generalspeaking

Touring The Al-Aqsa Mosque Site

"This madness must stop. Israel must not cave in to the insanity of Muslim extremism. The Mughrabi bridge must be replaced - the sooner the better." The Jerusalem Post

The madness of which the Post speaks refers to the unaltered state of a temporary ramp, replacing an earlier, earthen one which had been destroyed by time and extreme weather events. The current replacement is in a parlous state of disrepair and continuing to deteriorate. It has long been marked for replacement, but continued energetic threats and protests from the Palestinian al-Aqsa Association for Waqf has stalled the replacement.

The ramp site is called the Mughrabi Ascent, leading from the lower level where the Wailing Wall - the holiest site in Judaism, representing the physical remnants of the second Temple of Solomon upon whose site Muslims built the Al-Aqsa Mosque, directly over the archaelogical remains of the Temple- exists up to the Haram al-Sharif, which houses the mosque.

When the ramp had originally been slated for demolition and a permanent, safe ramp to replace it, there was so much resistance that for fear of a wave of violence that would potentially result, the process was further delayed: "The situation in the region is sensitive, therefore I decided that the time is not right to go ahead with it", explained Benjamin Netanyahu at the time.

But Jerusalem's city engineer has now unequivocally stated that there can be no further delays. The ramp's current condition represents "a threat to public safety". Upon hearing which, Muslim authorities, objecting to any Israeli modifications to the area, have protested wildly, condemning the plans to proceed as representative of a state intention "to Judaize", Jerusalem.

An astonishing statement, given that historically, authentically, Jerusalem does indeed represent the heritage of Judaism. "This shows their determination to Judaize Jerusalem and to take over the city's Muslim holy places", fumed Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat who never met a situation to criticize Israel without responding handsomely to the challenge.

"We warn of the grave implications of such an act, and call the Islamic Arab and Palestinian circles for an urgent and immediate move toward saving al-Aqsa Mosque from the Israeli occupier plans."

Israel, stated a Hamas spokesman, "bears full responsibility for the consequences of this criminal act which constitutes a flagrant violation of the sanctity of al-Aqsa Mosque and a provocation to the feelings of millions of Muslims." That Islam itself regularly and routinely builds its sacred places over top of other religions' places of worship does not of course violate the sanctity of other religions' rights to exist.

The Western Wall Foundation, headed by Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, issued a statement, sounding in contrast, like a clarion call for reason: "Obviously any decision will take into account safety considerations for those going up the bridge and those praying at the Wall", as they study the order and seek legal advice with respect to the manner in which to proceed.

The most interesting part of all of this is that there are 15 gates that lead into the al-Aqsa mosque compound. Of that 15, ten are in active use. The ramp in question which leads to the Mughrabi Gate, is the only access for the use of non-Muslims by which to enter the site. Its closure, however temporary will result temporarily in tourists being prevented from visiting.

Labels: Islamism, Israel, Palestinian Authority, Political Realities, Prejudices

posted by Pieface @ Saturday, December 10, 2011