why was a mosque built on the temple mount
", in practice, wire and concrete barriers were the reality. As in Judaism, Muslims also associate the site with Solomon and other prophets who are also venerated in Islam. The mosque sits inside a 35-acre site known by Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary, and by Jews as the. What To Do. [23][24][25], Since the Crusades launched by the Latin Church (11th13th century), the Muslim community of Jerusalem has managed the site through the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf. The Temple Mount refers to the platform and complex upon which stood the Temple constructed by Herod the Great. The Temple Mount has historical and religious significance for all three of the major Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. [226] Subsequently, several prime ministers also made attempts to change the status quo, but failed to do so. [141][142][143] Other Muslim scholars have used the Torah (called Tawrat in Arabic) to expand on the details of the temple. Due to its extreme sanctity, many Jews will not walk on the Mount itself, to avoid unintentionally entering the area where the Holy of Holies stood, since, according to rabbinical law, there is still some aspect of the divine presence at the site. [222], Jordan undertook two renovations of the Dome of the Rock, replacing the leaking, wooden inner dome with an aluminum dome in 1952, and, when the new dome leaked, carrying out a second restoration between 1959 and 1964. [207] However, no contemporary Jewish sources mention this episode directly. On April 11, 1982, a Jew hid in the Dome of the Rock and sprayed gunfire, killing 2 Palestinians and wounding 44; in 1974, 1977 and 1983 groups led by Yoel Lerner conspired to blow up both the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa. . [268] One such report[citation needed] claims that he did so on Thursday, October 21, 1165, during the Crusader period. ", Yehia Hassan Wazeri THE FARTHEST MOSQUE OR THE ALLEGED TEMPLE AN ANALYTIC STUDY, Journal of Islamic Architecture Volume 2 Issue 3 June 2013, The blessed Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, which is mentioned in the Ever Glorious Qur'an (in Sura Al-Isra'), is the blessed spot that is now called Al-Haram Al-Qudsi and is surrounded by the great wall along with the buildings and monuments that have been built on it, on top of which is Al-Masjid Al-Qibli (covered Masjid) and the Dome of the Rock., Omran M. Hassan, A Graphical Vision of Aesthetics of Al-Quds Architecture through the Digital Technology, International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. The Temple Mount is holy to both Muslims and Jews, and to Christians as well. "What torment to see our holy courts converted into an alien temple!" King Hezekiah built a square Temple Mount (yellow walls) around the site of the Temple, which he also renewed. A 2013 Knesset committee hearing considered allowing Jews to pray at the site, amidst heated debate. Shatzman, I. Fleming believed the bones were connected to one of the waves of violence that visited the area in the century before his visit: World War I, the Arab Revolt against the British, or Israel's 1948 War of Independence. (2009). [36][176] Some scholars believe that, in accordance with biblical accounts, the royal and religious compound on the Temple Mount was built by Solomon during the 10th century BCE as a separate entity, which was later incorporated into the city. [261] Palestinian residents of Jerusalem, which because of Israel's annexation of Jerusalem, hold Israeli permanent residency cards, and Israeli Arabs, are permitted unrestricted access to the Temple Mount. Construction of the Second Temple began under Cyrus in around 538 BCE and was completed in 516 BCE. [112] The Second Temple is believed to have attracted tens and maybe hundreds of thousands during the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It remained in Muslim hands thereafter, even during the relatively short periods of Crusader rule following the Sixth Crusade. [215] The shrine became known as the Dome of the Rock ( , Qubbat as-Sakhra). [281] These authorities demand an attitude of veneration on the part of Jews ascending the Temple Mount, ablution in a mikveh prior to the ascent, and the wearing of non-leather shoes. In. 15 et seq. The Temple Mount, known in Hebrew as Har Habayit, is traditionally said to be the site where Abraham demonstrated his devotion to God by taking his son Isaac to be sacrificed. 2. A Jordanian team of engineers recommended replacing or resetting most of the stones in the affected area. Le. [65][66][67], The term "al-Aqsa" as a symbol and brand-name has become popular and prevalent in the region. During Temple times, entry to the Mount was limited by a complex set of purity laws. [87][90] Israel froze all ties with UNESCO. It appears that Radbaz also entered the Mount and advised others how to do this. Two frightful scenes unfolded in Jerusalem on Wednesday, which seemed, at first glance, to have little to do with each other. The Islamization of the Temple Mount climaxed at the end of the seventh century, with the construction of the Dome of the Rock in the early 690s when Abd al-Malik was developing his program of Islamization. [8] [9] [a] According to Jewish tradition and scripture, [11] the First Temple was built by King Solomon, the son of King David, in 957 BCE, and was destroyed by the Neo-Babylonian Empire, together with Jerusalem, in 587 BCE. Due to the extreme political sensitivity of the site, no real archaeological excavations have ever been conducted on the Temple Mount itself. Also known as Mount Moriah, Har haByit in Hebrew and as the Noble Sanctuary or al-haram al-quds ash-sharf for Muslims, Temple Mount is believed to be the site of many significant events for each of these religions. David subsequently the site for a future temple to replace the Tabernacle and house the Ark of the Covenant;[103][104] God forbade him from building it, however, because he had "shed much blood". At present, the Government of Israel controls access to the site, an Islamic religious endowment that lies under the management of the Jordan-based Jerusalem Islamic Waqf. El Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount. [26] The Israeli government enforces a ban on prayer by non-Muslims as part of an arrangement usually referred to as the "status quo. Maimonides, perhaps the greatest codifier of Jewish Law, wrote in Laws of the Chosen House ch 7 Law 15 "One may bring a dead body in to the (lower sanctified areas of the) Temple Mount and there is no need to say that the ritually impure (from the dead) may enter there, because the dead body itself can enter". [6] The Herodian walls and gates, with additions from the late Byzantine, early Muslim, Mamluk, and Ottoman periods, flank the site, which can be reached through eleven gates, ten reserved for Muslims and one for non-Muslims, with guard posts of the Israel Police in the vicinity of each. he wrote.[113]. [262][263][264], Due to religious restrictions on entering the most sacred areas of the Temple Mount (see following section), the Western Wall, a retaining wall for the Temple Mount and remnant of the Second Temple structure, is considered by some rabbinical authorities to be the holiest accessible site for Jews to pray at. As no scientific excavations have ever been conducted on the site, no archaeological evidence has been found to verify this. Also built on the Temple Mount was the Al-Aqsa mosque. According to the rabbinic sages whose debates produced the Talmud, the Foundation Stone, which sits below the Dome of the Rock, was the spot from where the world was created and expanded into its current form,[98][99] and where God gathered the dust used to create the first human, Adam. Al-Aqsa The Temple Institute wants to disassemble the Dome of the Rock and the Muslim mosques . The platform can be reached via Gate of the Chain Street a street in the Muslim Quarter at the level of the platform, actually sitting on a monumental bridge;[80][bettersourceneeded] the bridge is no longer externally visible due to the change in ground level, but it can be seen from beneath via the Western Wall Tunnel. The Temple Mount (Hebrew: , romanized:Har haBayt, lit. Translated by P. Amde Jaubert. There are no contemporary records, but many traditions, about the origin of the main Islamic buildings on the mount. [93][94], On 6 April 2022, UNESCO unanimously adopted a resolution reiterating all 21 previous resolutions concerned with Jerusalem.[95]. This was probably by Baldwin II of Jerusalem and Warmund, Patriarch of Jerusalem at the Council of Nablus in January 1120. The surface of the Temple Mount would remain in a state of destruction until the Muslim invasions in the seventh century. [191], The main entrances to the Herodian Temple Mount were two sets of gates built into the southern wall, together with four other gates reachable from the western side by stairs and bridges. The Mamluk-period substructures and over-ground buildings are thus covering much of the Herodian western wall of the Temple Mount. The present site is a flat plaza surrounded by retaining walls (including the Western Wall), which were originally built by King Herod in the first century BCE for an expansion of the Second Jewish Temple. The Knights Templar, who believed the Dome of the Rock was the site of the Solomon's Temple, gave it the name "Templum Domini" and set up their headquarters in al-Aqsa Mosque adjacent to the Dome for much of the 12th century. [127] It became a desolate local rubbish dump, perhaps outside the city limits,[128] as Christian worship in Jerusalem shifted to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and Jerusalem's centrality was replaced by Rome. [299], Over the period 197088, a number of tunnels were excavated in the vicinity, including one that passed to the west of the Mount and became known as the Western Wall Tunnel, which was opened to the public in 1996. [citation needed]. Herod moved . The mosque was built on top of the Temple Mount, known as the Al Aqsa Compound or Haram esh-Sharif in Islam. A monumental street, today referred to as the "Stepped Street," and took pilgrims from the city's southern gate via the Tyropoeon Valley to the western side of the Temple Mount. [156][158] Later hadiths referred to Jerusalem as the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque:[159], Narrated Jabir bin `Abdullah: News", "Tourism Min. Al Aqsa mosque is a low grey roofed mosque also located on the Temple Mount, across from the Dome of Rock. A sebil or sabil (Arabic: ) is a public water fountain, often decorated with stone carvings. [161], Other academics attribute the holiness of Jerusalem to the rise and expansion of a certain type of literary genre, known as al-Fadhail or history of cities. At the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Mohammed led prophets in prayer. The Temple Mount is believed by Jews to be the site of two biblical temples. Rather, the mosque is an unwitting guardian of the new covenant reality. An Islamic Waqf has managed the Temple Mount continuously since the Muslim reconquest of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1187. [194] Massive stone collapses from the upper walls were discovered laying over the Herodian street that runs along the southern part of the Western Wall,[195] with some of the stones burned at temperatures reaching 800C (1472F). [227], On 28 September 2000, then-opposition leader of Israel Ariel Sharon and members of the Likud Party, along with 1,000 armed guards, visited the al-Aqsa compound. "[273][274] According to Ron Hassner, the ruling "brilliantly" solved the government's problem of avoiding ethnic conflict, since those Jews who most respected rabbinical authority were those most likely to clash with Muslims on the Mount. The term "Noble Sanctuary" or "Haram al-Sharif", as it was called later by the Mamluks and Ottomans, refers to the whole area that surrounds that Rock.[216]. [230][231], On October 8, 1990, Israeli forces patrolling the site blocked worshippers from reaching it. [226], Until 2000, non-Muslim visitors could enter the Dome of the Rock, al-Aqsa Mosque and the Islamic Museum by getting a ticket from the Waqf. . There is one last thing I want you to think about. Solomon placed the Ark in the Holy of Holies the windowless innermost sanctuary and most sacred area of the temple in which God's presence rested;[109] entry into the Holy of Holies was heavily restricted, and only the High Priest of Israel entered the sanctuary once per year on Yom Kippur, carrying the blood of a sacrificial lamb and burning incense. "[116], The Temple was of central importance in Jewish worship in the Tanakh (Old Testament). This artificial expansion resulted in a large flat expanse which today forms the eastern section of the Old City of Jerusalem. The Arabs conquered the city from the Byzantine Empire which had retaken it in 629. Non-Muslims who are observed praying on the site are subject to expulsion by the police. (Kramer, Martin. Istanbul's Hagia Sophia is one of the world's most significant religious site. [12][13][14] The Second Temple was constructed under the auspices of Zerubbabel in 516 BCE, was renovated by King Herod, and was destroyed by the Roman Empire in 70 CE. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, the Muslim cleric in charge of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, said there has never been a Jewish temple atop the Temple Mount, and that the site has been home to a mosque "since the creation of the world.". Martin Gilbert, Jerusalem in the Twentieth Century (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1996), p254. [303][305][306][307], In late 2002, a bulge of about 700mm (28in) was reported in the southern retaining wall part of the Temple Mount. [190] The result was the largest temenos in the ancient world. Of these, the most notable are (numbering traditionally follows Wilson's scheme[286]): The retaining walls of the platform contain several gateways, all currently blocked. On the north and west it is bordered by two long porticos (riwaq), built during the Mamluk period.[294]. He achieved this by constructing huge buttress walls and vaults, and filling the necessary sections with earth and rubble. 5. "Early Muslims regarded the building and destruction of the Temple of Solomon as a major historical and religious event, and accounts of the Temple are offered by many of the early Muslim historians and geographers (including Ibn Qutayba, Ibn al-Faqih, Mas'udi, Muhallabi, and Biruni). The Temple Mount is considered the holiest site in Judaism. [220] The question then becomes whether the site can be ascertained accurately. Built by King Herod during Roman occupation, it's one of the outer retaining walls, with limestone block upon [110], The Genesis Rabba, which was probably written between 300 and 500 CE, states that this site is one of three about which the nations of the world cannot taunt Israel and say "you have stolen them," since it was purchased "for its full price" by David.[111]. Temple Mount expansion. Baker,Eric W.. [98][99] Orthodox Jewish tradition maintains it is here that the third and final Temple will be built when the Messiah comes. Although freedom of access was enshrined in the law, as a security measure, the Israeli government currently enforces a ban on non-Muslim prayer on the site. The Second Temple was constructed in 516 BCE after the First Temple or Solomon's temple was destroyed by the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 586 BCE. In 1187, once he retook Jerusalem, Saladin removed all traces of Christian worship from the Temple Mount, returning the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque to their original purposes. [212] It became known as al-Aqsa Mosque. The eternal High Priest has assumed his intercessory office. They mourn and rend their garments, and then depart. Jewish visits are often prevented or considerably restricted. On June 7, 1967, soon after Israel had taken control of the area during the Six-Day War, Prime Minister Levi Eshkol assured that "no harm whatsoever shall come to the places sacred to all religions". Ernst Axel Knauf, Jerusalem in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages: A Proposal, TA 27 (2000): 7590. [204][205] In a letter attributed to Julian he wrote to the Jews that "This you ought to do, in order that, when I have successfully concluded the war in Persia, I may rebuild by my own efforts the sacred city of Jerusalem, which for so many years you have longed to see inhabited, and may bring settlers there, and, together with you, may glorify the Most High God therein. The former UN envoy to Jerusalem, Raymond M. Lemaire, criticised "the construction of a metallic pergola in the middle of the courtyard of one of the Umayyad palaces, which disfigures the site." [310] In 2007 the Israel Antiquities Authority started work on the construction of a temporary wooden pedestrian pathway to replace the Mugrabi Gate ramp after a landslide in 2005 made it unsafe and in danger of collapse. [237] In December 1997, Israeli security services preempted an attempt by Jewish extremists to throw a pig's head wrapped in the pages of the Quran into the area, in order to spark a riot and embarrass the government. Organizations that encourage Jews to immigrate to the Temple Mount replaced the Chief Rabbinate's sign prohibiting prayer in the compound, and stuck an identical sticker on it with reversed procedures. For those who are visibly Jewish, they have no choice, but to follow a peripheral route[282] as it has become unofficially part of the status quo on the Mount. The retaining walls on these two sides descend many meters below ground level. In 516 BCE, The returned Jewish population in Judah, under Persian provincial governance, rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem under the auspices of Zerubbabel, yielding what is known as the Second Temple. Today, the stone is preserved in Istanbul's Museum of Antiquities. Jacobson, D. M. The Enigma of the Name liy (= Aelia) for Jerusalem in Early Islam. Since the Waqf is granted almost full autonomy on the Islamic holy sites, Israeli archaeologists have been prevented from inspecting the area, and are restricted to conducting excavations around the Temple Mount. The rebuilding of the Temple remained a recurring theme among generations, particularly in thrice-daily Amidah (Standing prayer), central prayer of the Jewish liturgy, which contains a plea for the building of a Third Temple and the restoration of sacrificial services. [273] Later he established his office on the Mount and conducted a series of demonstrations on the Mount in support of the right of Jewish men to enter there. In the early years of the Israelite kingdom, the Ark of the Covenant was periodically moved about among several sanctuaries, especially those of Shechem and Shiloh. Grand stoas encircled the platform on three sides, and on its southern side stood a magnificent basilica Josephus referred to as the Royal Stoa. On the southern face are the Hulda Gates the triple gate (which has three arches) and the double gate (which has two arches, and is partly obscured by a Crusader building); these were the entrance and exit (respectively) to the Temple Mount from Ophel (the oldest part of Jerusalem), and the main access to the Mount for ordinary Jews. In the process of investigating Cistern 10, Warren discovered tunnels that lay under the Triple Gate passageway. Cultural and religious sites in both sides of the city were destroyed and neglected and the Jewish community barred from its sacred places.[247]. The Jews who had been deported in the aftermath of the Babylonian conquest of Judah were eventually allowed to return following a proclamation by the Persian king Cyrus the Great that was issued after the fall of Babylon to the Achaemenid Empire. Do most Muslims agree? [31][32] During a 2016 dispute over the name of the site, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova stated: "Different peoples worship the same places, sometimes under different names. During the 1930s and 1940s, large-scale restoration of the . Shortly after capturing the site, Israel handed its administration back to the Waqf under the Jordanian Hashemite custodianship, while maintaining Israeli security control. This is a profoundly sacred area to Christians, Jews, and Muslims. The Temple Mount in Jerusalem is one of the holiest sites for Jews, Muslims and Christians. During the Maccabean times, the temple mount was expanded to the north another 100 ft and the Temple was also moved north. [227][228][229], On 15 January 1988, during the First Intifada, Israeli troops fired rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters outside the mosque, wounding 40 worshipers. [208] The date of the mosaic is disputed: Zachi Dvira considers that they are from the pre-Islamic Byzantine period, while Baruch, Reich and Sandhaus favor a much later Umayyad origin on account of their similarity to a known Umayyad mosaic.[208]. [31] Almost immediately after the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem in 638 CE, Caliph 'Omar ibn al Khatab, reportedly disgusted by the filth covering the site, had it thoroughly cleaned,[135] and granted Jews access to the site. Roman general Pompey, who had been invited to intervene in the conflict, decided to side with Hyrcanus; Aristobulus and his followers barricaded themselves inside the Temple Mount and destroyed the bridge linking it to the city. The Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099 and the Dome of the Rock was given to the Augustinians, who turned it into a church, and al-Aqsa Mosque became the royal palace of Baldwin I of Jerusalem in 1104. As a result, the Al-Aqsa Mosque has been rebuilt and renovated several times since its original Umayyad construction. Speaking on January 4 to the Palestine . Most Haredi rabbis are of the opinion that the Mount is off limits to Jews and non-Jews alike. The Temple Mount is a holy site within the Old City of Jerusalem for Jewish, Christian, and Muslim people. David Ussishkin (2003). Fantastic tales of Solomon's construction of the Temple also appear in the Qisas al-anbiya', the medieval compendia of Muslim legends about the pre-Islamic prophets." To Muslims, the Temple Mount is called Haram . [295][296][297] Aside from visual observation of surface features, most other archaeological knowledge of the site comes from the 19th-century survey carried out by Charles Wilson and Charles Warren and others. [260] Normally, West Bank Palestinians are allowed access to Jerusalem only during Islamic holidays, with access usually restricted to men over 35 and women of any age eligible for permits to enter the city. In Muslim Tradition the Dome of the Rock Restored Solomon's Temple. (Khalidi, Rashid. This stunning temple has a storied past, that initially functioned as a Christian church for several centuries until . Just like the Dome of the Rock was built to overshadow the rotunda of the Holy Sepulcher . [49] The Mount Zion mentioned in the later parts of the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 60:14),[50] in the Book of Psalms, and the First Book of Maccabees (c.2nd century BCE) seems to refer to the top of the hill, generally known as the Temple Mount. Why is the Temple Mount holy to Jews? Architecture The Dome of the Rock's structure and ornamentation are rooted in the Byzantine architectural tradition, yet its construction in the 7th century represents an early stage in the emergence of a distinct Islamic visual style. (Siddiqi, Dr. Muzammil. The Masjid al-Aqsa of Jerusalem is linked in the Quran to the story of the night journey of Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem and has deep religious meaning for Muslims across the world. Temple Mount entry restrictions are restrictions on entering the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem, which is a holy place for Muslims, Jews, and Christians. [166], The historical significance of al-Aqsa Mosque in Islam is further emphasized by the fact that Muslims turned towards al-Aqsa when they prayed for a period of 16 or 17 months after migration to Medina in 624; it thus became the qibla ("direction") that Muslims faced for prayer. [117][118][119] After the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, which came to be regarded by early Christians, as it was by Josephus and the sages of the Jerusalem Talmud, to be a divine act of punishment for the sins of the Jewish people,[120][121] the Temple Mount lost its significance for Christian worship with the Christians considering it a fulfillment of Christ's prophecy at, for example, Matthew 23:38[122] and Matthew 24:2. Some scholars, such as Kenyon and Ritmeyer, argued that the walls of the First Temple compound extended eastward as far as the Eastern Wall. There are several cisterns beneath the lower platform, designed to collect rain water as a water supply. According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, the Night Journey was associated with Jerusalem by the Umayyads as a political means to advance the glory of Jerusalem to compete with the glory of the sanctuary in Mecca then controlled by Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr. [138], Muslim interpretations of the Quran agree that the Mount is the site of the Temple originally built by Solomon, considered a prophet in Islam, that was later destroyed. The police then stormed the mosque compound, firing both live ammunition and rubber bullets at the group of Palestinians, killing four and wounding about 200. Several stairways rise to the upper platform from the lower; that at the northwest corner is believed by some archaeologists be part of a much wider monumental staircase, mostly hidden or destroyed, and dating from the Second Temple era. The mount is also the site of both ancient Jewish temples. The recognition, use of and respect for these names is paramount. [2] According to Islamic tradition, the plaza is the location of Muhammad's ascension to heaven from Jerusalem, and served as the first "qibla", the direction Muslims turn towards when praying. The visit sparked a five-year uprising by the Palestinians, commonly referred to as the al-Aqsa Intifada, though some commentators, citing subsequent speeches by PA officials, particularly Imad Falouji and Arafat himself, claim that the Intifada had been planned months in advance, as early as July upon Yasser Arafat's return from Camp David talks. Holy site within the Old City of Jerusalem was completed in 516.! A storied past, that initially functioned as a Christian church for centuries! Been found to verify this the Tanakh ( Old Testament ) all ties UNESCO... Froze all ties with UNESCO barriers were the reality, 1990, Israeli forces patrolling the,. Origin of the Al-Aqsa mosque has been why was a mosque built on the temple mount and renovated several times since its original construction... 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