Jerusalem Represents Neither a Religious Nor a Historical Problem
Ismail Imadudeen
July 16, 2009
Religiously speaking, Jerusalem remains the holiest city for the Jews, a spiritual center for Christians and the third holiest city in Islam; it is the place where many Jewish monuments and heritage reside, same as for Christians and Muslims. It is a land that witnessed many conflicts and wars. And it is the land where the Romans banned the Jews to enter for hundreds of years.
History reveals that there had been no better time for the Jews in Jerusalem, except that of King David, than that during the Islamic era, when they were allowed to come back and perform there prayers and rituals in freedom for about four centuries. However, when the Crusaders invaded the Holy City in 1099 AD, both Muslims and Jews were killed in great numbers.
Years went by before the Islamic Ottoman Empire took over the city for another four hundred years, and the Jews were allowed again to perform their prayers and live normally as pure citizens within the Islamic Empire. In 1917, the British got hold of the city and other Arab territories, and they carried out a strange policy of dividing the Arab world into pieces based on ethnic and/or historical backgrounds. No one that time had ever imagined that there could be any plots or plans to create a special Jewish state within the Arab world, as the Jews were considered as citizens of full rights in their respective Arab countries. In fact, the Jews were Egyptians, Syrians, Palestinians, Yemani, Morocans, etc; they were simply a core part of those societies, same as Christians or Muslims. While the Arab world had been divided on ethnic and/or historical backgrounds, Israel was allowed to be created on religious backgrounds, the reason that alienated them in the region, as Israel was seen as an implanted state established mainly to serve the colonialist interests.
Nonetheless, albeit Israel was created based on a UN resolution, Jerusalem remains an occupied land under the International Law thus far, i.e. Jerusalem is not Israeli, under the relevant UN resolutions.
Now, Jerusalem which had been a secured place for all the three religions; Judaism, Christianity and Islam under the successive Islamic rulers for more than 800 years, is being claimed by Israel that it belongs ONLY to them, and even, there are calls from within Israel for the destruction of the Al Aqsa Mosque! I wouldn’t say that that represents a form of ungratefulness to the Muslims who were ever protective to both the Jews and Christians, but I would say that, both the excavation and the historical debate concerning the ancient city wouldn’t take us to any direction, because Jerusalem is, and will remain, an occupied land by Israel, and that they have to withdraw from it sooner or later.
It has to be understood that there is a difference between “Jewish” and “Israeli”. The Jews have rights in the holy city; a fact that does not require all that digging and relentless work in there, but Israel does not have the right to occupy it under any rationale.
No single Arab (and the Arabs are Jews, Christian and Muslims) does not know that King David or Prophet Moses or all the other holy prophets of Judaism lived in that land. The Middle East is the land where all the divine messages came. Prophet Joseph, for instance, lived in Egypt, and acted there as the minister of finance for many years; Prophet Moses lived in Egypt also, and spoke to God while he was in the Egyptian Sinai; this does not require a historical debate, does not require digging and excavation, and equally, does not imply Israeli rights in Egypt either. Notwithstanding, the Jews can claim that they represent a valuable part of Egyptian history; a fact that the Egyptians are aware of, appreciate and documented. So, it is clear that the issue of Jerusalem represents a political problem, neither religious nor historical.
I feel extremely hurt when I see Al Aqsa Mosque being desecrated carelessly by our neighbors, especially when I remember that my predecessors had protected them for centuries, and, at the same time, I feel sorry for those young Israelis who are driven by some extremists; who spend days and nights in the excavation sites trying to prove something about Jerusalem that every body on earth knows! Yes, the Jews lived there thousands of years ago, same as they lived in Egypt and other places in the Middle East.
We have to understand that, if we let the historians and archeologists decide the destiny of our world, and if we decide according to “I was here first,” then Syria should claim all the “Alhecsus” ancient properties, the Lebanese should do the same with that of the “Phoenicians’”, Egypt with that of the “Pharaoh’s”, Iraq with that of “Assyrians’”, and even the Red Indians in North America should be able to do the same!
It is not debatable that all the Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy sites will be well preserved and protected under the Palestinian State the way they used to be under the Islamic rule for more than 800 years or so (‘Islamic rule’ here represents a political rather than a religious status). In short, there will be no danger, of any kind, concerning the preservation of Jewish or Christian heritage in the Old City, while it is obvious, unfortunately, that the Muslims’ interest, represented in Al Aqsa Mosque, is very much endangered in the hands of the Israeli extremists.
History reveals that there had been no better time for the Jews in Jerusalem, except that of King David, than that during the Islamic era, when they were allowed to come back and perform there prayers and rituals in freedom for about four centuries. However, when the Crusaders invaded the Holy City in 1099 AD, both Muslims and Jews were killed in great numbers.
Years went by before the Islamic Ottoman Empire took over the city for another four hundred years, and the Jews were allowed again to perform their prayers and live normally as pure citizens within the Islamic Empire. In 1917, the British got hold of the city and other Arab territories, and they carried out a strange policy of dividing the Arab world into pieces based on ethnic and/or historical backgrounds. No one that time had ever imagined that there could be any plots or plans to create a special Jewish state within the Arab world, as the Jews were considered as citizens of full rights in their respective Arab countries. In fact, the Jews were Egyptians, Syrians, Palestinians, Yemani, Morocans, etc; they were simply a core part of those societies, same as Christians or Muslims. While the Arab world had been divided on ethnic and/or historical backgrounds, Israel was allowed to be created on religious backgrounds, the reason that alienated them in the region, as Israel was seen as an implanted state established mainly to serve the colonialist interests.
Nonetheless, albeit Israel was created based on a UN resolution, Jerusalem remains an occupied land under the International Law thus far, i.e. Jerusalem is not Israeli, under the relevant UN resolutions.
Now, Jerusalem which had been a secured place for all the three religions; Judaism, Christianity and Islam under the successive Islamic rulers for more than 800 years, is being claimed by Israel that it belongs ONLY to them, and even, there are calls from within Israel for the destruction of the Al Aqsa Mosque! I wouldn’t say that that represents a form of ungratefulness to the Muslims who were ever protective to both the Jews and Christians, but I would say that, both the excavation and the historical debate concerning the ancient city wouldn’t take us to any direction, because Jerusalem is, and will remain, an occupied land by Israel, and that they have to withdraw from it sooner or later.
It has to be understood that there is a difference between “Jewish” and “Israeli”. The Jews have rights in the holy city; a fact that does not require all that digging and relentless work in there, but Israel does not have the right to occupy it under any rationale.
No single Arab (and the Arabs are Jews, Christian and Muslims) does not know that King David or Prophet Moses or all the other holy prophets of Judaism lived in that land. The Middle East is the land where all the divine messages came. Prophet Joseph, for instance, lived in Egypt, and acted there as the minister of finance for many years; Prophet Moses lived in Egypt also, and spoke to God while he was in the Egyptian Sinai; this does not require a historical debate, does not require digging and excavation, and equally, does not imply Israeli rights in Egypt either. Notwithstanding, the Jews can claim that they represent a valuable part of Egyptian history; a fact that the Egyptians are aware of, appreciate and documented. So, it is clear that the issue of Jerusalem represents a political problem, neither religious nor historical.
I feel extremely hurt when I see Al Aqsa Mosque being desecrated carelessly by our neighbors, especially when I remember that my predecessors had protected them for centuries, and, at the same time, I feel sorry for those young Israelis who are driven by some extremists; who spend days and nights in the excavation sites trying to prove something about Jerusalem that every body on earth knows! Yes, the Jews lived there thousands of years ago, same as they lived in Egypt and other places in the Middle East.
We have to understand that, if we let the historians and archeologists decide the destiny of our world, and if we decide according to “I was here first,” then Syria should claim all the “Alhecsus” ancient properties, the Lebanese should do the same with that of the “Phoenicians’”, Egypt with that of the “Pharaoh’s”, Iraq with that of “Assyrians’”, and even the Red Indians in North America should be able to do the same!
It is not debatable that all the Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy sites will be well preserved and protected under the Palestinian State the way they used to be under the Islamic rule for more than 800 years or so (‘Islamic rule’ here represents a political rather than a religious status). In short, there will be no danger, of any kind, concerning the preservation of Jewish or Christian heritage in the Old City, while it is obvious, unfortunately, that the Muslims’ interest, represented in Al Aqsa Mosque, is very much endangered in the hands of the Israeli extremists.
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