2023-10-15 01:28:07
View of the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
Photo: Berthold Werner – Wikimedia Commons
Al Aqsa, one of the temples that rise above the mosque esplanade, is a place of worship in Jerusalem that has raised tensions between Israel and Palestine for years. The name of this mosque was the one that the Hamas group chose to name their attack, “Al Aqsa Storm.” This is the third holiest place for Muslims, following Mecca and Medina, who have been praying there for a thousand years. This mosque is also surrounded by the Western Wall and the ground where it stands is so sacred to Jews that the religious authorities do not allow devotees to pray there.
The historical tradition of both religions indicates their relationship with this complex of monuments, which is also made up of the Dome of the Rock and the Wailing Wall. It is here where the Muslim religion places the ascension of Muhammad to heaven. “The enclosure that Muslims call Haram esh-Sharif, The Noble Sanctuary, and which is popularly known as the esplanade of the mosques, was built from the 7th century onwards on the ruins of the Temple Mount of Jerusalem, where remains of the Temple still exist. ancient Jewish temple – destroyed by the Romans in the 1st century AD – as the Wailing Wall, the holiest place in the Jewish religion,” wrote Alex Sala for National Geographic.
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Al Aqsa, which translates “the farthest”, is the largest in Jerusalem and, according to the Koran, different people who are considered prophets by the Muslim religion made pilgrimages there, such as: Ibrahim (Abraham), Dawud ( David), Sulaiman (Solomon), Ilyas (Elijah) and Isa (Jesus). The temple is estimated to have been built in the year 710, following the Dome of the Rock and the Dome of the Chain, by the Umayyad dynasty, and the name given to it refers to the passage from the Koran: Night Journey ( Al Isra). This narrates “the ascension to heaven of the prophet Muhammad. According to the holy book, Allah transported his prophet from the “Holy Mosque” (in Mecca) to the “distant mosque” (Jerusalem) on a winged horse and, from there, made him ascend to the heavens,” Sala describes.
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The Umayyad dynasty were the first caliphs in this territory and led Islam from Damascus. After its construction, the mosque had to be rebuilt at least five times, as several earthquakes caused damage to its structure or destroyed part of it, between the year 746 and 1035. The last reconstruction, whose structure remains today, was made by the Fatimid caliph Ali az-Zahir. By the year 1099, when the crusaders took Jerusalem, the temple would become a royal palace and was called Solomon’s Temple. Until 1187 it fulfilled this function and it was the first Egyptian sultan of the Ayyubid dynasty, Saldino, who returned it to its original religious character.
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The mosque is decorated with 14th century motifs that had to be restored following a fire in 1969 and its dome, the most striking element, which dates back to the time of Az-Zahir and was made of wood covered in enameled lead, succumbed to the flames and “was rebuilt with cement covered with an aluminum cover, replaced in the 1980s by lead to evoke the original design,” according to Sala.
Along with this temple, the Dome of the Rock, the oldest Islamic building, also stands on the hill known as Haram al Sharif to Muslims and Temple Mount to Jews. The latter “believe that King Solomon built the first temple there 3,000 years ago and that a second Jewish temple built on the site was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD,” according to a BBC report.
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The esplanade constitutes a symbol for both religions due to the concentration of monuments in this space and, therefore, it has become a sensitive point in the conflict between Palestine and Israel. From 1948 to 1967 it remained divided, the western part was controlled by Israel, while the old city with the sacred places of both religions was controlled by Jordan. This changed following Israel took Jerusalem following the Six-Day War and therefore annexed the esplanade along with territories in the West Bank. “The Hashemite monarch of Jordan is the official custodian of both places of Muslim worship in al Aqsa. “He appoints members of a foundation independent of the Israeli government – known as an Islamic waqf – to oversee the site,” the BBC reported. Multiple protests and clashes have broken out in the complex, leaving multiple victims and injuries over the years.
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