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Jerusalem Belongs To The Jews, Her Spiritual Ties With Islam Was Broken In 623 CE – Majeed Dahiru
December 28, 2017 – Jerusalem Belongs To The Jews, Her Spiritual Ties With Islam Was Terminated By Allah In Year 623 CE
By Majeed Dahiru
In a major shift from a seven-decade conventional United States Middle East policy, President Donald Trump on December 6 formally recognised Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state of Israel. While announcing plans to relocate United States’ diplomatic enclave from Tel Aviv, the world recognised capital of Israel, to Jerusalem, Trump said “today we finally acknowledge the obvious; that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. This is nothing more or less than recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do. It’s something that has to be done”.
Expectedly, this foreign policy pronouncement has elicited varied reactions from across the globe. From the Vatican to Brussels and Beijing, this decision was met with subtle disapproval and caution against jeopardising the fragile Middle East peace process, as the status of Jerusalem is fundamental to achieving lasting solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
Most predictably, the Arab and Muslim world were outraged by this latest pronouncement from Washington. At a swiftly convened meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Countries in Istanbul, Turkey, Arab and non-Arab Muslim nations were unanimous in their condemnation and rejection of the United States’ recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, while speaking at the Istanbul gathering reiterated the Arab position that “Jerusalem is and will forever be the capital of the Palestinian state”. In a show of loss of confidence in the mediation role of the United States, Abbas said “We do not accept the role of the united states in the political process from now on, because it is completely biased towards Israel”.
The position of the Muslim world was aptly captured by the opening remarks of Recep Tayip Erdogan, the president of Turkey and host of the conference, wherein he denounced the United States’ current stands as crossing a “provocative red line”. These strong words of disapproval were further emphasised in the official statement from the Istanbul gathering, which declared “East Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Palestine”, while also urging the international community to align with its position.
The statement further described Trump’s declaration “as an announcement of the United States administration’s withdrawal from its role as sponsor of the middle east peace process”. While describing the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Israel by the US administration as “null and void”, the world Muslim body warned of the grave consequences of “a deliberate undermining of all peace efforts” that may likely add fire to the burning flame of “extremism and terrorism”.
Because Muslims hold Jerusalem to be a holy city, the presence of the Jewish state of Israel, carved out of Palestine, is a major source of inspiration for radical Islamic extremism. The Al-Aqsa mosque, together with the iconic Dome of the rock, is believed to be seated on the very spot the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (PBUH) ascended to heaven [Miraj] on his celestial journey from Mecca. However, Jerusalem also occupies a very important position in the history of other Abrahamic monotheistic religions. The thorny contention over the status of Jerusalem in efforts to resolve the Israeli/Palestinian conflict has been made more complicated by multi-dimensional religious assertiveness, as adherents of all three dominant Abrahamic religions lay claim to the ownership of Jerusalem.
The Al-Aqsa mosque, which is considered by Muslims as the third most holy site in Islam, was built on the ruins and rubbles of the Temple of Solomon, the holiest site in Judaism. The Western Wall, which is the only surviving relic of the ruins of the Temple of Solomon, is a holy sanctuary for Jews. Jerusalem is also host to the holiest site in Christianity. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is believed to have been built on the original burial site of Christ Jesus, the Messiah, and it is situated within the old section of the city of Jerusalem.
Going forward, it has become pertinent to subject the Muslim position that Jerusalem is a holy land in Islam to close scrutiny, as this will help to disentangle some fundamental ambiguities about the status of the world’s most contentious city. Scriptural and historical evidence does not support the entrenched belief by Muslims that Jerusalem is a holy land in Islam. That Prophet of Islam Muhammad (PBUH), on a night in the year 622 CE, ascended to heaven from a spot on a rock believed to be located in the city of Jerusalem, upon which he led other prophets of God in prayer but nevertheless was simply described in the Holy Quran as the “furthest mosque”, does not translate to all of Jerusalem being a holy land in Islam outside “its blessed precinct” of that very spot. The Miraj was essentially a celestial affair, experienced only by the prophet of Islam in company of other prophets in Holy Communion with God. The exact location of this event, generally believed to be Jerusalem, is not clearly mentioned in the Quran, neither was the exact spot, which is also believed to be the Temple Mount. Again, whatever spiritual ties Islam may have with Jerusalem was terminated when a year later in 623 CE, a revelation from Allah SWT to his messenger Muhammad PBUH, as contained in the Holy Quran, commanded Muslims to cease facing Jerusalem during obligatory prayers and that they should instead “turn thy face in the direction of the sacred Mosque”. The sacred mosque is the Kabba, which is located within the precincts of Masjid Al Haram in Mecca.
Jerusalem was only incorporated into the Muslim world in 637 after a prolonged siege that led to the fall of the city to Muslim forces under the supreme command of Caliph Umar. By the time of the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem, the city was part of the province of Palestine within the lager Christian Byzantine Empire. Thus began the Islamisation and Arabisation of Judeo-Christian Palestine. The Muslim conquests of Judeo-Christian Palestine, much like the conquests of Christian Syria and Christian Constantinople (present day Istanbul, Turkey) were not inspired by any scriptural injunctions. These wars were essentially the spread of Arab Muslim rule and not the spread of Islam. In each of these conquered territories, magnificent mosques were erected as not only centres of worship but as symbols of Muslim power. Deliberately chosen are the locations of these magnificent mosques on pre-existing sites of Judeo-Christian worship centres.
Just as the Dome of Rock together with the Al Aqsa Mosque were built on the ruins and rubbles of the Jewish Temple Mount in Jerusalem and designated the third holiest site in Islam after the Masjid Al Haram in Mecca and Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, the Umayyad mosque (the Great mosque of Damascus) was designated the fourth holiest site in Islam and actually built on the site of a Christian Basilica dedicated to John the Baptist, following the Muslim conquest of the Levant in 634 CE. Similarly, upon the conquest of Constantinople by the Muslim Ottoman Turks in 1453, the Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal basilica, famously known as the Hagia Sophia, was converted to an imperial mosque used throughout the four century existence of the Ottoman Empire.
Unlike the Masjid Al Haram in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, whose status as sacred sites in Islam are indisputable because they are scripturally sanctioned and their physical manifestation were executed by God’s command to his Messengers [Ibrahim AS and Muhammad PBUH] respectively, hence making Muslims rever both cities as holy, the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque do not enjoy such divine status in Islam. Muslims are only obligated to visit the sacred Mosque in Mecca for pilgrimage and not Jerusalem. The current site of the Dome of Rock was said to have been suggested to Caliph Umar (the conqueror of Jerusalem) by Ka’ab al-Ahbar, a Jewish Muslim convert who described the “farthest Mosque” as the Temple Mount. The actual construction of the Dome of Rock was completed by Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik in 692 CE, sixty years after the death of Prophet Muhammad in 632 CE. All three figures involved in the conceptualisation and actualisation of the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount were ordinary mortals without divine commission. Their actions were not guided by divine decree, as they were merely acting within the limits of human imperfection. To believing Muslim men and women, it should be remembered that when “Allah wills a thing, he but says to it be and it is”. If it was the will of God for Jerusalem to be a holy land for Muslims, like Mecca and Medina, it will be without dispute.
[About the author: Majeed Dahiru, a public affairs analyst, writes from Abuja and can be reached through [email protected].]
Oloyede Jude
December 28, 2017 at 4:20 PM
The interesting thing about most Muslims is that they know the truth but out of respect for the **** religion, they chose to keep quiet.
Kudos to Majeed Dahiru, men like you are rare to come by.
J. B. Hunter
December 28, 2017 at 5:24 PM
WHERE IS That loud-mouthed ******who would always want to come for false defence of islamic rights and to try but in vain to force her point down our throats to accept her view?
Come out of your cave and lets hear your*****.
I take a stroll…
Shekinat Olajide
December 28, 2017 at 5:50 PM
JB are you referring to Amanda or what. Why are you both always on each others neck. I guess you have a soft spot for each other.
Just strolling
J. B. Hunter
December 28, 2017 at 6:13 PM
@ Shekinat, you are very correct about whom I meant. It‘s unfortunate that NG Admin had to censor her name and some of my comments.
However, I don‘t really have anything against her but then, you were very wrong to think that I, JB Hunter would ever have a soft spot for sombody like Amanda even in a dreamland of great confusion.
I take a stroll…
Amanda
December 28, 2017 at 6:14 PM
Before i come to read this piece in full, allow me to ask christians, what is christianity and christians have to do with the Jews?. You both practice different religions. Jew don’t believe in your god. Matter of fact, they killed your god. So i am wondering why are christians supporting these killers?.
Second, do nigerian christians think israel care about christianity at all?. You need to live in Israel to see what Africans and black people go through at their hands.
As for the so called muslim who wrote this article, i am coming for you in sha Allah. I know some people don’t know what they talking about. There were people living on Holy Land prior to the the Jews. Quran does not deny the fact that Allah gave the Land to the Jews but on conditions which they have violated time and again. Thats why they were exiled.
If their argument is based on the fact that they lived there some 3000 yr ago, then, until every stolen lands are returned to their rightful owners or until everyone migrates to where they came from, only then, the Jews may claim Holy Land as theirs. In another word, give back America to Red Indians. Is this possible?. No why not?. If is not possible, why should the Palestinians give up their homeland?.
Until African Americans return to Africa, until many African descent in Caribbean, Spanish nations and Europe return to African to claim Africa, only then israel may have the right to claim the land. This is historical perspective.
From religious perspective, the land simply belongs to no one. The land belongs to God and he gave the Land only to believers in One God and do righteous good deeds. I will be back to read what writer has to say
Praize Mannuel
December 28, 2017 at 6:47 PM
Islam defence specialist. Why are you so passionate about dis *******religion?
Amanda
December 28, 2017 at 8:07 PM
You should rather ask yourself why you are “in love” with your ***’s killers?
Amanda
December 28, 2017 at 9:23 PM
Took my time to read. Actually, author didnt really raise good points. The hOLY lAND WAS PROMISED TO Abraham and his offsprings. But God made it clear that the Land is to righteous servants.
Jews at some point in history were muslims and they were righteous in conduit.
There were people also living in the Land before the Jews: the Amalekites and Canaanites who transgressed all abounds against God. That’s why God destroyed them and brought the Jews to the Land. If Amalekites and Canaanites lived in the Land, they have more claim to the Land than the Jews today. God had always gave the land on CONDITIONS.
The conditions are: to be muslims and be good in conduct.
When the Jews were given the land the first time, they also violated the conditions by worshipping calf and false gods. and also vile and brutal in conduct. So God destroyed them by sending His servants to destroy the Temple.
Temple in this instance is Masjid where God alone is worshipped. So it was babylonian army God sent to them and exiled them. After some time, God pardoned them and brought them back to the Holy Land with the same conditions which they violated again. This time, they killed prophets and messangers sent to them. They disbelieved in Messengers. They disbelieve in Jesus and accused Mary of being prostitute.
So because of these, that they allegedly killed Jesus and boost of it, God sent to them Roman army to destroy them. Historians said this happened around 70 AC before the advent of prophet muhammad(p). They were happy they killed **********. So God gave them last chance to repent, to believe and be righteous in conduct by sending prophet Muhammad(p). This was their last opportunity. They rejected prophet muhammad in Medina. Not only that, they also planned to kill him. Thats when God instructed muslims to turn away from Jerusalem in prayer which the author is saying. Muslims used to face Jerusalem in prayer does not mean turning away from the land. Facing Jerusalem in salat was a way God wanted muslims to respect them but they lost that respect the moment they rejected prophet muhammad(p).
But Holy Land itself according to Quran, with respect to the incident facing us now is not Makkah and Medina. Holy land in the Quran is Ard-muqadasa (Jerusalem). This author is naive. So when the Jews violated the conditions again, Allah banned them to never return to reclaim the Land as their own UNTIL God and Magog are released from their barrier.
Qur’an 21 verse 95-96:
“And a ban is laid on a town (population) which We have destroyed that they shall not return (nor repent to Us). Until, when Ya’juj and Ma’juj (Gog and Magog) are let loose (from their barrier), and they swoop down from every mound”.
God said in the Quran in chapter 17 verse 104 that He would bring the Jews from wherever they are around the world in the Last Age to the Holy Land to be punished. So learned muslims are not surprised that the Jews are now coming back to reclaim the Land. The people who are pushing them are the European Jews. Ancient Jews aren’t much interest in having “jewish state”.
So you christians should go ahead and support them. Their coming back to the Holy Land to claiming it as their own is not happening by accident. It is happening by Divine plan. Allah is bringing them back there to punish them for thier rejection of Messiah Jesus christ and for boosting of killing him. And finally for their rejection of muhammad(p). Jew Do NOT OWN THE LAND.
Let me iterate the CONDITIONS given to them to have entitlement to the Holy Land.
They are: they must be muslims and they must be good in conduct. Are they muslims?. No. Are they good in conduct? no. They now allow homosexual in Israel, they killing men, women and children, they deal in riba (usury). Are these righteous conduct?. Mr. J Hunter, are these righteous conducts?.
Omoluabi
December 28, 2017 at 10:07 PM
Armanda, I mostly do not normally wishes to reply people on this platform, especially that guy that pinpointed you out. He has never ********* contributed to issues here. He always ******* forward without knowing anything. On the ****** writer who was one of the Christians disguising to be a Muslim, who knew nothing about what he was vomiting. Most if not all really knew that Christianity has nothing to do with Jerusalem. According to latest censors, Christians were just 2% of the total population of Jerusalem entities. I see no reason why Nigerian Christians rejoices over what they will benefit not from. No problem, let them migrate to Jerusalem and see how the Jews will massacre them all as they dehumanize ******* ( not his real name but ****** ). All they does in their religion were ******. Even some of their deceitful pastors have been saying Trump who was recently certified mentally deranged man, who declared Jerusalem as Israel’s capital to fulfill bible prophecy. It is good that at last a lunatic was used to do the hob prophesied by bible. No wonder he followed Balfour declaration to do what he did. Nigerian Christians are so lazy to research things themselves and reach an unbiased conclusion, rather they follow someone else discoveries without verifying the truth by themselves. That was what brought them to this point of not return when their pastors was regarded as gods. Whatever those pastors tells them to do,they dare not question his authority. What a ********of human they claim to be.
Amanda
December 29, 2017 at 3:39 AM
You mind them?. So you noticed that christians here have no *******. *****meaningfully. Indeed, they are so*****. I don’t know how they think Christianity is that important in Jerusalem. Jews don’t recognize Christianity at all in Jerusalem. However, they are using Christians for support.
Don’t worry, by the time nabi Isa(alaihissalam) finally returns, veil will be removed from their eyes like it will be removed from Jews. At that time it is gonna be too late bcuz their believe at that time will be of no use. Qur’an confirms this in sura 6:158
“Do they then wait for anything other than that the angels should come to them, or that your Lord should come, or that some of the Signs of your Lord should come (i.e. portents of the Hour e.g., arising of the sun from the west)! The day that some of the Signs of your Lord do come, no good will it do to a person to believe then, if he believed not before, nor earned good (by performing deeds of righteousness) through his Faith. Say: “Wait you! we (too) are waiting.”
See this verse of Quran is a stern warning to those whose veil will be removed while they think this modern “Jewish State” is a blessing for them. At that time it will be a disaster for them. They will realise that they have been taken for a ride
iron bar
December 29, 2017 at 1:23 AM
JERUSALEM IS THE CAPITAL OF ISRAEL.THE LEARNED ISLAMIC SCHOLARS KNEW THAT BUT THE RADICALISTS KEEP PANTING AND CANT ACCEPT THE TRUTH.
Tunde
December 29, 2017 at 4:50 PM
MD,u r just a fake historian,if Palestinians have not been magnanimous at least to give home to Jews through UN support,do u think trumph will have base for his most worldly criticised decision? Everyone in this world is a migrant to his present abode and nobody have right to inconvenient others for him to live!
Amanda
December 29, 2017 at 9:57 PM
Thanks for this piece
Omoluabi
December 29, 2017 at 7:00 PM
What is the truth ******* I *********. With all these evidences, you still brag all about. Go and and enforce the declaration on Jerusalem yourself and see what becomes of you and your *******Trump. We need not blame you guys anymore. Lunatic Trump declared Jerusalem as Israel capital, only a fellow ******* would follow suit. At least, you could not be wiser than both Pope and the entire world who voted the declaration out in a diplomatic manner 128 against and jus 9 in support. Meaning we still have ******* lurking around in the world. We still thank God that even US long time allies like UK, EU, and most European countries voted Against it. Shame on anyone who still blindly follows a verified mentally deranged man.
Mina
December 30, 2017 at 4:29 PM
Wow amanda u did well for education. Plz let learn and stop hating for no reason.
Amanda
December 31, 2017 at 6:53 PM
Thanks
bello ola
January 2, 2018 at 11:14 AM
first time of reading article @Amanda…. you are indeed such an intelligent story able and reliable one… pls be buying page at daily news papers… may Allah give you more wisdom to be shading more light on controversial messages by impasinators that releases meaningless stories.
bello ola
January 2, 2018 at 11:15 AM
first time of reading article @Amanda…. you are indeed such an intelligent story able and reliable one… pls be buying page at Nigeria news papers… may Allah give you more wisdom to be shading more light on controversial messages by impasinators that releases meaningless stories.