On Sunday night, the Sanhedrin hosted a conference to discuss the role of the Arabs and Muslims in the Third Temple. The conference featured a lecture by Dr. Mordechai Kedar, a senior lecturer in the Department of Arabic at Bar-Ilan University. Dr. Kedar has frequently referred to the claim that Jerusalem is holy to the Muslims as “fake news.”
“Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Quran and there is not a basis to believe that Jerusalem had any significance for Muhammad,” Dr. Kedar explained to Breaking Israel News. “In early Islam, we see that assigning holiness to the Temple Mount was criticized as an attempt to introduce Jewish concepts into Islam.”
“Jerusalem only took on any significance in Islam in the late 8th century when the Bedouin Muslims prevented the Damascus Muslims from making Haj (pilgrimage) to Mecca. As an alternative destination for Haj, the Damascus Muslims decided on Jerusalem, adding a Hadith (oral commentary) shifting the scene of Muhammad’s Night Journey to Jerusalem in order to justify their decision.”
The source of the Muslim holiday of “Isra” (journey) and “Mi’raj” (ascension, literally ‘ladder’) and the entire Muslim claim to Jerusalem as a holy site is based on a story in the Quran. According to the Quran, Muhammad traveled from Saudi Arabia to “Al-Aqsa” (the far mosque). From there, he ascended to Heaven, returning to Earth the next day. Some Muslims claim Al-Aqsa is the silver domed mosque on the southern end of the Temple Mount compound.
In addition, Dr. Kedar described the rich oral tradition that was built up to bolster the validity of Haj to Jerusalem. Traveling to Jerusalem was touted as a cure for diseases. Prayers at the Temple Mount were purported to have far more impact than anywhere except Mecca. The creation of the world began in Mecca but was continued in Jerusalem, a claim which is surprisingly similar to the Jewish claim that Creation began at the Temple Mount.
“For eight years, Damascus Muslims made Haj to Jerusalem, during which the Dome of the Rock was constructed and the Foundation Stone sacred to Jews became a sacred place to Muslims. This was to create religious competition for the Kaaba (a large stone in Mecca that is the holiest site in Islam),” Dr. Kedar said. “But when they were again permitted to travel to Mecca, Jerusalem was forgotten and even became a garbage dump for construction materials.”
“Shia Islam, mercilessly persecuted by the Umayya Caliphate, did not accept the holy Jerusalem canard, which is the reason the second holiest city to Shiites is Najif in Iraq, the burial place of Shiite founder Ali bin Abi Talib. Many of the Shiite elders – Iranian and Hezbollah – only began to call Jerusalem holy after the Khomeni rebellion in 1979 so as to keep the Sunnis from accusing them of being soft on Zionism.”
“The entire area of the Temple Mount is known as al-Haram al-Sharif – ‘the holy and noble site’- but a change came about after the Six-Day War, when some Jewish leaders began calling for the establishment of a synagogue on the Mount. It was felt that the Muslims would not object, since al Aqsa was on the southern edge of the compound and the synagogue would not be nearby.”
“The Muslims decided to announce that the al Aqsa mentioned in the Koran refers not only to the mosque on the southern end of the compound, but is the name for the entire Temple Mount area, abandoning the original name, al-Haram al-Sharif.”
Rather than use this dubious claim as a battle cry to expel the Muslims, Dr. Kedar suggested that the commonality of Jerusalem could serve as a bond to bring together all three Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He emphasized that the three religions shared common interests.
“Every year, rabbis and imams join in a petition to prevent a certain parade from taking place in Jerusalem,” he said, noting that al faiths were in agreement when it comes to the sanctity of the city.
Dr. Kedar had hopes that such a coming-together based in Jerusalem could have a global impact but he warned that it had to be of a specific nature.
“If you have a headache, taking foot medicine won’t help,” he quipped. “This is irrefutably a religious conflict. Political solutions are always disastrous when applied to religious conflicts.”
Rabbi Hillel Weiss, the spokesman for the Sanhedrin, noted the powerful point that Dr. Kedar made.
“There are certain points having to do with Israel, Jerusalem, and the Temple in which it is impossible, actually forbidden, to compromise,” Rabbi Weiss said. “We must begin with the truth and move on from there, even if the truth is uncomfortable. Every nation is different, with a unique history and role to play in the Temple. Each must serve God in their role.”
Mohammad Massad was a representative of the Sons of Ishmael. At a Sanhedrin Hanukkah event last month, Massad lit a menorah as a representative of the nation of Ishmael.
Massad addressed the crowd on Sunday, emphasizing that he acknowledged everything Dr. Kedar had said. Massad, a devout Muslim, stated that Islam requires universal tolerance and love. This claim was challenged by the Israeli Jews in the audience who noted that few Muslims seem to agree with Massad’s claim.
“This is my Allah [God] and this is what he requires me to believe,” Massad said. “This is my belief, the religion of peace. It doesn’t matter that there are others who explain it differently or that they want to kill me. This is my belief.”
His words took on a deep personal significance as he noted that in his younger days, he was associated with terrorist organizations. He emphasized that if his introspection on Islam had led him to change, this could be true of other Muslims as well.
As in any true meeting of minds, Massad also raised some uncomfortable truths for the Jews.
“It was not the Muslims who destroyed the Temple,” he said. “It was Rome. We do not have to repent for that. They do.”
Massad also put the responsibility for a solution firmly upon the shoulders of the Jews.
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