aqsa and the Status Quo has been violated recently and continues to be an extremely sore spot for the people of Islam. The Christian and Muslim religious leaders of the region have called for the Status Quo to be honored and violations to cease. We as Episcopalians need to be aware of this tension and do what we can to defuse it.
—from EPF PIN member Richard Toll
