al-aqsa mosque: do not intrude!

8/20/2019 Al-Aqsa Mosque: Do Not Intrude!

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Al-Aqsa Mosque: Do Not Intrude!Mustafa Abu Sway

Dr. Mustafa Abu Sway is associate professor o f philosophy and

Islamic studies and director o f the Islamic Research Center

at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem/Palestine. He is also

the coordinator fo r the master’ s program in Contemporary

Islamic Studies.

Verily, ‘Al-Aqsa’ Is a name for the whole mosque

which is surrounded by the wall, the length and width of which are

mentioned here, for the bdilding that exists in the southern part ofthe Mosque, and the other ones sUch as the Dome of the Rock and

the corridors and other [buildings] are novel (muhdatha).

(Mujir Al-Din Al-Hanbali, Al-Uns Al-Jalil fo Tarikh Al-Quds wal- Khalil, vol.2, p.24.)

More than 500 years ago, when Mujir Al-Din Al-Hanbali offered the above

definition of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the year 900 AH/1495, there were no

conflicts, no occupatidh and no contesting narratives surrounding the site.What is more remarkable for me is that when I published the above definition

in a previous paper in Where Heaven and Earth Meet: Jerusalem s Sacred

Esplanade, I received a respohse from a senior non-Muslim medievalist

professor who is very familiar with the literature of the period simply

admitting that he was hot aware of Al-Hanbali’s definition. I am convinced

that knowledge about Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Holy Qur’an, the Prophetic

traditions and Islamic literature would present a much-needed narrative with

clear political implications. Meddling in the affairs of Al-Aqsa Mosque coulddestabilize the region afid beyoild. Any forced entry (i.e., without approval of

Muslims) is tantamount to a clear violation of the sanctity of the mosque.

Not only do the Isfaeli occupation authorities prevent freedom of

movement and freedom of worship, they interfere in defining Al-Aqsa

Mosque by restricting the-medhing of Al-Aqsa Mosque to the southern

most building, Qibli Mosque, father than all 144 dunums or 36 acres. The

Israeli occupation authorities consider the open yards within Al-Aqsa

Mosque as belonging to public parks, with no jurisdiction for the Waqf. In doing so, the Israeli occupation authorities justify their own role in

permitting and protecting extretnist Israelis’ and others’ entry into Al-Aqsa

Mosque compound against the will of the Waqf administration. Some of

those extremists became lawmakers itl the Israeli Knesset or members of

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the cabinet. These forced entries are usually protested by Muslims present

at the mosque and often lead to Israeli occupation security forces attacking

and arresting protesters and restricting their entry into the mosque to Muslim

women from Sunday to Thursday during the early morning hours. Therewere many Fridays in 2014 when Muslims younger than 50 years of age

were not allowed into Al-Aqsa Mosque. TJte security situation deteriorated

with many unfortunate incidents that were linked to Israeli policies at Al-

Aqsa Mosque. The climax was the occupation authorities’ decision to totally

close Al-Aqsa Mosque to Muslims at the epd o f October 2014, for the first

time since 1967. Even Israeli commentators said that these policies could

lead to a religious war! One commentator (Jescribed the closure of Al-Aqsa

Mosque as posing an existential threat to Israel.If it weren’t for Jordan’s firm stance in the aftermath of the said

closure, Al-Aqsa Mosque would have suffered from more destructive

Israeli occupation policies. The immediate meeting between HM Jordanian

King Abdullah II, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli Prime

Minister Binyamin Netanyahu must have addressed the situation at Al-

Aqsa Mosque, for there were practically no restrictions for a few weeks,

before the occupation authorities went bacjc to their old counterproductive

and dangerous habits.It should be known that all policies, actions and “facts on the ground”

created by the Israeli occupation are null apd void; they are in violation of

international and humanitarian laws. Only Muslims have the right to define

their own religious space and what to do with it, for they have exclusive

rights to it.

The paragraph that preceded Al-Hanbali’s definition ofAl-Aqsa Mosque

was dedicated to its measurement. Twice the measurements of the Mosque

were taken under the supervision of Al-Hatibali to make sure that they wereaccurate. He mentioned that the length of tJie Mosque was measured from

the southern wall to the northern corridor pear Bab Al-Asbat (i.e., Lions’

Gate). The width was measured from the wall overlooking the cemetery

of Bab Al-Rahmah (i.e., Golden Gate) to tlye western corridor, beneath the

Tankaziyyah School. Today, the Israeli occupation authorities prevent the

Waqffrova having free access to the Golden Qate, and the Tankaziyyah School

has been confiscated for the use of Israeli occupation security forces.

For the last 1,400 years, Al-Aqsa Mosque ip Jerusalem was underIslamic sovereignty except during the Crusades and Israeli occupation.

While the Crusaders’ rule ended nine centuries ago, the Israeli occupation

of East Jerusalem, including Al-Aqsa Mosque, is still ongoing since 1967.

Israel continues to disregard United Nations resolutions according to which

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it should have ended its occupation. Rather, Israel resorts to managing the

occupation, including the introduction of what came to be known as the

status quo. It was established in the aftermath of the Israeli occupation for

managing Al-Aqsa Mosque but it deteriorated after the second intifada,which Ariel Sharon ignited by intruding into Al-Aqsa Mosque, accompanied

by a large number of Israeli occupation security forces. Today, Israel itself

refuses to go back to the status quo ante. As mentioned earlier, its security

forces permit and protect ever-growing numbers of extremists’ entry into Al-

Aqsa Mosque, a policy that threatens to escalate tensions, while Palestinian

Muslims do not have free access. Men often have to be 50 or older in order

to be permitted into Al-Aqsa Mosque. Various measures make freedom of

movement and worship a thing of the distant past. It is the extreme Israelioccupation policies and practices in and around Al-Aqsa Mosque, in

addition to a long list of violations of international law (land confiscation,

building colonies, house demolitions as collective punishment, revocation

of residency, etc.), that undermine prospects for peace.

Propaganda is also used in the assault on Al-Aqsa Mosque and

Jerusalem, in spreading misconceptions and misinformation, about their

status in Islam and in Islamic history, to lessen their importance. An example

of such propaganda is that Jerusalem was never the capital of any Islamicstate and therefore it is not important for Muslims. I use the same premise

(i.e., “Jerusalem was never the capital of any Islamic state”) to reach the

opposite conclusion.

Can anyone doubt the importance of Makkah (Mecca) for Muslims?

One of the remarkable shared historical facts between Makkah and

Jerusalem is that neither was the capital of any Islamic state, despite their

holiness (or, rather because of their holiness!) and forming part of Islamic

creed. They were both connected in the Holy Qur’an in “The Journey at Night” (. Al-Isra ’):

Glory be to (Allah) Who did take His Servant for a journey by night

from Al-Masjid Al-Haram to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa whose precincts We

did bless, in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He

is the One who hears and sees [all things]. (The Holy Qur’an, 17:1).

It is like an extra spiritual twinning between two of the three holiest

mosques in Islam, because the Prophetic tradition restricts extra merits toreligious visitations and pilgrimages to Al-Masjid Al-Haram in Makkah,

Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi in Medina and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The

sites of these three mosques were divinely designated.

The first verse of Sura 17 “Al-Isra’/The Journey at Night” reflects

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holiness and blessedness that go beyond Al-Aqsa Mosque, for the land is

both holy and blessed in the Holy Qur’an. But this holy land is not to be

conflated with shifting modern geopolitical borders.

“Al-Isra’ “ is deeply etched in Islamic consciousness. As I write this paper, a book called Meditations on Sura Al-Isra ’ stands out at eye level

in my own library. I prayed recently, and for the first time, at the newly

established magnificent mosque in Bethany, with the first verses of Al-Isra’

written in beautiful and massive golden Arabic calligraphy on a royal blue

background above the niche. And these are the very same verses that were

recited repeatedly by a Palestinian friend of mine when we prayed together

in Boston 25 years ago, as if our subconscious was preoccupied with Al-

Aqsa Mosque. The whole Sura Al-Isra’ is written on the drum of the goldenDome of the Rock. The Palestinian poet Tamim Al-Bargouthi equated it, in

a poem called In Jerusalem , with the definition of beauty itself, adding that

it is like a convex mirror in which you see the reflection of the heavens.

It is this deep conviction and celebration of the Prophet’s Night

Journey that manifests itself in scholarship, art and architecture, but mostly

in praying at Al-Aqsa Mosque. Before the Separation Wall, the number of

Muslims who made it to Al-Aqsa Mosque on the last Friday of Ramadan

reached close to 400,000 Muslims.

"Knowledge about Al-Aqsa Mosque in all Islamic literature would present a much-

needed narrative with clear political implications. " Mustafa Abu Sway.

20.4 & 21.1 111



The Sunnah of the Prophet confirmed the special status of the three

mosques, but there are more traditions dedicated to Al-Aqsa Mosque and

Jerusalem than the other two. These traditions talk about extra merit for

prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, extra merit for initiating the minor pilgrimagefrom it, and a host of other traditions that link Jerusalem to numerous end

times scenarios. One particular tradition encouraged Muslims to five in

Jerusalem so that their offspring would frequent Al-Aqsa Mosque. Imam

Ahmad (d. 855 CE) narrated in his Musnad (Hadith #16196) that his

companion Dhu Al-Asabi' said: “I said, O Messenger of God! If were tested

with remaining after you, where would you order us to five? He said: Go

to Jerusalem, so that you may have offspring that goes forth and returns to

Al-Aqsa Mosque.”Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem continued to be the focus of

development and renovation ever since the second caliph Umar Ibn Al-

Khattab arrived in Jerusalem in 638 CE. Umar Ibn Al-Khattab concluded

what became known as the “Pact of Umar,” the first interfaith agreement of

its kind with Patriarch Sophronius assuring Christians of their freedorp to

worship and the protection of their churches. No bloodshed and no ethnic

cleansing. Umar Ibn Al-Khattab was echoing the moment Makkah was

conquered when Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) issued generalamnesty to the people of Makkah. Saladin showed the same magnanimity to

the Crusaders in Jerusalem. Three major peaceful endings, one in Makkah

and two in Jerusalem!

Ibn Al-Khattab went on to the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque, which was

barren with no buildings. He built the first structure within the Al-Aqsa

Mosque compound that is equated in ancient Islamic literature with the

space. The Qur’anic reference to Al-Aqsa Mosque took place before

Muslims arrived in the city of Jerusalem and before they carried out any projects to build structures.

Al-Aqsa Mosque has been exclusively Islamic for Muslim worshippers,

for more than fourteen centuries, since the year 636 CE. Its use as a mosque

was temporarily interrupted during the time of the Crusaders, but Muslims

never gave up on Al-Aqsa Mosque until it was freed and restored to its

previous use. It was, still is and will continue to belong to Muslims all

over the world.

The Umayyads, the Abbasids, the Ayyubids, the Mamluks, theOttomans and the Hashemites are among the major benefactors of Jerusalem,

with the Hashemites continuing to be the custodians of Al-Aqsa Mosque and

holy places in Jerusalem. They continue to provide crucial materia}, moral

and political support to maintain, manage and defend Al-Aqsa Mosque.

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It should be noted that the general directorate of Waqf in Jerusalem is a

department in the Jordanian Ministry for W aqf and R eligious Affairs.

HM King Abdullah II and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud

Abbas signed a legally binding agreement to jointly defend Al-Aqsa M osqueon March 31, 2013. This agreement recognizes King Abdullah II as the

custodian o f the holy places in Jerusalem.

Article “c” o f the preamble, which is an integral part o f the above

agreement, offers the following definition o f Al-Aqsa M osque/Al-Haram

Al-Sharif:

Recalling the unique religious importance, to all Muslims, o f A1

Masjid A1 Aqsa with its 144 dunums, which include the Qibli Mosque

of A1 Aqsa, the Mosque o f the Dome of the Rock and all its mosques,

buildings, walls, courtyards, attached areas over and beneath the ground

and the Waqf properties tied-up to A1 Masjid A1 Aqsa, to its environs or

to its pilgrims (hereinafter referred to as “A1 Haram A1 Sharif’).

Jordanian and Palestinian diplomats were successful in getting

UNESCO to recognize and use “Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif,”

a name that does not leave room for misinterpretation. Al-Aqsa Mosque

equals Al-Haram Al-Sharif, which is equal to all 144 dunums, all fourwalls and all that is between the walls, the subterranean space and all that

is above the ground.

Al-Aqsa Mosque was a center for Islamic learning throughout Islamic

history, with m assive endowments dedicated for the service o f teachers and

students. Today, three schools continue to function and serve students inside

the Al-Aqsa Mosque com pound. Various Jordanian educational programs

were established at Al-Aqsa M osque and in Jerusalem. In addition, Jordan

supports other existing educational institutions.

Every m osque in the world is a waqf, an inalienable endow ed Islamic

property. The e tymology o f the word waqf signifies confining the property

at hand to the specified use and prohibiting any change in status.

Places o f worship are meant to be exclusive. Those in authority should

never be blinded by their own powers to the degree they infringe on the

religious space o f the other. When invited by Patriarch Sophronius to pray at

the Holy Sepulchre Church, Caliph Um ar Ibn Al-Khattab declined politely,

citing his fear that future Muslim generations might claim this as a right.

This is true leadership. This should be the prevailing ethos between those

in pow er and the religious space o f the other. It might help the powerful

to show some hum ility if they could learn from history, and the history o f

Jerusalem in particular, that power could shift.

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al-aqsa mosque: do not intrude!

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