|
Elusive and Difficult - Peace in the Middle East, page 3
by S.K.
Al Aksa
One of the sensitive locations we were allowed to enter was the inside of the Al Aksa mosque in the center of Jerusalem. According to historical account it is built on the rock where Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son but – according to the Bible - was prevented from doing so in the last moment by God himself. This son - Issac according to the Bible – then became the ancestor of the Israelites which makes Abraham the ancestor of today’s Jews.
But Abraham is also the ancestor of today’s Muslims and revered by them to no lesser degree. To my great surprise I learnt that according to Muslim belief, the son that Abraham was going to sacrifice to Allah at this place was named Ishmael, the son of Abraham with another wife. Seeing history from this angle, Muslims - Ishmael’s descendants claim equal rights on a central spot in religious history and present day affairs. Jesus Christ – central person of the Christian religion – plays only a secondary role here.
The role of these religious beliefs on today’s events should not be underestimated. According to Jewish belief, the Jews have to build a synagogue on the rock where the mosque stands today. Only then can their messiah arrive. Christians, even though they don’t particularly like the Jews – a feeling that’s mutual – agree here, because only after that is done – their messiah, Jesus Christ, will return. Vis-à-vis the gate where the coming will occur we saw large cemeteries. Christians who were buried here hope to participate in the first resurrection which will take place at the time and location of Christ’s return. But for the Muslims this is a holy place that they will not give up and they don’t particularly care for any of the aforementioned messiahs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The rock inside Al Aksa
|
|
|
|
Tombs opposite the city gate
|
|
|
|
|
|
Al Aksa, the gate and tombs
|
|
|
|
|
