A rectangular platform covering 35 acres of Jerusalem, it is revered by Jews as the place where God gathered together. In. Translated by P. Amde Jaubert. [312], In July 2007 the Muslim religious trust which administers the Mount began digging a 400-metre-long (1,300ft), 1.5-metre-deep (4.9ft) trench[313] from the northern side of the Temple Mount compound to the Dome of the Rock[314] in order to replace 40-year-old[315] electric cables in the area. [273] Later he established his office on the Mount and conducted a series of demonstrations on the Mount in support of the right of Jewish men to enter there. [258] At various times, when there is fear of Arab rioting upon the mount resulting in throwing stones from above towards the Western Wall Plaza, Israel has prevented Muslim men under 45 from praying in the compound, citing these concerns. Rabbi Goren clearly delineates between the two buildings: One is in the direction of the holy Muslim city of Mecca, and is to serve as a mosque - while the other was built without regard to. The Jews in Palestine were allowed to set up a vassal state under the Sassanid Empire called the Sassanid Jewish Commonwealth which lasted for five years. Many of these recent opinions rely on archaeological evidence. Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam, is not located on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Saudi lawyer and journalist Osama Yamani is claiming. [226] Jews were given the right to visit the Temple Mount unobstructed and free of charge if they respected Muslims' religious feelings and acted decently, but they were not allowed to pray. [2] The courtyard (sahn)[20] can host more than 400,000 worshippers, making it one of the largest mosques in the world. Shortly after capturing the site, Israel handed its administration back to the Waqf under the Jordanian Hashemite custodianship, while maintaining Israeli security control. In 638 C.E. [citation needed][81], In 1980, Jordan proposed that the Old City be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site[82] and it was added to the List in 1981. The Western Wall was to remain the Jewish place of prayer. [279][280] The boundaries of the areas which are completely forbidden, while having large portions in common, are delineated differently by various rabbinic authorities. It was built over the Foundation Stone, the site of the historic Jewish Temple. [117][118][119] After the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, which came to be regarded by early Christians, as it was by Josephus and the sages of the Jerusalem Talmud, to be a divine act of punishment for the sins of the Jewish people,[120][121] the Temple Mount lost its significance for Christian worship with the Christians considering it a fulfillment of Christ's prophecy at, for example, Matthew 23:38[122] and Matthew 24:2. On April 11, 1982, a Jew hid in the Dome of the Rock and sprayed gunfire, killing 2 Palestinians and wounding 44; in 1974, 1977 and 1983 groups led by Yoel Lerner conspired to blow up both the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa. Warren's Gate and the Golden Gate simply head towards the centre of the Mount, fairly quickly giving access to the surface by steps. [154][140] According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, the phrase was originally understood as a reference to a site in the heavens. [31] Almost immediately after the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem in 638 CE, Caliph 'Omar ibn al Khatab, reportedly disgusted by the filth covering the site, had it thoroughly cleaned,[135] and granted Jews access to the site. [272] His behavior displeased the government, which restricted his public actions, censored his writings, and in August prevented him from attending the annual Oral Law Conference at which the question of access to the Mount was debated. [68], Some scholars have used the terms Sacred Esplanade or Holy Esplanade as a "strictly neutral term" for the site. [155] A group of Islamic scholars understood the story of Muhammad's ascension from al-Aqsa Mosque as relating to the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Occupied East Jerusalem - Israeli Jewish activist Raphael Morris has a lot to do before his unauthorised visit to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.. [293] They were used as stables by the Crusaders, but were built by Herod the Great along with the platform they were built to support. A world of subterranean caves, tunnels, and chambers is hidden in Har Habayit, cloaked in mystery and surrounded by legend. [298] Israeli archaeological digs at the southwestern corner of Temple Mount discovered traces of four Muslim palaces built under the Umayyad Caliphate, though the remains have not been well preserved but instead had a museum built upon them. [208] The date of the mosaic is disputed: Zachi Dvira considers that they are from the pre-Islamic Byzantine period, while Baruch, Reich and Sandhaus favor a much later Umayyad origin on account of their similarity to a known Umayyad mosaic.[208]. [74][75] In recent years, the term is also used by the UN and its subsidiary organs. According to the rabbinic sages whose debates produced the Talmud, the Foundation Stone, which sits below the Dome of the Rock, was the spot from where the world was created and expanded into its current form,[98][99] and where God gathered the dust used to create the first human, Adam. "[116], The Temple was of central importance in Jewish worship in the Tanakh (Old Testament). Many Israelis Think So, Poll Shows,', "The Temple Mount/al-Aqsa in Zionist and Palestinian National Consciousness: A Comparative View", "Amid Temple Mount tumult, the who, what and why of its Waqf rulers", "EXPLAINER: What Are the Temple Movements and Why Should We Be Worried? At the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Mohammed led prophets in prayer. [citation needed] After the Persian invasion in 614 many churches were razed and the site was turned into a dumpyard. [181][182] Ritmeyer has also suggested that one of the steps leading to the Dome of the Rock is actually the top of a remaining stone course of the western wall of the Iron Age compound.[183][184]. JERUSALEM The Israeli government has long forbidden Jews to pray on the Temple Mount, a site sacred to Jews and Muslims, yet Rabbi Yehudah Glick made little effort to hide his prayers. How it came to be connected with the Koran is explained here: [273] After Narkiss refused, Goren unsuccessfully petitioned the government to close off the Mount to Jews and non-Jews alike. Jews call the area the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times. [220][bettersourceneeded]. [277] Their opinions against entering the Temple Mount are based on the current political climate surrounding the Mount,[278] along with the potential danger of entering the hallowed area of the Temple courtyard and the impossibility of fulfilling the ritual requirement of cleansing oneself with the ashes of a red heifer. The term "Noble Sanctuary" or "Haram al-Sharif", as it was called later by the Mamluks and Ottomans, refers to the whole area that surrounds that Rock.[216]. Although freedom of access was enshrined in the law, as a security measure, the Israeli government currently enforces a ban on non-Muslim prayer on the site. The plaza includes the location regarded as where the Islamic prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven,[21] and served as the first "qibla", the direction Muslims turn towards when praying. [76], The Temple Mount forms the northern portion of a very narrow spur of hill that slopes sharply downward from north to south. This sensitivity has not, however, prevented both Jewish and Muslim works from accusations of destroying archeological evidence on a number of occasions. A 2013 Knesset committee hearing considered allowing Jews to pray at the site, amidst heated debate. There is a speculation that it had a function connected with the altar of the Second Temple (and possibly of the earlier Temple), Cistern 5 (located under the south eastern corner of the upper platform) a long and narrow chamber, with a strange anti-clockwise curved section at its north western corner, and containing within it a doorway currently blocked by earth. Umayyah Abdul Malik ibn Marwan also constructed the adjacent smaller Dome of the Chain to mark the central spot of the Al Aqsa sanctuary. [144] The term Bayt al-Maqdis (or Bayt al-Muqaddas), which frequently appears as a name of Jerusalem in early Islamic sources, is a cognate of the Hebrew term bt ha-miqdsh ( ), the Temple in Jerusalem. Annika Bjrkdahl and Susanne Buckley-Zistel: "The site is known in Arabic as Haram al-Sharif the Noble Sanctuary and colloquially as the Haram or the al-Aqsa compound; while in Hebrew, it is called Har HaBeit the Temple Mount. [262][263][264], Due to religious restrictions on entering the most sacred areas of the Temple Mount (see following section), the Western Wall, a retaining wall for the Temple Mount and remnant of the Second Temple structure, is considered by some rabbinical authorities to be the holiest accessible site for Jews to pray at. Muslims believe Muhammad was transported from the Great Mosque of Mecca to al-Aqsa during the Night Journey. The Politics of Prayer at the Temple Mount. [30], The name of the site is disputed, primarily between Muslims and Jews, in the context of the ongoing IsraeliPalestinian conflict. [204][205] In a letter attributed to Julian he wrote to the Jews that "This you ought to do, in order that, when I have successfully concluded the war in Persia, I may rebuild by my own efforts the sacred city of Jerusalem, which for so many years you have longed to see inhabited, and may bring settlers there, and, together with you, may glorify the Most High God therein. ", Some scholars point to the political motives of the Umayyad dynasty which led to the sanctification of Jerusalem in Islam. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 16 et seq. Tel Aviv; Jerusalem; Haifa; Eilat . [167] Muhammad later prayed towards the Kaaba in Mecca after receiving a revelation during a prayer session [168][169] in the Masjid al-Qiblatayn. 341345. ", "The Temple Mount Outrageous Lies and Escalating Dangers", "Watch: Waqf bans 'Religious Christians' from Temple Mount", "Israeli Police Storm Disputed Jerusalem Holy Site", "Al-Aqsa Mosque's Incident in July 2017: Affirming the Policy of Deterrence", "Israel freezes Unesco ties for 'denying Jewish holy sites', "Four stages in the evolution of the Temple Mount", "The Temple Mount, the Rabbis, and the Poetics of Memory", Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, The Administration Department of Awgaf and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs, Jerusalem: Al-Aqsa Mosque, "PLO urge journalists: Don't use term 'Temple Mount', "Islamic guards try to boot guide for saying 'Temple Mount' on Temple Mount", "Account of Jerusalem during the Frank Occupation, extracted from the Universal Geography of Edrisi. [78] In around 19 BCE, Herod the Great extended the Mount's natural plateau by enclosing the area with four massive retaining walls and filling the voids. [115] Since at least the first century CE, the two sites have been identified with one another in Judaism, this identification being subsequently perpetuated by Jewish and Christian tradition. [237], On the occasion of an upsurge in Palestinian knifing attacks on Israelis, associated with fears that Israel was changing the status quo on the Mount, the Haredi newspaper Mishpacha ran a notification in Arabic asking 'their cousins', Palestinians, to stop trying to murder members of their congregation, since they were vehemently opposed to ascending the Mount and consider such visits proscribed by Jewish law. Jewish attitudes towards entering the site vary. [8] [9] [a] According to Jewish tradition and scripture, [11] the First Temple was built by King Solomon, the son of King David, in 957 BCE, and was destroyed by the Neo-Babylonian Empire, together with Jerusalem, in 587 BCE. [238][239][240] On 29 September, the Israeli government deployed 2,000 riot police to the mosque. On 7 June 1967, during the Six-Day War, Israeli forces advanced beyond the 1949 Armistice Agreement Line into West Bank territories, taking control of the Old City of Jerusalem, inclusive of the Temple Mount. Appendix H, in: Yosef Ben Matityahu ([Titus] Flavius Josephus), harvnb error: no target: CITEREFPruitt2014 (. In 610, the Sassanid Empire drove the Byzantine Empire out of the Middle East, giving the Jews control of Jerusalem for the first time in centuries. By. "[27][28][29] The site remains a major focal point of the ArabIsraeli conflict. A.D. 705: The first Al-Aqsa Mosque, just south of the Dome of the Rock, is built on the Temple Mount (and later destroyed by earthquakes and rebuilt in 754, 780 and 1035). [234], On 8 October 1990, 22 Palestinians were killed and over 100 others injured by Israeli Border Police during protests that were triggered by the announcement of the Temple Mount Faithful, a group of religious Jews, that they were going to lay the cornerstone of the Third Temple. At present, the Government of Israel controls access to the site, an Islamic religious endowment that lies under the management of the Jordan-based Jerusalem Islamic Waqf. The Book of Isaiah foretells the international importance of the Temple Mount: And it shall come to pass in the end of days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established as the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. The complex is bordered on the south and east by the outer walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. Sabils were built at crossroads and outside mosques throughout the Ottoman Empire to provide drinking water for travelers and enable ritual purification before prayer. It is also one of the most valuable pieces of real estate and one of the most hotly contested pieces of real estate on earth. The ban on visitors continued until 1948[246], Although the 1949 Armistice Agreement called for "resumption of the normal functioning of the cultural and humanitarian institutions on Mount Scopus and free access thereto; free access to the Holy Places and cultural institutions and use of the cemetery on the Mount of Olives. . This has been construed to mean that Jesus dispensed with physical location for worship, which was a matter rather of spirit and truth.[133]. Bab as-Sarai (Gate of the Seraglio); a small gate to the former residence of the Pasha of Jerusalem; western wall, northern part (between the Bani Ghanim and Council gates). [274], Rabbinical consensus in the post-1967 period, held that it is forbidden for Jews to enter any part of the Temple Mount,[275] and in January 2005 a declaration was signed confirming the 1967 decision.[276]. 'Mount of the House [of the Holy]'), also known as al-aram al-Sharf (Arabic: , lit. [172], The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation refers to al-Aqsa Mosque as the third holiest site in Islam (and calls for Arab sovereignty over it). the story of my Night Journey), I stood up in Al-Hijr and Allah displayed Jerusalem in front of me, and I began describing it to them while I was looking at it. Dome of the Rock (Courtesy: Getty Images) Al-Aqsa ("The Farthest") Mosque This is the smaller, lead-covered dome located south of the Dome of the Rock, believed to have been completed in the eighth century. An Islamic Waqf has managed the Temple Mount continuously since the Muslim reconquest of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1187. * "The Rock was in the time of Solomon the son of David 12 cubits high and there was a dome over itIt is written in the Tawrat [Bible]: 'Be happy Jerusalem,' which is Bayt al-Maqdis and the Rock which is called Haykal." [218][219] The Crusaders therefore referred to al-Aqsa Mosque as Solomon's Temple, and it was from this location that the new Order took the name of "Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon", or "Templar" knights. "[272] The signatures of more than 300 prominent rabbis were later obtained. [190] The result was the largest temenos in the ancient world. To the Jews the Temple Mount is the holiest place on Earth, the place where God manifested himself to King David and where two Jewish temples - Solomon's Temple and the Second Temple - were located. There are entry limits to the Temple Mount for political . [272] This warning was reiterated by the Council of the Chief Rabbinate a few days later, which issued an explanation written by Rabbi Bezalel Jolti (Zolti) that "Since the sanctity of the site has never ended, it is forbidden to enter the Temple Mount until the Temple is built. [64] Other sources and maps have used the term al-Masjid al-'Aq to refer to the congregational mosque itself. Some scholars, such as Kenyon and Ritmeyer, argued that the walls of the First Temple compound extended eastward as far as the Eastern Wall. NEAEHL 5: 18091811. The existing four minarets include three near the Western Wall and one near the northern wall. This fort was built to house 10,000 men (6,000 soldiers and 4,000 support staff) as all Roman forts have a standard size: 35 acres, or 14.2 hectares. The Chief Rabbi of the Israeli Defense Forces, Shlomo Goren, led the soldiers in religious celebrations on the Temple Mount and at the Western Wall. [200], From the first through the seventh centuries Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, gradually became the predominant religion of Palestine and under the Byzantines Jerusalem itself was almost completely Christian, with most of the population being Jacobite Christians of the Syrian rite. Join the expedition as Rabbi Leibel Reznick leads an exploration of these secret passageways. There have been several changes to the status quo: Many Palestinians believe the status quo is threatened since right-wing Israelis have been challenging it with more force and frequency, asserting a religious right to pray there. For the congregational mosque located on the site (al-Jami' al-Aqsa), see, Persian, Hellenistic and Hasmonean periods, Jewish attitudes towards entering the site, Jewish religious law concerning entry to the site, Opinions of contemporary rabbis concerning entry to the site. Al Aqsa Mosque ("Al-Masjid al-Aqsa"), which literally means, "The Farthest Mosque," occupies the southern end of Temple Mount and faces the Dome of the Rock. According to Islamic tradition, the Dome of the Rock, built in 691, marks the spot where Muhammed ascended to Heaven. [175] The Bible also mentions several other buildings constructed by Solomon at the site, including the royal palace, the "House of the Lebanon Forest", the "Hall of Pillars", the "Hall of Throne" and the "House of Pharaoh's Daughter". [204], Constantine's nephew Emperor Julian granted permission in the year 363 for the Jews to rebuild the Temple. The Temple Mount is believed by Jews to be the site of two biblical temples. [272] According to General Uzi Narkiss, who led the Israeli force that conquered the Temple Mount, Goren proposed to him that the Dome of the Rock be immediately blown up. [52][60][61], Al-Jmi' al-Aq refers to the specific site of the silver-domed congregational mosque building,[51][52][53] also referred to as Qibli Mosque or Qibli Chapel (al-Jami' al-Aqsa or al-Qibli, or Masjid al-Jumah or al-Mughata), in reference to its location on the southern end of the compound as a result of the Islamic qibla being moved from Jerusalem to Mecca. In 1187, once he retook Jerusalem, Saladin removed all traces of Christian worship from the Temple Mount, returning the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque to their original purposes. The golden domed mosque is called the Dome of the Rock because it was built on top of the Foundation Stone which according to Jewish tradition is the holiest place in the world. During the mandate period, Jewish leaders celebrated ancient religious practices at the Western Wall. [212] It became known as al-Aqsa Mosque. [314] Accusations of vandalism at the site resurfaced in 2018 and again in 2022. "[203] The occasion is assumed to have been Tisha b'Av, since decades later Jerome related that that was the only day on which Jews were permitted to enter Jerusalem. The Aqsa Mosque is one of the holiest structures in the Islamic faith. It is significant for Jews because it was where Jesus was born and celebrated Jewish festivals. [193], During the early phases of the First Jewish-Roman War (6670 CE), the Temple Mount became a center of fighting for various Jewish factions struggling for control of the city, with different factions holding the area during the conflict. [19], The upper platform was built around the peak of the Temple Mount, carrying the Dome of the Rock; the peak just breaches the floor level of the upper platform within the Dome of the Rock, in the shape of a large limestone outcrop, which is part of the bedrock. The Crusader period began in 1099 with the First Crusade's capture of Jerusalem. In the western face, near the southern corner, is the Barclay's Gate only half visible due to a building (the "house of Abu Sa'ud") on the northern side. The Fadhail of Jerusalem inspired Muslims, especially during the Umayyad period, to embellish the sanctity of the city beyond its status in the holy texts. [220][bettersourceneeded] Some rabbinic authorities are now of the opinion that it is imperative for Jews to ascend in order to halt the ongoing process of Islamization of the Temple Mount. Golden Gate (Bab al-Zahabi); eastern wall (northern third), a double gate: Warren's Gate; western wall, now only visible from the Western Wall Tunnel, Bab an-Nabi (Gate of the Prophet) or Barclay's Gate; western wall, visible from al-Buraq Mosque inside the Haram, and from the Western Wall plaza (women's section) and the adjacent building (the so-called house of Abu Sa'ud), Double Gate (Bab al-Thulathe; possibly one of the Huldah Gates); southern wall, underneath al-Aqsa Mosque, Triple Gate; southern wall, outside Solomon's Stables/Marwani Mosque, Single Gate; southern wall, outside Solomon's Stables/Marwani Mosque, Bab al-Asbat (Gate of the Tribes); north-east corner, Bab al-Hitta/Huttah (Gate of Remission, Pardon, or Absolution); northern wall, Bab al-Atim/'Atm/Attim (Gate of Darkness); northern wall, Bab al-Ghawanima (Gate of Bani Ghanim); north-west corner, Bab al-Majlis / an-Nazir/Nadhir (Council Gate / Inspector's Gate); western wall (northern third), Bab al-Hadid (Iron Gate); western wall (central part), Bab al-Qattanin (Gate of the Cotton Merchants); western wall (central part), Bab al-Matarah/Mathara (Ablution Gate); western wall (central part), Bab as-Salam / al-Sakina (Tranquility Gate / Gate of the Dwelling), the northern one of the two; western wall (central part), Bab as-Silsileh (Gate of the Chain), the southern one of the two; western wall (central part), Bab al-Magharbeh/Maghariba (Moroccans' Gate/Gate of the Moors); western wall (southern third); the only entrance for non-Muslims. For those who are visibly Jewish, they have no choice, but to follow a peripheral route[282] as it has become unofficially part of the status quo on the Mount. [5] The Dome was completed in 692 CE, making it one of the oldest extant Islamic structures in the world. The Mamluk-period substructures and over-ground buildings are thus covering much of the Herodian western wall of the Temple Mount. [303][304] Since the late 1990s, the Temple Mount Sifting Project has been reclaiming earth from similar illegal excavations on the mount that had been dumped in the nearby Kidron Valley that had yielded important finds, including Iron Age figurines, an 8th or 7th centuries BCE clay sealing inscribed in Hebrew, Persian period YHD coins, Herodian opus sectile tiles, Byzantine tesserae, and arrowheads, mostly from the Crusader period. Al Aqsa sanctuary join the expedition as Rabbi Leibel Reznick leads an exploration of secret... 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