Wednesday, February 7, 2007
The Temple Mount
New excavations are beginning in Israel near the Temple Mount. This is causing Islamic extremists around the world to call for yet another wave of violence against the Jews.
What should we make of this?
Well, for starters, the Al Aqsa mosque/Dome of the Rock has its current location specifically because there was a holy temple at that very spot at one point. (Muhammad's "Al Aqsa" dream did not specify exactly where in Jerusalem he ascended to heaven from (as he never went to Jerusalem in his life), and so the location of the Al Aqsa mosque was chosen specifically because it was holy to Jews.)
That's right. The location of the mosque was chosen specifically because it was holy to Jews. There was zero, that's right, zero mention of that exact spot in the Koran or any Islamic literature!
Background on the Al Aqsa mosque.
So what should be made of this development? I say that the Israeli archeologists have every right to dig around where the mosque is located. Lest we forget, the Waqh authority has been doing its own digging and destruction of Jewish history. But this is not about tit for tat. This is about a genuine thirst for knowledge. As far as I see, Muslims are not being prevented from worshipping at their mosque, a mosque they placed on the site of the Holy Temple on purpose. As far as I see, Jews are not claiming the Kabaa (holy site in Mecca) as their own, and somehow building a synogogue on top if it. Of course, this is hardly limited to Jews, as the Hagia Sofia was considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, churches in the Byzantine Empire, and considered holy to the Eastern Orthodox Christians. Imagine, if you will, if the Vatican was transformed into a mosque. Now you have an idea as to what happened with the Hagia Sofia.
I want to preface things by saying a few things. Firstly, I do not believe in the End of Days, the Messiah, or anything of the sort. I also am not advocating that Jews destroy the Dome of the Rome/Al Aqsa mosques, and convert them into a Third Holy Temple. Why? Because, frankly, I think that the Sadducean cult of the temple form of Judaism was just that...a cult. I do not think bringing back animal sacrifice and the submission to the Sanhedrin authority (aka, via a theocracy) is necessarily a good thing. And so I do not think the violence that would ensue if Jews started to rebuild the temple would be worth it. But I also think that Muslims who claim that it is an atrocity to perform excavations around the Temple Mount are frankly utter, absolute hypocrites.
Why? It is absolute hypocrisy to bemoan "desecration" of Islamic holy sites when...a) the Israeli archeologists are hardly "desecrating" anything; b) Muslims have desecrated far more Islamic holy sites than any other religion ever has; c) (probably most importantly) Because the Dome of the Rock/Al Aqsa themselves are a desecration of the holiest sites in Judaism.
And yet these obvious truths are ignored and swept under the rug. It is very sad, the state of modern Western political correctness, and the fact that Muslims are not similarly afraid to speak their minds.
Sad indeed.
UPDATE: History of the Islamic archeological destruction of the Temple Mount, in pictures.
Ynet news weighs in on this Al-Aqsa plot hoax
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5 comments:
A House of Prayer for All Peoples?
Religionists are never going to be what I would consider to be sensible about this. They are excluded from being sensible because they are religionists.
Just my not so politically correct opinion.
beepbeepitsme:
I agree that there is no seemingly "sensible" position to take on this, but the root of the problem is the fact that Muslims built a mosque on what they knew was the holiest site for Jews (specifically BECAUSE it was the holiest site for Jews!), and then claim their mosque was always there, and Jews are liars! This is intellectually dishonest, absurd, and flat out unfair.
Of course, there are end of days people who believe that when Jews have a third temple, the Book of Revelations comes true/the messiah will be here...BUT...given I do not believe in the End of Days, I am not worried about the Godly ramifications of the Temple being rebuilt. What I am worried about is the Islamic violence that would ensue (purely for hypocritical reasons, as I cited) if the Temple is to be rebuilt, and I do not view the need to rebuild the Temple as worth that violence.
But in the meantime, people of all faiths should be able to pray there, as David Ben-Ariel showed is NOT the case.
A huge injustice is being perpetuated, and it's disgusting.
Hey there, Red Tulips!
Just visited your blog for the first time. Good stuff! We're bracing for violence here. I don't expect people in Telli to have any problems but my brothers and sisters in J'lem and surrounding areas will once again face Islamic terror. I wonder how long it will take for our government to begin protecting its people and putting Jewish needs first.
Tulips, if the moslems had been expelled as necessary none of this would be an issue.
Also, there is religious controversy within Orthodoxy as to whether sacrifices are permissable before messianic times, or if we are required to continue using prayer as a replacement for sacrifice until the anointed one comes...therefore it is safe to conclude that even with complete and total control of the Temple Mount no sacrifices would be permitted anytime soon..
The Sadicees were not practicing Judaism, btw, and no longer exist. Temple times for Jews are not defined by that brief, corrupt reign towards the end, but by the glory days of David and Solomon.
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