Yasser Arafat, himself a Muslim, sided with the Christians in 1999, saying that the Muslims should not build the mosque so close to the church.
Last week, after failing to get the promised construction permits from the Israeli authorities, local Muslims began illegally building at the site. Word got back to the Vatican, which yesterday issued a statement calling on the Israeli government to stop “Muslim extremists” from building the mosque, and stating that “building the mosque here will in effect put this holy place in a state of permanent siege and make its gate a gathering place for the most hostile elements.”
I am left to wonder at the absurdity of the whole situation. Why exactly does anyone have a problem with a bunch of Muslims who just want to build a house of worship? After all, Muslims, like Christians, have complete freedom of worship in Israel. For the Vatican to refer to these Nazarene Muslims as “Muslim extremists” sounds just a tad bombastic to say the least. To suppose that this mosque will become a meeting place for the most hostile elements is presumptuous and belies the Christian precept of brotherhood among men.
Or does the Vatican know something the Jews don’t?
Consider the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site. For millennia, Jews have directed their prayers toward this hilltop in Jerusalem. For centuries this is the only place in all of Israel Jews have not been allowed to pray. All due to Muslim sensitivities. After all, Muslims consider the site holy as well – right in line after Mecca and Medina. But for Jews, for whom this site tops the list, we are persona non-grata.
Muslim prayer services have not exactly been peaceful at the Temple Mount. Countless times, worshippers leaving the mosques after Friday services have hurled stones, bottles, firebombs, and other detritus at Jewish worshippers at the Western Wall below. The pulpit of the mosques on the Temple Mount have been used to spew criminal incitement against the State that grants freedom of worship in these places, and against the majority of the population of Israel. Of late, Muslim authorities have carried out earthworks on the Temple Mount in an effort to destroy any last vestige of Jewish history at the site.
Yet when any person tries to stop these abuses, the result is condemnation, or outright violence. Take last September, when Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount, with prior coordination with Muslim leaders there. The world condemned him, and the Palestinians used the condemnation to launch a country-wide wave of violence that continues to this day, and that has so far claimed the lives of close to 200 Israelis.
During the course of this violence, Muslims have destroyed the Tomb of Joseph, attempted to destroy the Tomb of Rachel, and harassed and attacked worshippers at the Tomb of the Patriarchs.
The Vatican was among those condemning Sharon’s visit, and continues to be among those against any increased Israeli presence or authority at the site. They have said not a word about the attacks at any of the other sites. But when it comes to their own holy places, the Church knows just what the Muslims are capable of in the name of religious superiority.
The Vatican carries on mightily this week about the extremism of a few worshippers wanting to build a mosque. But when it comes to the real Muslim extremists such as Arafat, Dahlan, Tirawi, and Barghouti, the Vatican has no problem insisting that Israel give them any gate or gathering place they wish in any area of Israel.
According to the Associated Press, which ran this story, Prime Minister Sharon is inclined not to allow the compromise to go through, and will prevent the construction of the mosque. At the same time, he might consider letting the Vatican know that the Jews are renewing our claim to our holy sites, including the Temple Mount, the Tomb of the Patriarchs, the Tomb of Rachel, and the Tomb of Joseph.
Copyright 2001. Yehuda Poch is a writer living in Israel. Reproduction in electronic or print format by permission only.
