Overlapping Holy Sites

One of the most hotly contested religious sites in the world is in Jerusalem. It's called the Temple Mount, Har-ha Bayeet in Hebrew or the Sacred Noble Sanctuary alHaram alQudsi ash'sharif, in Arabic.

(Temple Mount/Noble Sanctuary Aerial View)

Jews believe the Temple Mount is where God made the world. That He first made a Foundation Stone, and from that created the rest of the world. They also believe it's where God got the dust He used to create the first man, Adam and where He chose to settle His shekhina, divine presence, on Earth.

Jewish temples have been built at the site twice, the first was destroyed in 586 BC, the second was built on the foundation of the first but was also destroyed in 70 AD. Only the Wailing Wall remains of the original temples, but Jews believe shekhina is still within the Wall, making it the holiest of all Jewish religious sites.

(Jews Praying at the Wailing Wall)

Islam believes the same site is where their prophet Muhammad stood upon a stone platform and ascended into heaven. Two of the oldest and most sacred Islamic buildings now stand in the area, alAqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock. Dome of the Rock was built over the stone platform where Muhammad supposedly last stood.



(Al Aqsa Mosque)













Though there is some debate, it is generally believed that Islam's sacred Dome of the Rock (photo on right) was built over Judaism's sacred Foundation Stone. Furthermore, some believe a sacred Christian artifact, the Arc of the Covenant (a chest which held the 10 Comandments) is also either hidden beneath Dome of the Rock or elsewhere on the Temple Mount as well.



As you can imagine any work, to be done on, in, or around the site requires a lot of inter-religious discussion and negotiation. For years Arabs have been asking Israel for permission to repair 600 of over 4000 Islamic verses found on the Muslim buildings around the Temple Mount which have crumbled and/or degraded due to age and weather.

Now that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is leaving office and no longer needs to please the right wing Zionist-Israeli extremists, and has started speaking out about the injustices Israel has subjected Arabs to. He has now quietly granted permission for the Muslim guardians of the the Temple Mount to repair and preserve the damaged areas. Other recent pro-Arab statements have included the need to return Golan Heights to Syria, for Israel to completely withdraw from ALL Palestinian lands and cease Settlement actvity, in an interview last month Olmert even callled Israel's current statements & policies against Iran "megalomania" by a government that continues to overestimate its own self importance.