The Muslim Claim to Jerusalem

by Daniel Pipes Middle East Quarterly September 2001

The Camp David II summit and the "Aqsa intifada" that followed have confirmed what everyone had long known: Jerusalem is the knottiest issue facing Ara and Israeli negotiators! In part" the pro lem is practical: the #alestinians insist that the capital of Israel serve as the capital of their future state too" something Israelis are loathe to accept! $ut mostly" the pro lem is religious: the ancient city has sacred associations for Jews and Muslims alike %and Christians too" of course& ut Christians today no longer make an independent political claim to Jerusalem'" and oth insist on sovereignty over their overlapping sacred areas! In Jerusalem" theological and historical claims matter& they are the functional equivalent to the deed to the city and have direct operational consequences! Jewish and Muslim connections to the city therefore require evaluation! Comparing Religious Claims

An aerial view of the Temple Mount.

The Jewish connection to Jerusalem is an ancient and powerful one! Judaism made Jerusalem a holy city over three thousand years ago and through all that time Jews remained steadfast to it! Jews pray in its direction" mention its name constantly in prayers" close the #assover service with the wistful statement "(e)t year in Jerusalem"" and recall the city in the lessing at the end of each meal! The destruction of the Temple looms very large in Jewish consciousness& remem rance takes such forms as a special day of mourning" houses left partially unfinished" a woman*s makeup or +ewelry left incomplete" and a glass smashed during the wedding ceremony! In addition" Jerusalem has had a prominent historical role" is the only capital of a Jewish state" and is the only city with a Jewish ma+ority during the whole of the past century! In the words of its current mayor" Jerusalem represents "the purest e)pression of all that Jews prayed for" dreamed of" cried for" and died for in the two thousand years since the destruction of the ,econd Temple!" -hat a out .uslims/ -here does Jerusalem fit in Islam and .uslim history/ It is not the place to which they pray" is not once mentioned y name in prayers" and it is connected to no mundane events in .uhammad*s life! The city never served as capital of a sovereign .uslim state" and it never ecame a cultural or scholarly center! 0ittle of political import y .uslims was initiated there! 1ne comparison makes this point most clearly: Jerusalem appears in the Jewish $i le 223 times and 4ion %which usually means Jerusalem" sometimes the 0and of Israel' 567 times" or 89: times in all! The Christian $i le mentions Jerusalem 567 times and 4ion ; times! In contrast" the columnist Moshe Kohn notes" Jerusalem and 4ion appear as frequently in the <ur*an "as they do in the =indu $hagavad>?ita" the Taoist Tao>Te Ching" the $uddhist Dhamapada and the 4oroastrian 4end Avesta"@which is to say" not once! The city eing of such evidently minor religious importance" why does it now loom so large for .uslims" to the point that a .uslim 4ionism seems to e in the making across the .uslim world/ -hy do #alestinian demonstrators take to the streets shouting "-e will sacrifice our lood and souls for you" Jerusalem" and their rethren in Jordan yell "-e sacrifice our lood and soul for Al>Aqsa"/ -hy does Aing Bahd of ,audi Ara ia call on .uslim states to protect "the holy city CthatD elongs to all .uslims across the world"/ -hy did two surveys of American .uslims find Jerusalem their most pressing foreign policy issue/ $ecause of politics! An historical survey shows that the stature of the city" and the emotions surrounding it" inevita ly rises for .uslims when Jerusalem has political significance! Conversely" when the utility of Jerusalem e)pires" so does its status and the passions a out it! This pattern first emerged during the lifetime of the #rophet .uhammad in the early seventh century! ,ince then" it has een repeated on five occasions: in the late seventh century" in the twelfth>century Counter crusade" in the thirteenth>century Crusades" during the era of $ritish rule %535;>78'" and since Israel took the city in 532;! The consistency that emerges in such a long period provides an important perspective on the current confrontation!

I. The Prophet Muhammad According to the Arabic literary sources, Muhammad in A.D. 622 fled his hometown of Mecca for Medina, a city with a substantial Jewish population! 1n arrival in .edina" if not slightly earlier" the <ur*an adopted a num er of practices friendly to Jews: a Eom Aippur>like fast" a synagogue>like place of prayer" permission to eat kosher food" and approval to marry Jewish women! .ost important" the <ur*an repudiated the pre>Islamic practice of the .eccans to pray toward the AaF ah" the small stone structure at the center of the main .as+id in .ecca! Instead" it adopted the Judaic practice of facing the Temple .ount in Jerusalem during prayer! %Actually" the <ur*an only mentions the direction as ",yria"& other information makes it clear that Jerusalem is meant!' This" the first qi la %direction of prayer' of Islam" did not last long! The Jews criticiGed the new faith and re+ected the friendly Islamic gestures& not long after" the <ur*an roke with them" pro a ly in early 297! The e)planation of this change comes in a <ur*anic verse instructing the faithful no longer to pray toward ,yria ut instead toward .ecca! The passage %9:579>69' egins y anticipating questions a out this a rupt change:

The Fools among the people will say: "What has turned them [the Muslims] from the qibla to which they were always used?"
?od then provides the answer:

We appointed the qibla that to which you was used, only to test those who followed the Messenger [Muhammad] from those who would turn on their heels [on Islam]
In other words" the new qi la served as a way to distinguish .uslims from Jews! Brom now on" .ecca would e the direction of prayer:

!ow shall we turn you to a qibla that shall please you Then turn your face in the direction of the "acred Mos#ue [in Mecca] Where$er you are, turn your faces in that direction
The <ur*an then reiterates the point a out no longer paying attention to Jews:

%$en if you were to &ring all the signs to the people of the 'oo( [i e , )ews], they would not follow your qibla
.uslims su sequently accepted the point implicit to the <ur*anic e)planation" that the adoption of Jerusalem as qi la was a tactical move to win Jewish converts! "=e chose the =oly =ouse in Jerusalem in order that the #eople of the $ook Ci!e!" JewsD would e conciliated"" notes At>Ta ari" an early .uslim commentator on the <ur*an" "and the Jews were glad!" .odern historians agree: -! .ontgomery -att" a leading iographer of .uhammad" interprets the prophet*s "far>reaching concessions to Jewish feeling" in the light of two motives" one of which was "the desire for a reconciliation with the Jews!"

After the <ur*an repudiated Jerusalem" so did the .uslims: the first description of the town under .uslim rule comes from the visiting Bishop Arculf" a ?allic pilgrim" in 28H" who reported seeing "an o long house of prayer" which they Cthe .uslimsD pieced together with upright planks and large eams over some ruined remains!" (ot for the last time" safely under .uslim control" Jerusalem ecame a ackwater! This episode set the mold that would e repeated many times over succeeding centuries: .uslims take interest religiously in Jerusalem ecause of pressing ut temporary concerns! Then" when those concerns lapse" so does the focus on Jerusalem" and the city*s standing greatly diminishes! II. Umayyads The second round of interest in Jerusalem occurred during the rule of the Damascus> ased Imayyad dynasty %225>;6H'! A dissident leader in .ecca" *A dullah ! aG>4u ayr egan a revolt against the Imayyads in 28H that lasted until his death in 239& while fighting him" Imayyad rulers sought to aggrandiGe ,yria at the e)pense of Ara ia %and perhaps also to help recruit an army against the $yGantine Jmpire'! They took some steps to sanctify Damascus" ut mostly their campaign involved what Amikam Jlad of the =e rew Iniversity calls an "enormous" effort "to e)alt and to glorify" Jerusalem! They may even have hoped to make it the equal of .ecca! The first Imayyad ruler" .u*awiya" chose Jerusalem as the place where he ascended to the caliphate& he and his successors engaged in a construction program K religious edifices" a palace" and roads K in the city! The Imayyads possi ly had plans to make Jerusalem their political and administrative capital& indeed" Jlad finds that they in effect treated it as such! $ut Jerusalem is primarily a city of faith" and" as the Israeli scholar IGhak =asson e)plains" the "Imayyad regime was interested in ascri ing an Islamic aura to its stronghold and center!" Toward this end %as well as to assert Islam*s presence in its competition with Christianity'" the Imayyad caliph uilt Islam*s first grand structure" the Dome of the Lock" right on the spot of the Jewish Temple" in 288> 35! This remarka le uilding is not +ust the first monumental sacred uilding of Islam ut also the only one that still stands today in roughly its original form!

The Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem.

The ne)t Imayyad step was su tle and comple)" and requires a pause to note a passage of the <ur*an %5;:5' descri ing the #rophet .uhammad*s (ight Journey to heaven %isra*':

*lory to +e who too( +is ser$ant &y night from the "acred Mos#ue to the furthest mos#ue ,Subhana allathina asra bi-'abdihi laylatan min al-masjidi alharami ila al-masjidi al-aqsa -hen this <ur*anic passage was first revealed" in a out 295" a place called the ,acred .osque already e)isted in .ecca! In contrast" the "furthest mosque" was a turn of phrase" not a place! ,ome early .uslims understood it as metaphorical or as a place in heaven! And if the "furthest mosque" did e)ist on earth" #alestine would seem an unlikely location" for many reasons! ,ome of them:

%lsewhere in the .ur/an ,01:2-, 3alestine is called "the closest land" ,adna alard#alestine had not yet een conquered y the .uslims and contained not a single mosque! The "furthest mosque" was apparently identified with places inside Ara ia: either .edina or a town called Ji*rana" a out ten miles from .ecca" which the #rophet visited in 2:H! The earliest .uslim accounts of Jerusalem" such as the description of Caliph *Imar*s reported visit to the city +ust after the .uslims conquest in 2:8" nowhere identify the Temple .ount with the "furthest mosque" of the <ur*an! The <ur*anic inscriptions that make up a 97H>meter mosaic frieGe inside the Dome of the Lock do not include <ur*an 5;:5 and the story of the (ight Journey" suggesting that as late as 239 the idea of Jerusalem as the lift>off for the (ight Journey had not yet een esta lished! %Indeed" the first e)tant inscriptions of <ur*an 5;:5 referring to Jerusalem date from the eleventh century!' .uhammad i n al>=anafiya %2:8>;HH'" a close relative of the #rophet .uhammad" is quoted denigrating the notion that the prophet ever set foot on the Lock in Jerusalem& "these damned ,yrians"" y which he means the Imayyads" "pretend that ?od put =is foot on the Lock in Jerusalem" though ConlyD one person ever put his foot on the rock" namely A raham!" Then" in ;56" to uild up the prestige of their dominions" the Imayyads did a most clever thing: they uilt a second mosque in Jerusalem" again on the Temple .ount" and called this one the Burthest .osque %al>.as+id al>aqsa" Al>Aqsa .osque'! -ith this" the Imayyads retroactively gave the city a role in .uhammad*s life! This association of Jerusalem with al>.as+id al>aqsa fit into a wider .uslim tendency to identify place names found in the <ur*an: "wherever the Aoran mentions a name of an event" stories were invented to give the impression that somehow" somewhere" someone" knew what they were a out!"

Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Despite all logic %how can a mosque uilt nearly a century after the <ur*an was received esta lish what the <ur*an meant/'" uilding an actual Al>Aqsa .osque" the #alestinian historian A! 0! Ti awi writes" "gave reality to the figurative name used in the Aoran!" It also had the hugely important effect of inserting Jerusalem post hoc into the <ur*an and making it more central to Islam! Also" other changes resulted! ,everal <ur*anic passages were re>interpreted to refer to this city! Jerusalem came to e seen as the site of the 0ast Judgment! The Imayyads cast aside the non>religious Loman name for the city" Aelia Capitolina %in Ara ic" Iliya' and replaced it with Jewish>style names" either Al> <uds %The =oly' or $ayt al>.aqdis %The Temple'! They sponsored a form of literature praising the "virtues of Jerusalem"" a genre one author is tempted to call "4ionist!" Accounts of the prophet*s sayings or doings %Ara ic: hadiths" often translated into Jnglish as "Traditions"' favora le to Jerusalem emerged at this time" some of them equating the city with .ecca! There was even an effort to move the pilgrimage %ha++' from .ecca to Jerusalem! ,cholars agree that the Imayyads* motivation to assert a .uslim presence in the sacred city had a strictly utilitarian purpose! The Iraqi historian A dul AGiG Duri finds "political reasons" ehind their actions! =asson concurs:

The construction of the 4ome of the 5oc( and al67#sa mos#ue, the rituals instituted &y the 8mayyads on the Temple Mount and the dissemination of Islamic6oriented Traditions regarding the sanctity of the site, all point to the political moti$es, which underlay the glorification of )erusalem among the Muslims
Thus did a politically inspired Imayyad uilding program lead to the Islamic sanctification of Jerusalem/ Abbasid Rule Then" with the Imayyad demise in ;6H and the move of the caliph*s capital to $aghdad" "imperial patronage ecame negligi le" and Jerusalem fell into near>o scurity! Bor the ne)t three and a half centuries" ooks praising this city lost favor and the construction of glorious uildings not only came to an end ut e)isting ones fell apart %the dome over the rock collapsed in 5H52'! ?old was stripped off the dome to pay for Al>Aqsa repair work! City walls collapsed! -orse" the rulers of the new dynasty led Jerusalem and its region country through what B! J! #eters of (ew Eork Iniversity calls "their

rapacity and their careless indifference!" The city declined to the point of ecoming a sham les! "0earned men are few" and the Christians numerous"" emoaned a tenth> century .uslim native of Jerusalem! 1nly mystics continued to visit the city! In a typical put>down" another tenth>century author descri ed the city as "a provincial town attached to Lamla"" a reference to the tiny" insignificant town serving as #alestine*s administrative center! Jlad characteriGes Jerusalem in the early centuries of .uslim rule as "an outlying city of diminished importance!" The great historian ,! D! ?oitein notes that the geographical dictionary of al>Eaqut mentions $asra 5;H times" Damascus 5HH times" and Jerusalem only once" and that one time in passing! =e concludes from this and other evidence that" in its first si) centuries of .uslim rule" "Jerusalem mostly lived the life of an out>of>the>way provincial town" delivered to the e)actions of rapacious officials and nota les" often also to tri ulations at the hands of seditious fellahin CpeasantsD or nomads! ! ! ! Jerusalem certainly could not oast of e)cellence in the sciences of Islam or any other fields!" $y the early tenth century" notes #eters" .uslim rule over Jerusalem had an "almost casual" quality with "no particular political significance!" 0ater too: Al>?haGali" sometimes called the "Thomas Aquinas of Islam"" visited Jerusalem in 5H32 ut not once refers to the Crusaders heading his way! III. Early Crusades The Crusader conquest of Jerusalem in 5H33 initially aroused a very mild .uslim response! The Branks did not rate much attention& Ara ic literature written in Crusader> occupied towns tended not even to mention them ! Thus" "calls to +ihad at first fell upon deaf ears"" writes Lo ert Irwin" formerly of the Iniversity of ,t Andrews in ,cotland! Jmmanuel ,ivan of the =e rew Iniversity adds that "one does not detect either shock or a sense of religious loss and humiliation!" 1nly as the effort to retake Jerusalem grew serious in a out 556H did .uslim leaders seek to rouse +ihad sentiments through the heightening of emotions a out Jerusalem! Ising the means at their disposal %hadiths" "virtues of Jerusalem" ooks" poetry'" their propagandists stressed the sanctity of Jerusalem and the urgency of its return to .uslim rule! (ewly>minted hadiths made Jerusalem ever>more critical to the Islamic faith& one of them put words into the #rophet .uhammad*s mouth saying that" after his own death" Jerusalem*s falling to the infidels is the second greatest catastrophe facing Islam! -hereas not a single "virtues of Jerusalem" volume appeared in the period 55HH> 6H" very many came out in the su sequent half>century! In the 552Hs" ,ivan notes" "al> <uds propaganda lossomed"& and when ,alahudin %,alah ad>Din' led the .uslims to victory over Jerusalem in 558;" the "propaganda campaign ! ! ! attained its paro)ysm!" In a letter to his Crusader opponent" ,aladin wrote that the city "is to us as it is to you! It is even more important to us!" The glow of the reconquest remained right for several decades thereafter& for e)ample" ,aladin*s descendants %known as the Ayyu id dynasty" which ruled until 596H' went on a great uilding and restoration program in Jerusalem" there y im uing the city with a more .uslim character! Intil this point" Islamic Jerusalem had consisted only of the shrines on the Temple .ount& now" for the first time" specifically Islamic uildings %,ufi convents" schools' were uilt in the surrounding city! Also" it was at this time" 1leg ?ra ar of #rinceton*s Institute of Advanced ,tudy notes" that the Dome of the Lock came to e seen as the e)act place where .uhammad*s ascension to heaven %mi*ra+' took place during his (ight Journey: if the "furthest mosque" is in Jerusalem"

then .uhammad*s (ight Journey and his su sequent visit to heaven logically took place on the Temple .ount@indeed" on the very rock from which Jesus was thought to have ascended to heaven! IV. Ayyubids $ut once safely ack in .uslim hands" interest in Jerusalem again dropped& "the simple fact soon emerged that al><uds was not essential to the security of an empire ased in Jgypt or ,yria! Accordingly" in times of political or military crisis" the city proved to e e)penda le"" writes Donald #! 0ittle of .c?ill Iniversity! In particular" in 5953" when the Juropeans attacked Jgypt in the Bifth Crusade" a grandson of ,aladin named al> .u*aGGam decided to raGe the walls around Jerusalem" fearing that were the Branks to take the city with walls" "they will kill all whom they find there and will have the fate of Damascus and lands of Islam in their hands!" #ulling down Jerusalem*s fortifications had the effect of prompting a mass e)odus from the city and its steep decline! Also at this time" the .uslim ruler of Jgypt and #alestine" al>Aamil %another of ,aladin*s grandsons and the rother of al>.u*aGGam'" offered to trade Jerusalem to the Juropeans if only the latter would leave Jgypt" ut he had no takers! Ten years later" in 5993" +ust such a deal was reached when al>Aamil did cede Jerusalem to Jmperor Briedrich II& in return" the ?erman leader promised military aid to al>Aamil against al> .u*aGGam" now a rival king! Al>Aamil insisted that the Temple .ount remain in .uslim hands and "all the practices of Islam" continued to e e)ercised there" a condition Briedrich complied with! Leferring to his deal with Brederick" al>Aamil wrote in a remarka ly revealing description of Jerusalem" "I conceded to the Branks only ruined churches and houses!" In other words" the city that had een heroically regained y ,aladin in 558; was voluntarily traded away y his grandson +ust forty>two years later! 1n learning that Jerusalem was ack in Christian hands" .uslims felt predicta ly intense emotions! An Jgyptian historian later wrote that the loss of the city "was a great misfortune for the .uslims" and much reproach was put upon al>Aamil" and many were the reviling of him in all the lands!" $y 59:3" another Ayyu id ruler" an>(asir Da*ud" managed to e)pel the Branks from the city! $ut then he too ceded it right ack to the Crusaders in return for help against one of his relatives! This time" the Christians were less respectful of the Islamic sanctuaries and turned the Temple .ount mosques into churches! Their intrusion did not last long& y 5977 the invasion of #alestine y troops from Central Asia rought Jerusalem again under the rule of an Ayyu id& and henceforth the city remained safely under .uslim rule for nearly seven centuries! Jerusalem remained ut a pawn in the Lealpolitik of the times" as e)plained in a letter from a later Ayyu id ruler" as>,alih Ayyu " to his son: if the Crusaders threaten you in Cairo" he wrote" and they demand from you the coast of #alestine and Jerusalem" "give these places to them without delay on condition they have no foothold in Jgypt!" The psychology at work here ears note: that Christian knights traveled from distant lands to make Jerusalem their capital made the city more valua le in .uslim eyes too! "It was a city strongly coveted y the enemies of the faith" and thus ecame" in a sort of mirror>image syndrome" dear to .uslim hearts"" ,ivan e)plains! And so" fractured opinions coalesced into a powerful sensi ility& political e)igency caused .uslims ever after to see Jerusalem as the third most holy city of Islam %thalith al>masa+id'!

Mamluk and Ottoman Rule During the Mamluk era !"#$-!#!%&, Jerusalem lapse' further into its usual o(scurit) * capital of no ')nast), economic laggar', cultural (ackwater+though its new-foun' prestige as an ,slamic site remaine' intact. Also, Jerusalem (ecame a favorite place to e-ile political lea'ers, 'ue to its pro-imit) to .g)pt an' its lack of walls, ra/e' in !"!0 an' not re(uilt for over three centuries, making Jerusalem eas) pre) for marau'ers. These nota(les en'owe' religious institutions, especiall) religious schools, which in the aggregate ha' the effect of re-esta(lishing ,slam in the cit). 1ut a general lack of interest translate' into 'ecline an' impoverishment. Man) of the gran' (uil'ings, inclu'ing the Temple Mount sanctuaries, were a(an'one' an' (ecame 'ilapi'ate' as the cit) (ecame 'epopulate'. A fourteenth-centur) author (emoane' the paucit) of Muslims visiting Jerusalem. The Mamluks so 'evastate' Jerusalem that the town2s entire population at the en' of their rule amounte' to a misera(le 3,$$$ souls. The 4ttoman perio' !#!%-!0!5& got off to an e-cellent start when 6ule)man the Magnificent re(uilt the cit) walls in !#75-3! an' lavishe' mone) in Jerusalem for e-ample, assuring its water suppl)&, (ut things then quickl) reverte' to t)pe. Jerusalem now suffere' from the in'ignit) of (eing treate' as a ta- farm for non-resi'ent, one-)ear an' ver) rapacious& officials. 8After having e-hauste' Jerusalem, the pasha left,8 o(serve' the 9rench traveler 9ran:ois-Ren; Chateau(rian' in !<$%. At times, this rapaciousness prompte' uprisings. The Turkish authorities also raise' fun's for themselves () gouging .uropean visitors= in general, this allowe' them to make fewer efforts in Jerusalem than in other cities to promote the cit)2s econom). The ta- rolls show soap as its onl) e-port. 6o insignificant was Jerusalem, it was sometimes a mere appen'age to the governorship of >a(lus or ?a/a. >or was scholarship cultivate'@ in !%5$, a traveler reporte' that stan'ar's ha' 'roppe' so low that even the preacher at Al-Aqsa Mosque spoke a low stan'ar' of literar) Ara(ic. The man) religious schools of an earlier era 'isappeare'. 1) !<$%, the population ha' again 'roppe', this time to un'er 0,$$$ resi'ents. Muslims 'uring this long era coul' affor' to ignore Jerusalem, writes the historian James Aarkes, (ecause the cit) 8was something that was there, an' it never occurre' to a Muslim that it woul' not alwa)s (e there,8 safel) un'er Muslim rule. ,nnumera(le reports 'uring these centuries from Bestern pilgrims, tourists, an' 'iplomats in Jerusalem tol' of the cit)2s e-ecra(le con'ition. ?eorge 6an')s in !%!! foun' that 8Much lies waste= the ol' (uil'ings e-cept a few& all ruine', the new contempti(le.8 Constantin Colne), one of the most scientific of o(servers, note' in !5<3 Jerusalem2s 8'estro)e' walls, its 'e(ris-fille' moat, its cit) circuit choke' with ruins.8 8Bhat 'esolation an' miser)D8 wrote Chateau(rian'. ?ustav 9lau(ert of Madame Bovary fame visite' in !<#$ an' foun' 8Ruins ever)where, an' ever)where the o'or of graves. ,t seems as if the Eor'2s curse hovers over the cit). The Fol) Cit) of three religions is rotting awa) from (ore'om, 'esertion, an' neglect.8 8Fapless are the favorites of heaven,8 commente' Ferman Melville in !<#5. Mark Twain in !<%5 foun' that Jerusalem 8has lost all its ancient gran'eur, an' is (ecome a pauper village.8 The 1ritish government recogni/e' the minimal Muslim interest in Jerusalem 'uring Borl' Bar ,. ,n negotiations with 6harif Fusa)n of Mecca in !0!#-!% over the terms of the Ara( revolt against the 4ttomans, Eon'on 'eci'e' not to inclu'e Jerusalem in territories to (e assigne' to the Ara(s (ecause, as the chief 1ritish negotiator, Fenr) McMahon, put it, 8there was no place G of sufficient importance G further south8 of Damascus 8to which the Ara(s attache' vital importance.8 True to this spirit, the Turkish overlor's of Jerusalem a(an'one' Jerusalem rather than fight for it in !0!5, evacuating it Hust in a'vance of the 1ritish troops. 4ne account in'icates the) were even prepare' to 'estro) the hol) cit). Jamal Aasha, the 4ttoman comman'er-in-chief, instructe' his Austrian allies to 8(low Jerusalem to hell8 shoul' the 1ritish enter the cit). The Austrians therefore ha' their guns traine' on the Dome of the Rock, with enough ammunition to keep up two full 'a)s of intensive (om(ar'ment. Accor'ing to Aierre van Aaasen, a Hournalist, that the

'ome still e-ists to'a) is 'ue to a Jewish artiller) captain in the Austrian arm), Marek 6chwart/, who rather than respon' to the approaching 1ritish troops with a (arrage on the ,slamic hol) places, 8quietl) spike' his own guns an' walke' into the 1ritish lines.8 V. ritish Rule ,n mo'ern times, notes the ,sraeli scholar Fava Ea/arus-Iafeh, Jerusalem 8(ecame the focus of religious an' political Ara( activit) onl) at the (eginning of the JtwentiethK centur).8 6he ascri(es the change mainl) to 8the renewe' Jewish activit) in the cit) an' Ju'aism2s claims on the Bestern Bailing Ball.8 1ritish rule over the cit), lasting from !0!5 to !03<, then galvani/e' a renewe' passion for Jerusalem. Ara( politicians ma'e Jerusalem a prominent 'estination 'uring the 1ritish Man'ator) perio'. ,raqi lea'ers frequentl) turne' up in Jerusalem, 'emonstra(l) pra)ing at Al-Aqsa an' giving emotional speeches. Most famousl), Ling 9a)sal of ,raq visite' the cit) an' ma'e a ceremonial entrance to the Temple Mount using the same gate as 'i' Caliph 2Mmar when the cit) was first conquere' in %7<. ,raqi involvement also inclu'e' raising fun's for an ,slamic universit) in Jerusalem, an' setting up a consulate an' an information office there. The Aalestinian lea'er an' mufti of Jerusalem& FaHH Amin al-Fusa)ni ma'e the Temple Mount central to his anti-Nionist political efforts. Fusa)ni (rought a contingent of Muslim nota(les to Jerusalem in !07! for an international congress to mo(ili/e glo(al Muslim opinion on (ehalf of the Aalestinians. Fe also e-ploite' the 'raw of the ,slamic hol) places in Jerusalem to fin' international Muslim support for his campaign against Nionism. 9or e-ample, he engage' in fun'raising in several Ara( countries to restore the Dome of the Rock an' Al-Aqsa, sometimes () sen'ing out pictures of the Dome of the Rock un'er a 6tar of Davi'= his efforts 'i' succee' in procuring the fun's to restore these monuments to their former glor). Aerhaps most in'icative of the change in moo' was the claim that the Arophet Muhamma' ha' tethere' his horse to the western wall of the Temple Mount. As esta(lishe' () 6hmuel 1erkowit/, Muslim scholars over the centuries ha' variousl) theori/e' a(out the prophet t)ing the horse to the eastern or southern walls+(ut not one of them (efore the Muslim-Jewish clashes at the Bestern Ball in !0"0 ever associate' this inci'ent with the western si'e. 4nce again, politics 'rove Muslim piousness regar'ing Jerusalem. !ordanian Rule 6an'wiche' (etween 1ritish an' ,sraeli eras, Jor'anian rule over Jerusalem in !03<-%5 offers a useful control case= true to form, when Muslims took the 4l' Cit) which contains the sanctuaries& the) noticea(l) lost interest in it. An initial e-citement stirre' when the Jor'anian forces capture' the walle' cit) in !03< - as evi'ence' () the Coptic (ishop2s crowning Ling 2A('ullah as 8Ling of Jerusalem8 in >ovem(er of that )ear - (ut then the usual ennui set in. The Fashemites ha' little affection for Jerusalem, where some of their worst enemies live' an' where 2A('ullah was assassinate' in !0#!. ,n fact, the Fashemites ma'e a concerte' effort to 'iminish the hol) cit)2s importance in favor of their capital, Amman. Jerusalem ha' serve' as the 1ritish a'ministrative capital, (ut now all government offices there save tourism& were shut 'own= Jerusalem no longer ha' authorit) even over other parts of the Best 1ank. The Jor'anians also close' some local institutions e.g., the Ara( Figher Committee, the 6upreme Muslim Council& an' move' others to Amman the treasur) of the waqf, or religious en'owment&. Jor'anian efforts succee'e'@ once again, Ara( Jerusalem (ecame an isolate' provincial town, less important than >a(lus. The econom) so stagnate' that man) thousan's of Ara( Jerusalemites left the town@ while the population of Amman increase' five-fol' in the perio' !03<-%5, that of Jerusalem grew () Hust #$ percent. To take out a (ank loan meant traveling to Amman. Amman ha' the privilege of hosting the countr)2s first universit) an' the ro)al famil)2s man) resi'ences. Jerusalem Ara(s knew full well what was going on, as evi'ence' () one nota(le2s complaint a(out the ro)al resi'ences@ 8those palaces shoul' have (een (uilt in

Jerusalem, (ut were remove' from here, so that Jerusalem woul' remain not a cit), (ut a kin' of village.8 .ast Jerusalem2s Municipal Council twice formall) complaine' of the Jor'anian authorities2 'iscrimination against their cit). Aerhaps most insulting of all was the 'ecline in Jerusalem2s religious stan'ing. Mosques lacke' sufficient fun's. Jor'anian ra'io (roa'cast the 9ri'a) pra)ers not from Al-Aqsa Mosque (ut from an upstart mosque in Amman. ,ronicall), Ra'io ,srael (egan (roa'casting services from Al-Aqsa imme'iatel) after the ,srael victor) in !0%5.& This was part of a larger pattern, as the Jor'anian authorities sought to (enefit from the prestige of controlling Jerusalem even as the) put the cit) 'own@ Marshall 1reger an' Thomas ,'inopulos note that although Ling 2A('ullah 8st)le' himself a protector of the hol) sites, he 'i' little to promote the religious importance of Jerusalem to Muslims.8 >or were Jor'an2s rulers alone in ignoring Jerusalem= the cit) virtuall) 'isappeare' from the Ara( 'iplomatic map. Malcolm Lerr2s well-known stu') on inter-Ara( relations 'uring this perio' The Arab Cold War& appears not once to mention the cit). >o foreign Ara( lea'er came to Jerusalem 'uring the nineteen )ears when Jor'an controlle' .ast Jerusalem, an' Ling Fusa)n r. !0#"-00& himself onl) rarel) visite'. Ling 9a)sal of 6au'i Ara(ia spoke often after !0%5 of his )earning to pra) in Jerusalem, )et he appears never to have (othere' to pra) there when he ha' the chance. Aerhaps most remarka(le is that the AE42s foun'ing 'ocument, the Aalestinian >ational Covenant of !0%3, 'oes not once mention Jerusalem or even allu'e to it. VI. Israeli Rule This neglect came to an a(rupt en' after June !0%5, when the 4l' Cit) came un'er ,sraeli control. Aalestinians again ma'e Jerusalem the centerpiece of their political program. The Dome of the Rock turne' up in pictures ever)where, from Iasir Arafat2s office to the corner grocer). 6logans a(out Jerusalem proliferate' an' the cit) quickl) (ecame the single most emotional issue of the Ara(-,sraeli conflict. The AE4 ma'e up for its !0%3 oversight () specificall) mentioning Jerusalem in its !0%< constitution as 8the seat of the Aalestine Ei(eration 4rgani/ation.8 8As 'uring the era of the Crusa'ers,8 Ea/arus-Iafeh points out, Muslim lea'ers 8(egan again to emphasi/e the sanctit) of Jerusalem in ,slamic tra'ition.8 ,n the process, the) even relie' on some of the same arguments e.g., reHecting the occup)ing power2s religious connections to the cit)& an' some of the same ha'iths to (ack up those allegations. Muslims (egan echoing the Jewish 'evotion to Jerusalem@ Arafat 'eclare' that 8Al-Ou's is in the innermost of our feeling, the feeling of our people an' the feeling of all Ara(s, Muslims, an' Christians in the worl'.8 .-travagant statements (ecame the norm Jerusalem was now sai' to (e 8compara(le in holiness8 to Mecca an' Me'ina= or even 8our most sacre' place8&. Jerusalem turne' up regularl) in Ara( Eeague an' Mnite' >ations resolutions. The Jor'anian an' 6au'i governments now gave as munificentl) to the Jerusalem religious trust as the) ha' (een sting) (efore !0%5. >or were Aalestinians alone in this emphasis on Jerusalem@ the cit) again serve' as a powerful vehicle for mo(ili/ing Muslim opinion internationall). This (ecame especiall) clear in 6eptem(er !0%0, when Ling 9a)sal parla)e' a fire at Al-Aqsa Mosque into the impetus to convene twent)-five Muslim hea's of state an' esta(lish the 4rgani/ation of the ,slamic Conference, a Mnite' >ations-st)le institution for Muslims.

A 6au'i #$-ri)al (ill showing (oth the Dome of the Rock an' AlAqsa Mosque.

,n Ee(anon, the fun'amentalist group Fi/(ullah 'epicts the Dome of the Rock on ever)thing from wall posters to scarves an' un'er the picture often repeats its slogan@ 8Be are a'vancing.8 Ee(anon2s lea'ing 6hi2i authorit), Muhamma' Fusa)n 9a'lallah, regularl) e-ploits the theme of li(erating Jerusalem from ,sraeli control to inspire his own people= he 'oes so, e-plains his (iographer Martin Lramer, not for pie-in-the-sk) reasons (ut 8to mo(ili/e a movement to li(erate Ee(anon for ,slam.8

A mural in north Tehran shows the A)atollah Lhomeini looming over a picture of the Dome of the Rock, remin'ing ,ranians of the importance their revolutionar) lea'er place' on this hol) site.

6imilarl), the ,slamic Repu(lic of ,ran has ma'e Jerusalem a central issue, following the 'ictate of its foun'er, A)atollah Lhomeini, who remarke' that 8Jerusalem is the propert) of Muslims an' must return to them.8 6ince shortl) after the regime2s foun'ing, its !-rial coin an' !,$$$-rial (anknote have feature' the Dome of the Rock though, em(arrassingl), the latter initiall) was misla(ele' 8Al-Aqsa Mosque8&. ,ranian sol'iers at war with 6a''am Fusa)n2s forces in the !0<$s receive' simple maps showing their sweep through ,raq an' on to Jerusalem. A)atollah Lhomeini 'ecree' the last 9ri'a) of Rama'an as Jerusalem Da), an' this commemoration has serve' as a maHor occasion for anti-,srael harangues in man) countries, inclu'ing Turke), Tunisia, an' Morocco. The ,slamic Repu(lic of ,ran cele(rates the holi'a) with stamps an' posters featuring scenes of Jerusalem accompanie' () e-hortative slogans. ,n 9e(ruar) !005, a crow' of some 7$$,$$$ cele(rate' Jerusalem Da) in the presence of 'ignitaries such as Aresi'ent Fashemi RafsanHani. Jerusalem Da) is cele(rate' complete with a roster of speeches, an art e-hi(it, a folkloric show, an' a )outh program& as far off as Dear(orn, Michigan.

A correcte' !,$$$-rial ,ranian (anknote.

As it has (ecome common for Muslims to claim passionate attachment to Jerusalem, Muslim pilgrimages to the cit) have multiplie' four-fol' in recent )ears. A new 8virtues of Jerusalem8 literature has 'evelope'. 6o emotional has Jerusalem (ecome to Muslims that the) write (ooks of poetr) a(out it especiall) in Bestern languages&. An' in the political realm, Jerusalem has (ecome a uniquel) unif)ing issue for Ara(ic-speakers. 8Jerusalem is the onl) issue that seems to unite the Ara(s. ,t is the rall)ing cr),8 a senior Ara( 'iplomat note' in late "$$$. The fervor for Jerusalem at times challenges even the centralit) of Mecca. >o less a personage than Crown Arince 2A('ullah of 6au'i Ara(ia has (een sai' repeate'l) to sa) that for him, 8Jerusalem is Hust like the hol) cit) of Mecca.8 Fasan >asrallah, the lea'er of Fi/(ullah goes further )et, 'eclaring in a maHor speech@ 8Be won2t give up on Aalestine, all of Aalestine, an' Jerusalem will remain the place to which all Hiha' warriors will 'irect their pra)ers.8 "ubious Claims Along with these high emotions, four historicall) 'u(ious claims promoting the ,slamic claim to Jerusalem have emerge'. The Islamic connection to Jerusalem is older than the Jewish. The Aalestinian 8minister8 of religious en'owments asserts that Jerusalem has 8alwa)s8 (een un'er Muslim sovereignt). Eikewise, ?ha'a Talhami, a polemicist, asserts that 8There are other hol) cities in ,slam, (ut Jerusalem hol's a special place in the hearts an' min's of Muslims (ecause its fate has alwa)s (een intertwine' with theirs.8 Alwa)sP Jerusalem2s foun'ing ante'ate' ,slam () a(out two millennia, so how can that (eP ,(rahim Fooper of the Bashington-(ase' Council on American,slamic Relations e-plains this anachronism@ 8the Muslim attachment to Jerusalem 'oes not

(egin with the prophet Muhamma', it (egins with the prophets A(raham, Davi', 6olomon an' Jesus, who are also prophets in ,slam.8 ,n other wor's, the central figures of Ju'aism an' Christianit) were reall) proto-Muslims. This accounts for the Aalestinian man-in-the-street 'eclaring that 8Jerusalem was Ara( from the 'a) of creation.8 There has even (een some scholarship, from 2A)n 6hams Mniversit) in .g)pt, alleging to show that Al-Aqsa Mosque pre'ates the Jewish antiquities in Jerusalem * () no less than two thousan' )ears. The Qur'an mentions Jerusalem. 6o complete is the i'entification of the >ight Journe) with Jerusalem that it is foun' in man) pu(lications of the Our2an, an' especiall) in translations. 6ome state in a footnote that the 8furthest mosque8 8must8 refer to Jerusalem. 4thers take the (lasphemousP& step of inserting Jerusalem right into the te-t after 8furthest mosque.8 This is 'one in a variet) of wa)s. The 6ale translation uses italics@

from the sacred temple of Mecca to the farther temple of Jerusalem

the Asa' translation relies on square (rackets@

from the In$iola&le +ouse of Worship [at Mecca] to the 5emote +ouse of Worship [at )erusalem]
an' the 1eh(u'i-Turner version places it right in the te-t without an) 'istinction at all@

from the +oly Mos#ue in Mecca to the 7l67#sa Mos#ue in 3alestine

,f the Our2an in translation now has Jerusalem in its te-t, it cannot (e surprising to fin' that those who rel) on those translations (elieve that Jerusalem 8is mentione' in the Our2an8= an' this is precisel) what a consortium of American Muslim institutions claime' in "$$$. 4ne of their num(er went )et further= accor'ing to Fooper, 8the Loran refers to Jerusalem () its ,slamic centerpiece, al-Aqsa Mosque.8 This error has practical consequences@ for e-ample, Ahma' 2A(' ar-Rahman, secretar)-general of the AA 8ca(inet,8 reste' his claim to Aalestinian sovereignt) on this (asis@ 8Jerusalem is a(ove tampering, it is inviola(le, an' no(o') can tamper with it since it is a Our2anic te-t.8

Muhammad actually isited Jerusalem! The Islamic iography of the #rophet

.uhammad*s life is very complete and it very clearly does not mention his leaving the Ara ian #eninsula" much less oyaging to Jerusalem! Therefore" when Aaren Armstrong" a specialist on Islam" writes that ".uslim te)ts make it clear that M the story of .uhammad*s mystical (ight Journey to Jerusalem M was not a physical e)perience ut a visionary one"" she is merely stating the o vious! Indeed" this phrase is contained in an article titled" "Islam*s ,take: -hy Jerusalem -as Central to .uhammad" which posits that "Jerusalem was central to the spiritual identity of .uslims from the very eginning of their faith!" (ot good enough! Armstrong found herself under attack for a "shameless misrepresentation" of Islam and claiming that ".uslims themselves do not elieve the miracle of their own prophet!"

Jerusalem has no importance to Jews! The first step is to deny a Jewish

connection to the -estern %or -ailing' -all" the only portion of the ancient Temple that still stands! In 532;" a top Islamic official of the Temple .ount portrayed Jewish attachment to the wall as an act of "aggression against al>Aqsa mosque!" The late Aing Baysal of ,audi Ara ia spoke on this su +ect with undisguised scorn: "The -ailing -all is a structure they weep against" and they have no historic right to it! Another wall can e uilt for them to weep against!" *A d al>.alik Dahamsha" a .uslim mem er of Israel*s parliament" has flatly stated that "the -estern -all is not associated with the remains of the Jewish Temple!" !he "alestinian Authority#s website states about

the $estern $all that %&ome 'rthodo( religious Jews consider it as a holy place for them, and claim that the wall is part of their temple which all historic studies and archeological e(ca ations ha e failed to find any proof for such a claim.% The #A*s mufti descri es the -estern -all as "+ust a fence elonging to the .uslim holy site" and declares that "There is not a single stone in the -ailing>-all relating to Jewish history!" =e also makes light of the Jewish connection" dismissively telling an Israeli interviewer" "I heard that your Temple was in (a lus or perhaps $ethlehem!" 0ikewise" Arafat announced that Jews "consider =e ron to e holier than Jerusalem!" The head of Al>AGhar Iniversity in Cairo" .ohammed ,ayyed Tantawi" announced that "the temple is not to e found underneath Al>Aqsa mosque as the Jews claim!" In this spirit" .uslim institutions pressure the -estern media to call the Temple .ount and the -estern -all y their Islamic names %Al>=aram ash>,harif" Al>$uraq'" and not their much older Jewish names! %Al>=aram ash>,harif" for e)ample" dates only from the 1ttoman era!' -hen -estern +ournalists do not comply" Arafat responds with outrage" with his news agency portraying this as part of a "constant conspiracy against our sanctities in #alestine" and his mufti deeming this contrary to Islamic law! The second step is to deny Jews access to the wall! "It*s prohi ited for Jews to pray at the -estern -all"" asserts an Islamist leader living in Israel! The director of the Al>Aqsa .as+id asserts that "This is a place for .uslims" only .uslims! There is no temple here" only Al>Aqsa .osque and the Dome of the Lock!" The Noice of #alestine radio station demands that Israeli politicians not e allowed even to touch the wall! *Ikrima ,a ri" the #alestinian Authority*s mufti" prohi its Jews from making repairs to the wall and e)tends Islamic claims further: "All the uildings surrounding the Al>Aqsa mosque are an Islamic waqf!" The third step is to re+ect any form of Jewish control in Jerusalem" as Arafat did in mid> 9HHH: "I will not agree to any Israeli sovereign presence in Jerusalem!" =e was echoed y ,audi Ara ia*s Crown #rince A dullah" who stated that "There is nothing to negotiate a out and compromise on when it comes to Jerusalem!" Jven 1man*s .inister of ,tate for Boreign Affairs Eusuf in *Alawi in *A dullah told the Israeli prime minister that sovereignty in Jerusalem should e e)clusively #alestinian "to ensure security and sta ility!" The final step is to deny Jews access to Jerusalem at all! Toward this end" a ody of literature has lossomed that insists on an e)clusive Islamic claim to all of Jerusalem! ,chool te)t ooks allude to the city*s role in Christianity and Islam" ut ignore Judaism! An American affiliate of =amas claims Jerusalem as "an Ara " #alestinian and Islamic holy city!" A anner carried in a street protest puts it succinctly: "Jerusalem is Ara !" (o place for Jews here! Anti#!erusalem Vie$s This .uslim love of 4ion notwithstanding" Islam contains a recessive ut persistent strain of anti>Jerusalem sentiment" premised on the idea that emphasiGing Jerusalem is non>Islamic and can undermine the special sanctity of .ecca!

In the early period of Islam" #rinceton historian Bernard )ewis notes" "there was strong resistance among many theologians and +urists" to the notion of Jerusalem as a holy city! They viewed this as a "JudaiGing error@as one more among many attempts y Jewish converts to infiltrate Jewish ideas into Islam!" Anti>Jerusalem stalwarts circulated stories to show that the idea of Jerusalem*s holiness is a Jewish practice! In the most important of them" a converted Jew" named Aa* al>Ah ar" suggested to Caliph *Imar that Al>Aqsa .as+id e uilt y the Dome of the Lock! The caliph responded y accusing him of reversion to his Jewish roots:

/8mar as(ed him: "Where do you thin( we should put the place of prayer?"
81) the JTemple MountK rock,8 answere' La2(. 1) ?o', La2(,8 sai' 2Mmar, 8)ou are following after Ju'aism. , saw )ou take off )our san'als Jfollowing Jewish practiceK.8 8, wante' to feel the touch of it with m) (are feet,8 sai' La2(. 8, saw )ou,8 sai' 2Mmar. 81ut no G ?o alongD Be were not comman'e' concerning the Rock, (ut we were comman'e' concerning the La2(a Jin MeccaK.8 Another version of this anec'ote makes the Jewish content even more e-plicit@ in this one, La2( al-Ah(ar tries to in'uce Caliph 2Mmar to pra) north of the Fol) Rock, pointing out the a'vantage of this@ 8Then the entire Al-Ou's, that is, Al-MasHi' al-Faram will (e (efore )ou.8 ,n other wor's, the convert from Ju'aism is sa)ing, the Rock an' Mecca will (e in a straight line an' Muslims can pra) towar' (oth of them at the same time. That Muslims for almost a )ear an' a half 'uring Muhamma'2s lifetime 'irecte' pra)ers towar' Jerusalem has ha' a permanentl) contra'ictor) effect on that cit)2s stan'ing in ,slam. The inci'ent partiall) im(ue' Jerusalem with prestige an' sanctit), (ut it also ma'e the cit) a place uniquel) reHecte' () ?o'. 6ome earl) ha'iths have Muslims e-pressing this reHection () purposefull) pra)ing with their (ack si'es to Jerusalem, a custom that still survives in vestigial form= he who pra)s in Al-Aqsa Mosque not coinci'entall) turns his (ack precisel) to the Temple area towar' which Jews pra). 4r, in Arime Minister Ariel 6haron2s sharp formulation@ when a Muslim pra)s in Al-Aqsa, 8his (ack is to it. Also some of his lower parts.8 ,(n Ta)mi)a !"%7-!7"<&, one of ,slam2s strictest an' most influential religious thinkers, is perhaps the outstan'ing spokesman of the anti-Jerusalem view. ,n his wi'e-ranging attempt to purif) ,slam of accretions an' impieties, he 'ismisse' the sacre'ness of Jerusalem as a notion 'eriving from Jews an' Christians, an' also from the long-ago Mma))a' rivalr) with Mecca. ,(n Ta)mi)a2s stu'ent, ,(n Oa))im al-Jaw/i)a !"0"-!7#$&, went further an' reHecte' ha'iths a(out Jerusalem as false. More (roa'l), learne' Muslims living after the Crusa'es knew that the great pu(licit) given to ha'iths e-tolling Jerusalem2s sanctit) resulte' from the Counter crusa'e+from political e-igenc), that is+an' therefore treate' them waril). There are other signs too of Jerusalem2s relativel) low stan'ing in the la''er of sanctit)@ a historian of art fin's that, 8in contrast to representations of Mecca, Me'ina, an' the La2(a, 'epictions of Jerusalem are scant).8 The (elief that the East Ju'gment woul' take place in Jerusalem was sai' () some me'ieval authors to (e a forger) to in'uce Muslims to visit the cit). Mo'ern writers sometimes take e-ception to the envelope of piet) that has surroun'e' Jerusalem. Muhamma' A(u Na)' wrote a (ook in .g)pt in !07$ that was so ra'ical that it was with'rawn from circulation an' is no longer even e-tant. ,n it, among man) other points, he

dismissed the notion of the 3rophet/s hea$enly 9ourney $ia )erusalem, claiming that the .ur/anic rendition actually refers to his +i9ra from Mecca to

Madina: "the more remote mos#ue" ,al-masjid al-aqsa- thus had nothing to do with )erusalem, &ut was in fact the mos#ue in Madina
That this viewpoint is (anne' shows the nearl) complete victor) in ,slam of the pro-Jerusalem viewpoint. 6till, an occasional e-pression still filters through. At a summit meeting of Ara( lea'ers in March "$$!, Mu2ammar al-Oa'h'hafi ma'e fun of his colleagues2 o(session with AlAqsa Mosque. 8The hell with it,8 'elegates quote' him sa)ing, 8)ou solve it or )ou 'on2t, it2s Hust a mosque an' , can pra) an)where.8 Con%lusion Aolitics, not religious sensi(ilit), has fuele' the Muslim attachment to Jerusalem for nearl) fourteen centuries= what the historian 1ernar' Basserstein has written a(out the growth of Muslim feeling in the course of the Counter crusa'e applies through the centuries@ 8often in the histor) of Jerusalem, heightene' religious fervour ma) (e e-plaine' in large part () political necessit).8 This pattern has three main implications. 9irst, Jerusalem will never (e more than a secon'ar) cit) for Muslims= 8(elief in the sanctit) of Jerusalem,8 6ivan rightl) conclu'es, 8cannot (e sai' to have (een wi'el) 'iffuse' nor 'eepl) roote' in ,slam.8 6econ', the Muslim interest lies not so much in controlling Jerusalem as it 'oes in 'en)ing control over the cit) to an)one else. Thir', the ,slamic connection to the cit) is weaker than the Jewish one (ecause it arises as much from transitor) an' mun'ane consi'erations as from the immuta(le claims of faith. Mecca, () contrast, is the eternal cit) of ,slam, the place from which non-Muslims are strictl) for(i''en. Cer) roughl) speaking, what Jerusalem is to Jews, Mecca is to Muslims * a point ma'e in the Our2an itself "@!3#& in recogni/ing that Muslims have one qibla an' 8the people of the 1ook8 another one. The parallel was note' () me'ieval Muslims= the geographer Iaqut !!50-!""0& wrote, for e-ample, that 8Mecca is hol) to Muslims an' Jerusalem to the Jews.8 ,n mo'ern times, some scholars have come to the same conclusion@ 8Jerusalem pla)s for the Jewish people the same role that Mecca has for Muslims,8 writes A('ul Fa'i Aala//i, 'irector of the Cultural ,nstitute of the ,talian ,slamic Communit). The similarities are striking. Jews pra) thrice 'ail) to Jerusalem an' Muslims five times to Mecca. Muslims see Mecca as the navel of the worl', Hust as Jews see Jerusalem. Bhereas Jews (elieve A(raham nearl) sacrifice' ,shmael2s (rother ,saac in Jerusalem, Muslims (elieve this episo'e took place in Mecca. The La2(a in Mecca has similar functions for Muslims as the Temple in Jerusalem for Jews such as serving as a 'estination for pilgrimage&. The Temple an' La2(a are (oth sai' to (e inimita(le structures. The supplicant takes off his shoes an' goes (arefoot in (oth their precincts. 6olomon2s Temple was inaugurate' on Iom Lippur, the tenth 'a) of the )ear, an' the La2(a receives its new cover also on the tenth 'a) of each )ear. ,f Jerusalem is for Jews a place so hol) that not Hust its soil (ut even its air is 'eeme' sacre', Mecca is the place whose 8ver) mention rever(erates awe in Muslims2 hearts,8 accor'ing to A(a' Ahma' of the ,slamic 6ociet) of Central Jerse). This parallelism of Mecca an' Jerusalem offers the (asis of a solution, as 6heikh Aala//i wisel) writes@

separation in directions of prayer is a mean to decrease possi&le ri$alries in management of +oly 3laces For those who recei$e from 7llah the gift of e#uili&rium and the attitude to reconciliation, it should not &e difficult to conclude that, as no one is willing to deny Muslims a complete so$ereignty o$er Mecca, from an Islamic point of $iew 6 notwithstanding opposite, groundless propagandistic claims 6 there is not any sound theological reason to deny an e#ual right of )ews o$er )erusalem

To (ack up this view, Aala//i notes several striking an' oft-neglecte' passages in the Our2an. 4ne of them #@""-"7& quotes Moses instructing the Jews to 8enter the Fol) Ean' al-ard almuqaddisa& which ?o' has assigne' unto )ou.8 Another verse !5@!$3& has ?o' Fimself making the same point@ 8Be sai' to the Chil'ren of ,srael@ 2Dwell securel) in the Ean'.28 Our2an "@!3# states that the Jews 8woul' not follow )our qibla= nor are )ou going to follow their qibla,8 in'icating a recognition of the Temple Mount as the Jews2 'irection of pra)er. 8?o' himself is sa)ing that Jerusalem is as important to Jews as Mecca is to Moslems,8 Aala//i conclu'es. Fis anal)sis has a clear an' sensi(le implication@ Hust as Muslims rule an un'ivi'e' Mecca, Jews shoul' rule an un'ivi'e' Jerusalem.

&o'. ()* +,,( update@ 9or up'ates to this anal)sis, see m) we(log entr), 8More on the Muslim Claim to Jerusalem.8 -ep. .* +,,+ update@ M) we(log entr) 8The Arophet2s >ight Journe)= To BhereP8 takes up a fascinating new anal)sis () Ahma' Muhamma' 2Arafa. May (/* +,,0 update@ M) we(log entr) 8Constructing a Counterfeit Fistor) of Jerusalem8 (uil's on one aspect of this article. !an. 0* +,,1 update@ , 'ramati/e to'a) one of the implications of this article at 84ffer@ Q! million for 9in'ing 8Jerusalem8 in the Loran.8
http:;;www danielpipes org;<=;the6muslim6claim6to69erusalem