Al-Aqsa Mosque: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox mosque |
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| name = Al-Aqsa Mosque <br/> Masjid al-Aqsa |
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| image = Al-aqsa-mosque01 cropped.JPG |
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| latitude = 31.77617 |
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| longitude = 35.23583 |
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| location = [[Old City (Jerusalem)|Old City]], [[Jerusalem]] |
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| year = 685 CE |
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| administration = [[Waqf]] |
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| imam = Yousef Abu Sneineh <br> [[Muhammad Ahmad Hussein]] <br> [[Ekrima Sa'id Sabri]] |
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| specifications = yes |
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| domes = 1 |
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| capacity = 5,000 (inside) 400,000 (precincts) |
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| minaret_quantity = 4 |
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| minaret_height = {{m to ft|37}} (tallest) |
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| renovations = 771; 774; 1035; 1922; |
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| architecture_style =[[Islamic architecture|Early Islamic]], [[Islamic architecture#Mamluk|Mamluk]] |
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| facade_direction = north |
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| materials = Limestone (external walls, minaret, facade) stalactite (minaret), lead (dome), white marble (interior columns) |
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}} |
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'''Al-Aqsa Mosque''' ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]:<big>المسجد الاقصى</big>, IPA /æl'mæsʒɪd æl'ɑqsˁɑ/, {{Audio|ArAqsaMosque.ogg|''al-Masjid al-Aqsa''}} translit: "the Farthest Mosque"), also known as '''al-Aqsa''', is an [[Holiest sites in Islam|Islamic holy place]] in the [[Old City (Jerusalem)|Old City]] of [[Jerusalem]]. The [[mosque]] itself forms part of the ''al-Haram ash-Sharif'' or "Sacred Noble Sanctuary" (along with the [[Dome of the Rock]]), a site also known as the [[Temple Mount]] and is the holiest site in [[Judaism]], the place where the First and Second [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temples]] once stood.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Barton |first=George |title=Temple of Solomon |encyclopedia=[[Jewish Encyclopedia]] |year=1901–1906 |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=129&letter=T#487 |accessdate=29 June 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Milstein |first=Mati |title=Solomon's Temple Artifacts Found by Muslim Workers |work= |pages= |publisher=''[[National Geographic]]'' |date=23 October 2007 |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/10/071023-jerusalem-artifacts.html |accessdate=29 June 2008 }}</ref> Widely considered as the third holiest site in [[Islam]], Muslims believe that the prophet [[Muhammad]] was transported from the [[Masjid al-Haram|Sacred Mosque]] in [[Mecca]] to al-Aqsa during the [[Isra and Mi'raj|Night Journey]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions |publisher=Merriam-Webster |pages=70 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ZP_f9icf2roC&pg=PA70&dq=Al-Aqsa+Mosque&lr=&sig=1rGQ3U-gQWfj5YA1-4vetUBvAto |
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|isbn= }}</ref> [[Hadith|Islamic tradition]] holds that Muhammad led prayers towards this site until the seventeenth month after the [[Hijra (Islam)|emigration]], when God ordered him to turn towards the [[Ka'aba]].<ref name="Al-Mizan">{{cite book | last = Tabatabae | first = Sayyid Mohammad Hosayn | authorlink = Allameh Tabatabaei | title = [[Tafsir al-Mizan|AL-MIZAN:AN EXEGESIS OF THE QUR'AN]], translation by S. Saeed Rizvi| publisher = WOFIS| isbn =9646521142|url=http://www.almizan.org/Tafseer/Volume2/Baqarah32.asp}}{{dead link|date=February 2010|url=http://www.almizan.org/Tafseer/Volume2/Baqarah32.asp}}</ref> |
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According to Islamic belief, the Prophet [[Jacob]], son of [[Isaac]], was the first to build the Mosque as a House of God. The [[Kaaba]] in [[Mecca, Saudi Arabia]] was the first House of Worship to God, and the Masjid Al-Aqsa (Bayt Al-Maqdis) was the second. Originally built by Jacob and greatly expanded and renovated by [[King Solomon]], the Mosque was destroyed twice. As a result, Muslims technically believe the al-Aqsa Mosque is the [[Third Temple]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}} |
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The al-Aqsa Mosque was originally a small prayer house built by the [[Rashidun]] caliph [[Umar]], but was rebuilt and expanded by the [[Ummayad]] caliph [[Abd al-Malik]] and finished by his son [[al-Walid]] in 705 CE.<ref>{{Citation |title=Al-Aqsa Mosque |url=http://www.noblesanctuary.com/AQSAMosque.html |publisher=Noble Sanctuary Online Guide. |accessdate=7 September 2008}}</ref> After an earthquake in 746, the mosque was completely destroyed and rebuilt by the [[Abbasid]] caliph [[al-Mansur]] in 754, and again rebuilt by his successor [[al-Mahdi]] in 780. Another earthquake destroyed most of al-Aqsa in 1033, but two years later the [[Fatimid]] caliph [[Ali az-Zahir]] built another mosque which has stood to the present-day. During the periodic renovations undertaken, the various ruling dynasties of the [[Islamic Caliphate]] constructed additions to the mosque and its precincts, such as its [[dome]], [[facade]], its ''[[minbar]]'', [[minaret]]s and the interior structure. When the [[First Crusade|Crusader]]s captured Jerusalem in 1099, they used the mosque as a palace and church, but its function as a mosque was restored after its recapture by [[Saladin]]. More renovations, repairs and additions were undertaken in the later centuries by the [[Ayyubid]]s, [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk]]s, the [[Supreme Muslim Council]], and [[Jordan]]. Today, the Old City is under [[Israel]]i control, but the mosque remains under the administration of the Palestinian-led Islamic ''[[waqf]]''. |
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==Etymology== |
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''Masjid al-Aqsa'' translates from Arabic into [[English language|English]] as "the farthest mosque", Its name refers to a chapter of the [[Qu'ran]] called "[[Isra and Mi'raj|The Night Journey]]" in which it is said that prophet Muhammad traveled from Mecca to "the farthest mosque", and then up to [[Heaven]] on a flying horse called ''[[Buraq|al-Buraq al-Sharif]]''.<ref name = "Atlas Travel">{{cite web |title=Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem |publisher=Atlas Travel and Tourist Agency |url=http://www.atlastours.net/holyland/al_aqsa_mosque.html |accessdate=29 June 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Lailat al Miraj |work=[[BBC News]] |publisher=BBC MMVIII |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/holydays/lailatalmiraj.shtml |accessdate=29 June 2008 }}</ref> "Farthest" as used in this context means the "farthest from Mecca."<ref name="Chiffolo">Chiffolo, Anthony F. [http://afc-divinenature.blogspot.com/2008/08/dome-of-rock-el-aqsa-mosque-and-arab.html Dome of the Rock and El-Aqsa Mosque] Divine Nature.</ref> |
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For centuries, ''al-Masjid al-Aqsa'' referred not only to the mosque, but to the entire sacred sanctuary. This changed during the period of Ottoman rule (c. early 16th century to 1918) when the sanctuary complex came to be known as ''al Haram ash-Sharif'', and the mosque founded by Umar came to be known as ''al-Jami' al-Aqsa'' or al-Aqsa Mosque.<ref name=Necipoglup85>{{cite book|title=Muqarnas: An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic World|first1=Sabri|last1=Jarrar|editor=Gülru Necipoğlu|edition=Illustrated, annotated|publisher=BRILL|year=1998|ISBN=9004110844, 9789004110847|url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=FG6ZlkRjD2IC&pg=PA85&dq=aqsa+haram+sharif&cd=6#v=onepage&q=aqsa%20haram%20sharif&f=false|page=85}}</ref> |
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== History == |
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===Pre-construction=== |
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The area of the mosque was part of King [[Herod the Great]]'s expansion of the mount initiated in 20 BCE.<ref name=temple>[http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=123&letter=T&search=Herod's%20Temple Temple of Herod], [[Jewish Encyclopedia]]</ref> When the [[Second Temple]] stood, the present site of the mosque was the location of the Temple storehouse known as the [[chanuyot]], which ran the length of the southern edge of the mount.<ref name=Lundquistp45>{{cite book|title=The Temple of Jerusalem: Past, Present, and Future|author=John M. Lundquist|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2007|isbn=0275983390, 9780275983390|page=45}}</ref> The chanuyot were destroyed along with the Temple by the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] Emperor (then general) [[Titus]] in 70 CE. [[Justinian I|Emperor Justinian]] built a Christian [[Church (building)|church]] on the site in the 530s which was consecrated to the [[Virgin Mary]] and named "Church of Our Lady". The church was later destroyed by [[Khosrau II]], the [[Sassanian Empire|Sassanian emperor]] in the early 7th century and left in ruins.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Jerusalem (A.D. 71-1099) |encyclopedia=[[Catholic Encyclopedia]] |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08355a.htm |accessdate=1 July 2008}}</ref> |
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===Construction by the Umayyads=== |
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[[Image:Al-Aqsa Mosque by David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|right|The mosque along the southern wall of the [[Temple Mount]]]] |
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It is unknown exactly when the al-Aqsa Mosque was first constructed and who ordered its construction, but it is certain that it was built in the early [[Ummayad]] period of rule in [[Palestine]]. Architectural historian [[K. A. C. Creswell]], referring to a testimony by the [[Gauls|Gallic]] [[monk]], [[Arculf]], of his pilgrimage to [[Palestine]] in 679–82, notes that it is possible that Umar erected a primitive quadrangular building for a capacity of 3,000 worshipers somewhere on the Haram ash-Sharif or Temple Mount. Arculf, however, visited Palestine during the reign of [[Mu'awiyah I]], and it is possible that Mu'awiyah ordered the construction, not Umar. This latter claim is explicitly supported by the early Muslim scholar al-Muthannar bin Tahir.<ref name="Elad">Elad, Amikam. (1995). ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=CDz_yctbQVgC&pg=PA29&dq=Aqsa+Mosque+construction&sig=ACfU3U18kr7-hEXqRvqOKs-Jg3Pk2_CeBg#PPA29,M1 Medieval Jerusalem and Islamic Worship Holy Places, Ceremonies, Pilgrimage]'' BRILL, pp.29–43. ISBN 9004100105.</ref> Analysis of wooden beams and panels removed from the building during renovations in the 1930s shows they are made from [[Lebanon Cedar|Cedar of Lebanon]] and [[cypress]]. Radiocarbon dating indicates a large range of ages, some as old as 9th century BCE, showing that some of the wood had previously been used in older buildings.<ref>N. Liphschitz, G. Biger, G. Bonani and W. Wolfli, Comparative Dating Methods: Botanical Identification and <sup>14</sup>C Dating of Carved Panels and Beams from the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, ''Journal of Archaeological Science'', (1997) 24, 1045–1050.</ref> |
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According to several Muslim scholars, including [[Mujir ad-Din]], [[al-Suyuti]], and [[al-Muqaddasi]], the mosque was reconstructed and expanded by the [[caliph]] [[Abd al-Malik]] in 690 along with the [[Dome of the Rock]].<ref name="Elad"/><ref name="le Strange">le Strange, Guy. (1890). ''Palestine under the Moslems'', pp.80–98.</ref> Guy le Strange claims that Abd al-Malik used materials from the destroyed Church of Our Lady to build the mosque and points to possible evidence that substructures on the southeast corners of the mosque are remains of the church.<ref name="le Strange"/> In planning his magnificent project on the Temple |
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Mount, which in effect would turn the entire complex into the Haram al-Sharif ("the Noble Sanctuary"), Abd al-Malik wanted to replace the slipshod structure described by Arculf with a more sheltered structure enclosing the ''[[qibla]]'', a necessary element in his grand scheme. However, the entire Haram al-Sharif was meant to represent a mosque. How much he modified the aspect of the earlier building is unknown, but the length of the new building is indicated by the existence of traces of a bridge leading from the Umayyad palace just south of the western part of the complex. The bridge would have spanned the street running just outside the southern wall of the Haram al-Sharif to give direct access to the mosque. Direct access from palace to mosque was a well-known feature in the Umayyad period, as evidenced at various early sites. Abd al-Malik shifted the central axis of the mosque some {{m to ft|40}} westward, in accord with his overall plan for the Haram al-Sharif. The earlier axis is represented in the structure by the |
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niche still known as the "mihrab of 'Umar". In placing emphasis on the [[Dome of the Rock]], Abd al-Malik had his architects align his new al-Aqsa Mosque according to the position of the [[Foundation Stone|Rock]], thus shifting the main north-south axis of the Temple Mount, a line running through the [[Dome of the Chain]] and the Mihrab of Umar.<ref name="GandA">Grafman and Ayalon, 1998, [http://www.archnet.org/library/pubdownloader/pdf/9702/doc/DPC1569.pdf pp.1–15].</ref> |
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In contrast, Creswell, while referring to the Aphrodito Papyri, claims that Abd al-Malik's son, [[al-Walid I]], reconstructed the Aqsa Mosque over a period of six months to a year, using workers from [[Damascus]]. Most Muslim and Western scholars agree that the mosque's reconstruction was started by Abd al-Malik, but that al-Walid oversaw its completion. In 713–14, a series of earthquakes ravaged Jerusalem, destroying the eastern section of the mosque, which was subsequently rebuilt during al-Walid's rule. In order to finance its reconstruction, al-Walid had gold from the dome of the Rock minted to use as money to purchase the material.<ref name="Elad"/> the Umayyad-built al-Aqsa Mosque most likely measured 112 x 39 meters.<ref name="GandA"/> |
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===Later constructions=== |
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[[Image:Aqsa Facade.JPG|thumb|right|The facade and porch of the mosque were constructed and expanded by the [[Fatimid]]s, the [[Crusader]]s, the [[Mamluk]]s and the [[Ayyubid]]s]] |
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In 746, the al-Aqsa Mosque was damaged in an earthquake, four years before [[as-Saffah]] overthrew the Ummayads and established the [[Abbasid Caliphate]]. The second Abbasid caliph [[Abu Ja'far al-Mansur]] declared his intent to repair the mosque in 753, and he had the gold and silver plaques that covered the gates of the mosque removed and turned into [[dinar]]s and [[dirham]]s to finance the reconstruction which ended in 771. A second earthquake damaged most of al-Mansur's repairs, excluding those made in the southern portion in 774.<ref name="le Strange"/><ref name="Nusseibeh"/> In 780, the successor caliph [[al-Mahdi|Muhammad al-Mahdi]] had it rebuilt, but curtailed its length and increased its breadth.<ref name="le Strange"/><ref name="ADL"/> Al-Mahdi's renovation is the first known to have written records describing it.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jeffers |first=H. |title=Contested holiness: Jewish, Muslim, and Christian Perspective on the Temple |publisher=KTAV Publishing House |year=2004 |pages=95–96 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=pFgmOt7wRHwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Temple+Mount&sig=0hBdnH_2F-Orz4yPFCL-l8q65fw#PPA95,M1 |isbn=}}</ref> In 985, Jerusalem-born Arab geographer [[al-Muqaddasi]] recorded that the renovated mosque had "fifteen naves and fifteen gates".<ref name="Nusseibeh"/> |
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In 1033, there was another earthquake, severely damaging the mosque. The [[Fatimid]] caliph [[Ali az-Zahir]] rebuilt and completely renovated the mosque between 1034 and 1036. The number of naves was drastically reduced from fifteen to seven.<ref name="Nusseibeh"/> Az-Zahir built the four arcades of the central hall and aisle, which presently serve as the foundation of the mosque. The central aisle was double the width of the other aisles and had a large gable roof upon which the dome—made of wood —was constructed.<ref name="Elad"/> |
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Jerusalem was captured by the [[Crusader]]s in 1099, during the [[First Crusade]]. Instead of destroying the mosque—which they called "Solomon's Temple"—the Crusaders used it as a royal palace. In 1119, it was transformed into the headquarters for the [[Knights Templar|Templar Knights]]. During this period, the mosque underwent some structural changes, including the expansion of its northern porch, and the addition of an [[apse]] and a dividing wall. A new cloister and church were also built at the site, along with various other structures.<ref>{{cite book |last=Boas |first=Adrian |title=Jerusalem in the Time of the Crusades: Society, Landscape and Art in the holy city under Frankish rule |publisher=Routledge |year=2001 |page=91 |
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|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=6m0qsAMf0z4C&pg=PA91&dq=Al-Aqsa+Mosque&lr=&sig=D_TS8JZHvC5zdYjOpzLHZ5IYSWE#PPA91,M1 |
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|isbn=0415230004 }}</ref> The Templars constructed vaulted western and eastern annexes to the building; the western currently serves as the women's mosque and the eastern as the [[Islamic Museum]].<ref name="Nusseibeh"/> |
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{| class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; width:30em; max-width: 27%;" cellspacing="5" |
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| style="text-align: left;" | The Haram Area (Noble Sanctuary) lies in the eastern part of the [[Jerusalem|city]]; and through the [[bazaar]] of this (quarter) you enter the Area by a great and beautiful gateway ([[Dargah]])... After passing this gateway, you have on the right two great colonnades ([[Riwaq]]), each of which has nine-and-twenty marble pillars, whose capitals and bases are of colored marbles, and the joints are set in lead. Above the pillars rise arches, that are constructed, of masonry, without mortar or cement, and each arch is constructed of no more than five or six blocks of stone. These colonnades lead down to near the [[Maqsurah]]. |
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|- |
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| style="text-align: left;" | '''[[Nasir Khusraw]]''''s description of the mosque in 1047 C.E.(''[[Safarnama]]'', translated by Guy Le Strange)<ref>[http://homepages.luc.edu/~avande1/jerusalem/sources/nasir.htm The travels of Nasir-i-Khusrau to Jerusalem, 1047 C.E.]</ref> |
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|} |
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After the [[Ayyubid]]s under the leadership of [[Saladin]] reconquered Jerusalem after [[Siege of Jerusalem (1187)|besieging]] it in 1187, several repairs were undertaken at al-Aqsa Mosque.<ref name="INT">[http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/23/africa/ME-GEN-Mideast-Al-Aqsa-Mosque.php Jordan sending replacement for Al Aqsa pulpit destroyed in 1969 attack] ''[[Associated Press]]''. International Herald Tribune. 23 January 2007.</ref> Saladin's predecessor—the [[Zengid]] sultan [[Nur ad-Din Zangi|Nur al-Din]]—had commissioned the construction of a new ''[[minbar]]'' or "pulpit" made of [[ivory]] and wood in 1168–69, but it was completed after his death; Nur ad-Din's ''minbar'' was added to the mosque in November 1187 by Saladin.<ref name=Maddenp230/> The Ayyubid sultan of Damascus, [[al-Mu'azzam]], built the northern porch of the mosque with three gates in 1218. In 1345, the [[Mamluk]]s under al-Kamil Shaban added two naves and two gates to the mosque's eastern side.<ref name="Nusseibeh"/> |
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After the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]]s seized power in 1517, they did not undertake any major renovations or repairs to the mosque itself, but they did to the Temple Mount as a whole. This included the building of the [[Fountain of Qasim Pasha]] (1527), the restoration of the [[Pool of Raranj]], and the building of the three free-standing domes—the most notable being the [[Dome of the Prophet]] built in 1538. All construction was ordered by the Ottoman governors of Jerusalem and not the [[List of Ottoman Sultans|sultan]]s themselves.<ref name="AG07">[http://www.aqsa.org.uk/MULTIMEDIA/AlAqsaGuide/tabid/82/language/en-GB/Default.aspx Al-Aqsa Guide] Friends of Al-Aqsa 2007.</ref> The sultans did make additions to existing minarets, however.<ref name="AG07"/> |
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===Modern era=== |
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[[Image:Al aqsa moschee 2.jpg|thumb|right|The dome of the mosque in 1982. It was made of aluminum (and looked like silver), but replaced with its original lead plating in 1983]] |
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The first renovation of the 20th century occurred in 1922, when the [[Supreme Muslim Council]] under [[Amin al-Husayni]] hired Ahmet Kemalettin Bey—a [[Turkish people|Turkish]] architect—to restore al-Aqsa Mosque and the monuments in its precincts. The council also commissioned [[United Kingdom|British]] architects, [[Egypt]]ian experts and local officials to contribute to and oversee the repairs and additions which were carried out in 1924–25 under Kemalettin's supervision. The renovations included reinforcing the mosque's ancient Ummayad foundations, rectifying the interior columns, replacing the beams, erecting a [[scaffolding]], conserving the [[arch]]es and drum of the dome interior, rebuilding the southern wall, and replacing timber in the central nave with a slab of concrete. The renovations also revealed Fatimid-era mosaics and inscriptions on the interior arches that had been covered with [[plasterwork]]. The arches were decorated with green-tinted [[gypsum]] and gold and their timber tie beams were replaced with [[brass]]. A quarter of the stained glass windows also were carefully renewed so as to preserve their original Abbasid and Fatimid designs.<ref name="Necipogulu">Necipogulu, Gulru. (1996). ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=NdCTI5FqayAC&pg=PA149&dq=Muqarnas+Volume+13+Aqsa&lr=&sig=ACfU3U1R6pbG42Abb_sw4Nvpk3nz-wN0mg#PPA149,M1 Muqarnas, Volume 13: An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic World]''. BRILL, pp.149–153. ISBN 9004106332.</ref> Severe damage was caused by the 1927 and 1937 earthquakes, but the mosque was repaired in 1938 and 1942.<ref name="Nusseibeh"/> |
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[[Image:AlAqsaFromKotel.JPG|thumb|left|The mosque seen from the [[Western Wall]] plaza, 2005.]] |
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On August 21, 1969, a fire occurred inside al-Aqsa Mosque that gutted the southeastern wing of the mosque. Among other things the fire destroyed was Saladin's ''minbar''.<ref name=Maddenp230>{{cite book|title=The Crusades: The Essential Readings|author=Thomas F. Madden|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|year=2002|page=230|isbn=0631230238, 9780631230236|url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=DVuPvRSyV98C&pg=PA230&dq=minbar+saladdin+fire&sig=ACfU3U31EVJSEoje0PWS37Uln1VbRDP6Bg}}</ref> Initially, [[Palestinians]] blamed the Israeli authorities for the fire, and some Israelis blamed [[Fatah]], alleging they had started the fire so as to blame the Israelis and provoke hostility. However, the fire was started by neither Fatah nor Israel, but a tourist from [[Australia]] named [[Denis Michael Rohan]]. Rohan was a member of an [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] Christian sect known as the [[Worldwide Church of God]].<ref name="Times">{{cite news|title=The Burning of Al-Aqsa |work=[[Time Magazine]] |page=1 |date=29 August 1969 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901289,00.html?promoid=googlep |accessdate=1 July 2008}}</ref> He hoped that by burning down al-Aqsa Mosque he would hasten the [[Second Coming]] of [[Jesus]], making way for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount. Rohan was hospitalized in a mental institution, found to be insane and was later deported.<ref name='Time 2006-01-12'>{{cite news |title=Madman at the Mosque | date=12 January 1970 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,942143,00.html |work=[[Time Magazine]] |accessdate=3 July 2008}}</ref> The attack on al-Aqsa is cited as one of the catalysts for the formation of the [[Organization of the Islamic Conference]] in 1971, which brought together 57 [[Islamic world|Islamic countries]].<ref>[http://www.oic-oci.org/oicnew/page_detail.asp?p_id=52 About the OIC]{{dead link|date=February 2010|url=http://www.oic-oci.org/oicnew/page_detail.asp?p_id=52}} [[Organization of the Islamic Conference]].</ref> |
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In the 1980s, Ben Shoshan and Yehuda Etzion, both members of the [[Gush Emunim Underground]], plotted to blow up the al-Aqsa mosque and the [[Dome of the Rock]]. Etzion believed that blowing up the two mosques would cause a spiritual awakening in Israel, and would solve all the problems of the Jewish people. They also hoped the [[Third Temple|Third Temple of Jerusalem]] would be built on the location of the mosque.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dumper |first=Michael |title=The Politics of Sacred Space: The Old City of Jerusalem in the Middle East |publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers |year=2002 |page=44 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=MfTycKFWBGEC&pg=PA44&dq=Al-Aqsa+Mosque&lr=&sig=cR9uGx8_IP7exCTVgLIy5syO258 |isbn=158826226}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Rapoport |first=David |title=Inside Terrorist Organizations |publisher=Routledge |pages=98–99 |
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|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=FnvCEOZLf8YC&pg=PA194&lpg=PA194&dq=Gush+Emunim+Underground&source=web&ots=_92t-GsIuU&sig=yb_z7clOH0kwxDlVJXz0haaH1zU&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result#PPA198,M1 |
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|isbn=0714681792 |year=2001}}</ref> On January 15, 1988, during the [[First Intifada]], [[Israeli troops]] fired [[rubber bullet]]s and [[tear gas]] at protesters outside the mosque, wounding 40 worshipers.<ref>[http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/2ee9468747556b2d85256cf60060d2a6/03a0ba144d71e526852573700066e774 OpenDocument Letter] Dated 18 January 1988 from the Permanent Observer for the Palestine Liberation Organization to the United Nations Office at Geneva Addressed to the Under-Secretary-General for Human Rights] Ramlawi, Nabil. Permanent Observer of the Palestine Liberation Organization to the United Nations Office at Geneva.</ref><ref>[http://www.passia.org/palestine_facts/chronology/19631988.htm Palestine Facts Timeline, 1963-1988] [[Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs]].</ref> On October 8, 1990, [[Al Aqsa Massacre|22 Palestinians were killed]] and over 100 others injured by [[Israeli Border Police]] during riots that were triggered by the announcement of the [[Temple Mount Faithful]], a fringe group of religious Jews, that they were going to lay the cornerstone of the Third Temple.<ref>Dan Izenberg, Jerusalem Post, July 19, 1991</ref><ref name="Ahram">Amayreh, Khaled. [http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/832/re63.htm Catalogue of provocations: Israel's encroachments upon the Al-Aqsa Mosque have not been sporadic, but, rather, a systematic endeavor] ''[[Al-Ahram Weekly]]''. February 2007.</ref> |
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==Architecture== |
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The rectangular al-Aqsa Mosque and its precincts are {{m2 to ft2|num=144000|wiki=yes}}, with a capacity of 400,000 worshipers, although the mosque itself is about {{m2 to ft2|num=35000|wiki=yes}} and could hold up to 5,000 worshipers.<ref name="LHL"/><ref name="UV">[http://www.universaltours.net/tourist_places/alaqsamosque.html Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem] Universal Tours.</ref> It is {{ft to m|num=272|wiki=yes}} long, {{ft to m|num=184|wiki=yes}} wide.<ref name="LHL"/> |
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===Dome=== |
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[[Image:Al Aqsa.jpg|thumb|right|The silver-colored dome consists of lead sheeting]] |
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Unlike the [[Dome of the Rock]], which reflects classical Byzantine architecture, the [[dome]] of the Al-Aqsa Mosque is characteristic of early [[Islamic architecture]].<ref>Gonen, Rivka. (2003) ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=pFgmOt7wRHwC&pg=PA95&dq=Aqsa+Mosque+typical+Islamic+architecture&sig=ACfU3U1kkQB4oWMkxyCvgPfly8V2qgXm2w#PPA95,M1 Contested Holiness]'' KTAV Publishing House, p.95. ISBN 0881257990.</ref> Nothing remains of the original dome built by Abd al-Malik. The present-day dome was built by az-Zahir and consists of wood plated with lead [[enamelwork]].<ref name="Elad"/> In 1969, the dome was reconstructed in concrete and covered with [[anodized aluminum]] instead of the original ribbed lead enamel work sheeting. In 1983, the aluminum outer covering was replaced with lead to match the original design by az-Zahir.<ref name="Archnet">[http://www.archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=475 Al-Aqsa Mosque Restoration] Archnet Digital Library.</ref> |
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Al-Aqsa's dome is one of the few domes to be built in front of the ''mihrab'' during the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, the others being the [[Umayyad Mosque]] in Damascus (715) and the Great Mosque at [[Sousse]] (850).<ref>Necipogulu, Gulru. (1999). ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=HAROVoRQluoC&pg=PA10&dq=Aqsa+Mosque+wooden+dome&sig=ACfU3U0G2evFKb_1PvNcuOG24QEE58-CUQ#PPA14,M1 Muqarnas, Volume 16: An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic World]'' BRILL, p.14. ISBN 9004114823.</ref> The interior of the dome is painted with 14th century-era decorations. During the 1969 burning, the paintings were assumed to be irreparably lost, but were completely reconstructed using the ''trateggio'' technique, a method that uses fine vertical lines to distinguish reconstructed areas from original ones.<ref name="Archnet"/> |
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===Minarets=== |
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The mosque has four [[minaret]]s on the southern, northern and western sides.<ref name="UV"/> The first minaret, known as al-Fakhariyya Minaret, was built in 1278 on the southwestern corner of the mosque, on the orders of the [[Mamluk]] sultan [[Lajin]]. The minaret was built in the traditional [[Syria]]n style, with the base and shaft square and divided by moldings into three floors above which two lines of [[muqarnas]] decorate the ''[[muezzin]]'s'' balcony. The niche is surrounded by a square chamber that ends in a lead-covered stone dome.<ref name="FoaA"/> |
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[[Image:Ghawanima Minaret-Aqsa.JPG|thumb|right|The Ghawanima Minaret, 1900]] |
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The second, known as the Ghawanima minaret, was built at the northwestern corner of the Temple Mount in 1297–98 by architect Qadi Sharaf al-Din al-Khalili, also on the orders of the Sultan Lajin. Thirty-seven meters in height,<ref name="FoaA">[http://74.125.45.104/search?q=cache:kfEnee62rkYJ:www.aqsa.org.uk/MULTIMEDIA/AlAqsaGuide/tabid/82/language/en-GB/Default.aspx+Kas+Fountain+Mamluk&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=10&gl=us&client=firefox-a Al-Aqsa Guide] Friends of al-Aqsa.</ref> it is almost entirely made of stone, apart from a [[timber]] canopy over the ''[[muezzin]]'s'' balcony. Because of its firm structure, the Ghawanima minaret has been nearly untouched by earthquakes. The minaret is divided into several stories by stone molding and [[stalactite]] galleries. The first two stories are wider and form the base of the tower. The additional four stories are surmounted by a cylindrical drum and a bulbous dome. The stairway is externally located on the first two floors, but becomes an internal spiral structure from the third floor until it reaches the ''muezzin's'' balcony.<ref name="ADL1">[http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=5550 Ghawanima Minaret] Archnet Digital Library.</ref> |
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In 1329, [[Tankiz]]—the Mamluk governor of [[Syria]]—ordered the construction of a third minaret called the Bab al-Silsila Minaret located on the western border of the al-Aqsa Mosque. This minaret, possibly replacing an earlier [[Umayyad]] minaret, is built in the traditional Syrian square tower type and is made entirely out of stone.<ref>[http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=5548 Bab al-Silsila Minaret] Archnet Digital Library.</ref> It is an old Muslim tradition that the best ''muezzin'' ("reciter") of the ''[[adhan]]'' (the call to prayer), is assigned to this minaret because the first call to each of the five daily prayers is raised from it.<ref name="FoaA"/> |
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The last and most notable minaret was built in 1367, and is known as Minarat al-Asbat. It is composed of a cylindrical stone shaft (built later by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]]s), which springs up from a rectangular Mamluk-built base on top of a triangular transition zone.<ref name="Asbat"/> The shaft narrows above the ''muezzin's'' balcony, and is dotted with circular windows,<ref name="FoaA"/> ending with a [[bulbous]] dome. The dome was reconstructed after the [[Jordan Valley earthquake of 1927]].<ref name="Asbat">[http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=5551 Bab al-Asbat Minaret] Archnet Digital Library.</ref> |
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There are no minarets in the eastern portion of the mosque because historically there were very few inhabitants on that side and so there was little reason to have an additional minaret to call Muslims to prayer.<ref name="UV"/> However, in 2006, [[Abdullah II of Jordan|King Abdullah II of Jordan]] announced his intention to build a fifth minaret overlooking the Mount of Olives. The King Hussein Minaret is planned to be the tallest structure in the [[Old City (Jerusalem)|Old City]] of [[Jerusalem]].<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,251-2403700,00.html/ Minaret that can't rise above politics], ''The Times'', October 14, 2006]</ref><ref>(February 2, 2007) [http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3360707,00.html Israel allows minaret over Temple Mount], ''Ynet''</ref><ref>(October 11, 2006)[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1159193420982 Jordan plans new Temple Mt. minaret], ''Jerusalem Post''</ref> |
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===Facade and porch=== |
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[[Image:Front of Al-Aqsa.jpg|thumb|right|The [[facade]] and porch of the mosque]] |
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The [[facade]] of the mosque was built in 1065 CE on the instructions of the [[Fatimid]] caliph [[al-Mustansir]]. It was crowned with a balustrade consisting of arcades and small columns. The [[Crusader]]s damaged the facade during their era of rule in Palestine, but it was restored and renovated by the [[Ayyubid]]s. One addition was the facade's covering with tiles.<ref name="Nusseibeh">Ma'oz, Moshe and Nusseibeh, Sari. (2000). ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=9evpVS_ackwC&pg=PA137&dq=Al+Aqsa+Facade+Mustansir&lr=&sig=ACfU3U2CRNeMw45GMwdvEe6pHdnGHlDuzQ#PPA137,M1 Jerusalem: Points of Friction, and Beyond]'' BRILL. pp.136–138. ISBN 9041188436.</ref> The second-hand material of the facade's arches includes sculpted ornamental material from taken from Crusader structures in Jerusalem.<ref>Hillenbrand, Carolle. (2000). ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=UalnoF5MBHMC&pg=PA382&dq=Al+Aqsa+Facade+Crusader&lr=&sig=ACfU3U2mcnzl2B571qyz206Rw3CkwfNGZQ The Crusades: The Islamic Perspective]'' Routeledge, p.382 ISBN 0415929148.</ref> There are fourteen stone [[arch]]es along the facade,<ref name = "Atlas Travel"/> most of which are of a [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] style. The outer arches added by the Mamluks follow the same general design. The entrance to the mosque is through the facade's central arch.<ref name="SD">[http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-al-aqsa-mosque.htm Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem] Sacred Destinations.</ref> |
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The porch is located at the top of the facade. The central bays of the porch were built by the [[Knights Templar]] during the [[First Crusade]], but Saladin's nephew [[al-Mu'azzam]] ordered the construction of the porch itself in 1217.<ref name="Nusseibeh"/> |
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===Interior=== |
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[[Image:Aqsa 1.jpg|thumb|right|Interior view of the mosque showing the central naves and columns]] |
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The al-Aqsa Mosque has seven aisles of [[hypostyle]] [[nave]]s with several additional small halls to the west and east of the southern section of the building.<ref name="ADL">[http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=36 Al-Aqsa Mosque] Archnet Digital Library.</ref> There are 121 [[stained glass]] windows in the mosque from the Abbasid and Fatimid eras. About a fourth of them were restored in 1924.<ref name="Necipogulu"/> |
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[[Image:Saladin Minbar-Aqsa.JPG|thumb|left|The doors of the Saladin Minbar, early 1900s]] |
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The mosque's interior is supported by 45 [[column]]s, 33 of which are [[white marble]] and 12 of stone.<ref name="LHL"/> The column rows of the central aisles are heavy and stunted, having a circumference of {{in to cm|9}} by {{in to cm|3}} and a height of {{in to cm|16}} by {{in to cm|5}}. The remaining four rows are better proportioned. The capitals of the columns are of four different kinds: those in the central aisle are heavy and primitively designed, while those under the dome are of the [[Corinthian order]],<ref name="LHL"/> and made from [[Italy|Italian]] white marble. The capitals in the eastern aisle are of a heavy basket-shaped design and those east and west of the dome are also basket-shaped, but smaller and better proportioned. The columns and piers are connected by an architectural rave, which consists of beams of roughly squared [[timber]] enclosed in a wooden casing.<ref name="LHL">[http://www.lifeintheholyland.com/al_aqsa_mosque.htm Al-Aqsa Mosque] Life in the Holy Land.</ref> |
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A great portion of the mosque is covered with [[whitewash]], but the drum of the dome and the walls immediately beneath it are decorated with [[mosaic]]s and marble. Some wretched paintings by an Italian artist were introduced when repairs were undertaken at the mosque after an earthquake ravaged the mosque in 1927.<ref name="LHL"/> The ceiling of the mosque was painted with funding by King [[Farouk of Egypt]].<ref name="SD"/> |
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The ''[[minbar]]'' ("[[pulpit]]") of the mosque was built by a craftsman named Akhtarini from [[Aleppo]] on the orders of the [[Zengid]] sultan [[Nur ad-Din Zangi|Nur ad-Din]]. It was intended to be a gift for the mosque when Nur ad-Din would liberate Jerusalem and took six years to build (1168–74). Nur ad-Din died and the [[Crusader]]s held control of Jerusalem, but in 1187, Saladin captured the city and the ''minbar'' was installed. The structure was made of [[ivory]] and carefully crafted wood. [[Arabic calligraphy]], geometrical and floral designs were inscribed in the woodwork.<ref name="Oweis">Oweis, Fayeq S. (2002) ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=UjQAnCS1ongC&pg=PA115&dq=Aqsa+mosque+minbar&lr=&sig=ACfU3U2Y3dp1-5M-fo6FqozKsYB2tgUcEA#PPA115,M1 The Elements of Unity in Islamic Art as Examined Through the Work of Jamal Badran]'' Universal-Publishers, pp.115–117. ISBN 1581121628.</ref> After its destruction by Rohan in 1969, it was replaced by a much simpler ''minbar''. In January 2007, [[Adnan al-Husayni]]—head of the Islamic ''[[waqf]]'' in charge of al-Aqsa—stated that a new ''minbar'' would be installed;<ref name="INT"/> it was installed in February 2007.<ref>Mikdadi, Salwa D. [http://www.riwaqbiennale.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=95&Itemid=133 Badrans: A Century of Tradition and Innovation, Palestinian Art Court] Riweq Bienalle in Palestine.</ref> The design of the new ''minbar'' was drawn by Jamil Badran based on an exact replica of the Saladin Minbar and was finished by Badran within a period of five years.<ref name="Oweis"/> The ''minbar'' itself was built in [[Jordan]] over a period of four years and the craftsmen used "ancient woodworking methods, joining the pieces with pegs instead of nails, but employed computer images to design the pulpit [''minbar'']."<ref name="INT"/> |
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===Ablution fountain=== |
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[[Image:TM washing.JPG|right|thumb|The ''al-Kas'' ablution fountain]] |
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The mosque's main [[ablution]] fountain, known as ''al-Kas'' ("the Cup"), is located north of the mosque between it and the Dome of the Rock.<ref name="FoaA"/> It is used by worshipers to perform ''[[wudu]]'', a ritual washing of the hands, arms, legs, feet, and face before entry into the mosque. It was first built in 709 by the Ummayads, but in 1327–28 Governor Tankiz enlarged it to accommodate more worshipers. Although originally supplied with water from [[Solomon's Pools]] near [[Bethlehem]], it currently receives water from pipes connected to Jerusalem's water supply.<ref>Dolphin, Lambert. [http://www.templemount.org/visittemp.html The Temple Esplanade].</ref> In the 20th century, al-Kas was provided taps and stone seating.<ref>Gonen, Rivka. (2003) ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=pFgmOt7wRHwC&pg=PA95&dq=Aqsa+Mosque+typical+Islamic+architecture&sig=ACfU3U1kkQB4oWMkxyCvgPfly8V2qgXm2w#PPA95,M1 Contested Holiness]'' KTAV Publishing House, p.28. ISBN 0881257990.</ref> |
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The [[Fountain of Qasim Pasha]], built by the Ottomans in 1526 and located north of the mosque on the platform of the Dome of the Rock, was used by worshipers for ablution and for drinking until the 1940s. Today, it stands as a monumental structure.<ref name="FoaA"/> |
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==Religious significance in Islam== |
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In [[Islam]], the term "al-Aqsa Mosque" is not restricted to the mosque only, but to the entire Temple Mount.<ref>{{cite book |last=Saed |first=Muhammad |title=Islam: Questions and Answers - Islamic History and Biography |publisher=MSA Publication Limited |year=2003 |page=12 |
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|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=k22YCjWjF60C&pg=PA14&dq=Al-Masjid+Al-Aqsa&sig=ACfU3U2tIbhw2xgASCM_CNnej-TAGOIQpg#PPA12,M1 |isbn=1861793235}}</ref> The mosque is known to be the second house of prayer constructed after the [[Masjid al-Haram]] in [[Mecca]]. [[Imam Muslim]] quotes [[Abu Dharr]] as saying: |
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<blockquote> |
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:"I asked the beloved Prophet [[Muhammad]] which was the first "mosque" [i.e. house of prayer] on [[Earth]]?" |
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:"The Sacred House of Prayer (''Masjid al-Haram), i.e. [[Kaaba]]'')," he said. |
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:"'And then which', I asked?" |
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:"The Furthest House of Prayer (''Masjid al Aqsa'')", he said. |
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:"I further asked, 'what was the time span between the two'?" |
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:"Forty years," prophet Muhammad replied.<ref>[http://2jay.wordpress.com/2007/04/25/masjid-al-aqsa/ Masjid al-Aqsa: Second house of prayer established on Earth] World Press.</ref> |
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</blockquote> |
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During his night journey toward [[Names of Jerusalem|Bayt al-Maqdis]] (Jerusalem), Muhammad rode on [[Buraq]] to Jerusalem and once there he prayed two ''[[raka'ah]]'' on the Temple Mount. After he finished his prayers, the angel [[Gabriel]] took him to [[Heaven]], where he met several of the [[Prophets in Islam|prophets]] and upon encouragement from [[Moses]], negotiated with [[God in Islam|God]] via [[Gabriel]] that Muslims would be required to make [[salaah|five prayers daily]].<ref name="Al-Mizan"/><ref>{{Muslim|1|309}}</ref> Then he returned to Mecca. |
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The al-Aqsa Mosque is known as the "farthest mosque" in ''sura'' ''[[al-Isra]]'' in the [[Qur'an]].<ref>{{Quran-usc-range|17|1}}</ref> It is traditionally interpreted by Muslims as referring to the site at the Noble Sanctuary in Jerusalem on which the mosque of that name now stands. <!-- This is also confirmed by a number of [[hadith]] in which the "farthest mosque" is explicitly mentioned as being in Jerusalem.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} not referenced for a while--> According to this tradition, the term used for mosque, (Arabic: ''masjid''), literally means "place of prostration",<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | last = Hillenbrand| first = R | editor = P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, [[Clifford Edmund Bosworth|C.E. Bosworth]], E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs | encyclopedia =[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]] Online| title = Masdjid. I. In the central Islamic lands | publisher = Brill Academic Publishers | id = {{ISSN|1573-3912}} }}</ref> and includes [[monotheistic]] places of worship such as [[Solomon's Temple]], which in the Qur'an is described as a ''masjid''.<ref>{{Quran-usc-range|17|7}}</ref> Western historians Heribert Busse and Neal Robinson believe this is the intended interpretation.<ref name="Busse">Busse, Heribert. (1991). ''Jerusalem in the Story of prophet Muhammad's Night Journey and Ascension''. Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, 14 pp.1–40</ref><ref>Robinson, Neal. (1996). ''Discovering The Qur'ân: A Contemporary Approach To A Veiled Text''. SCM Press Ltd: London, p.192</ref>{{Clarify|date=September 2008}} |
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According to the scholar [[Maimunah bint Sa'd]] on traveling to the al-Aqsa Mosque, he said, "the messenger of Allah [Muhammad] said, 'He should make a gift of oil to be burnt therein, for he who gives a gift to the al-Aqsa Mosque will be like one who has prayed ''[[salaah]]'' (five daily ritual prayers in Islam) therein.'<ref>[http://www.aqsa.org.uk/Portals/0/Leaflets/LF_25_CentralityofAlAqsaMosque.pdf Virtues of al-Aqsa] Friends of Al-Aqsa.</ref><ref>Hadith of [[Imam Ahmad]] and [[Ibn Maja|Majah]]</ref> |
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===First qibla=== |
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[[Image:Aqsa 2.jpg|thumb|Interior view of the mosque showing the ''[[mihrab]]'', indicating the ''[[qibla]]'']] |
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The historical significance of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Islam is further emphasized by the fact that Muslims turned towards al-Aqsa when they prayed for a period of sixteen or seventeen months after [[Hijra|migration]] to [[Medina]] in 624, thus it became the ''[[qibla]]'' ("direction") that Muslims faced for prayer.<ref>{{Citation |last=Allen |first=Edgar |authorlink=Edgar Allen |year=2004 |title=States, Nations, and Borders: The Ethics of Making Boundaries |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages= |isbn=0521525756 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bntCSupRlO4C&pg=PA192&dq=Al-Masjid+Al-Aqsa&sig=ACfU3U15-oGqEXojWUE6QOFaySZfwjO6dg#PPA192,M1 |
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|accessdate=9 June 2008}}</ref> According to [[Allame Tabatabayee]], God prepared for change of ''qibla'', first by revealing the story of [[Islamic view of Abraham|Abraham]] and his son, [[Islamic view of Ishmael|Ishmael]], their prayers for the Ka'bah and Mecca, their construction of the House (Ka'aba) and the order then received to cleanse it for the worship of Allah. Then Quranic verses were revealed which ordered Muslims to turn towards [[Masjid al-Haram]] in their prayers.{{Quran-usc-range|2|142|end=151}}<ref name="Al-Mizan"/> |
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The altering of the ''qibla'' was precisely the reason the [[Rashidun]] caliph [[Umar]], despite identifying the [[Foundation Stone|Rock]]—which Muhammad used to ascend to [[Heaven]]—upon his arrival at the Temple Mount in 638, neither prayed facing it nor built any structure upon it. This was because the significance of that particular spot on the Temple Mount was superseded in [[Islamic jurisprudence]] by the Ka'aba in Mecca after the change of the ''qibla'' towards that site.<ref name="Mosaad"/> |
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According to early Qur'anic interpreters and what is generally accepted as Islamic tradition, in 638 CE Umar, upon entering a conquered Jerusalem, consulted with [[Ka'ab al-Ahbar]]—a [[Jew]]ish convert to Islam who came with him from [[Medina]]—as to where the best spot would be to build a mosque. Al-Ahbar suggested to him that it should be behind the Rock "... so that all of Jerusalem would be before you". Umar replied, "You correspond to Judaism!" Nonetheless, immediately after this conversation, Umar began to clean up the site—which was filled with trash and debris—with his cloak, and other Muslim followers imitated him until the site was clean. Umar then prayed at the spot where it was believed that Muhammad had prayed before his night journey, reciting the Qur'anic ''[[sura]]'' ''[[Sad (sura)|Sad]]''.<ref name="Mosaad">Mosaad, Mohamed. [http://www.godsholymountain.org/papers/bayt.pdf Bayt al-Maqdis: An Islamic Perspective] pp.3–8</ref> Thus, according to this tradition, Umar thereby reconsecrated the site as a mosque.<ref>[http://www.mustaqim.co.uk/ipb-archive/alaqsa/chapone.htm The Furthest Mosque, The History of Al - Aqsa Mosque From Earliest Times] Mustaqim Islamic Art & Literature. 5 January 2008.</ref> |
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Because of the holiness of Temple Mount itself—being a place where [[Abraham]], [[Solomon]], and [[David]] had prayed—Umar constructed a small prayer house in the southern corner of its platform, taking care to avoid allowing the Rock to come between the mosque and the direction of [[Ka'aba]] so that Muslims would face only Mecca when they prayed.<ref name="Mosaad"/> |
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===Third holiest site=== |
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{{Main|Holiest sites in Islam}} |
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[[File:DecorInterieurDharihSidiAliElMekki.JPG|thumb|right|Wall hanging showing the three holy sites of Islam, Tunisia]] |
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Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem are recognized as the three most important sites in [[Islam]] according to interpretations{{Which?|date=September 2009}} of [[Religious text|scriptures]] in the Qur'an and [[hadith]]. According to Abdallah El-Khatib, there are about seventy places in the Qur'an, in various states of ambiguity, which imply to Jerusalem.<ref name = "Khatib">{{cite journal |last=el-Khatib |first=Abdallah |date=1 May 2001 |title=Jerusalem in the Qur'ān |journal=British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=25–53 |doi=10.1080/13530190120034549 |url=http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&issn=1353-0194&volume=28&issue=1&spage=25 |format=Abstract |accessdate=17 November 2006}}</ref> Jerusalem is also mentioned many times in the Hadith. Some academics attribute the holiness of Jerusalem to the rise and expansion of a certain type of literary genre, known as ''al-Fadhail'' or history of cities. 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.<ref>{{cite web |
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| url = http://www.mepc.org/journal_vol7/0002_talhami.asp |
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| title = The Modern History of Islamic Jerusalem: Academic Myths and Propaganda |
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| last = Talhami |
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| first = Ghada Hashem |
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| month= February | year= 2000 |
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| work = Middle East Policy Journal |
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| volume = VII |
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| issue = 14 |
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| publisher = Blackwell Publishing |
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| id = ISSN 1061-1924 |
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| accessdate = 17 November 2006 |
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| quote = <!--The holiness of Jerusalem was related to the rise and expansion of a certain type of literary genre, known as al-Fadhail or history of cities. The Fadhail of Jerusalem preserved the traditions of the Prophet regarding Jerusalem, the statements of various holy personages, and the city's popular lore. All of these inspired Muslims to ''embellish the sanctity of the city beyond its status in the holy texts''. The greatest source of information for al-Fadhail was the hadith, the Prophet's traditions, which were beginning to be quoted extensively in the last third of the first Muslim century (the seventh century of the Christian era). The traditions were used to enumerate the values of visiting the city and al-Aqsa Mosque. Circulating widely during the Umayyad period, these traditions were often a reflection of the ''Umayyad policy of enhancing the religious status of Jerusalem''.--> |
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}} |
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</ref> Others point to the political motives of the Umayyad dynasty which led to the sanctification of Jerusalem in Islam.<ref>{{cite web |
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| url = http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3095122,00.html |
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| title = The opposite of holiness |
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| last = Silverman |
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| first = Jonathan |
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| date = May 6, 2005 |
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| accessdate = 17 November 2006 |
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| quote = <!--After the prophet died in June 632 a series of successors, or caliphs, assumed authority as Islam's leaders. Between 661 and 750 the Umayyad Dynasty held the Caliphate and ruled from Damascus. ''During the time they ruled, on account of various internal and external pressures, the Umayyads exerted enormous effort to elevate Jerusalem's status'', perhaps even to the level of Mecca ... the Palestinian historian A.L. Tibawi writes, that building an actual Al Aqsa Mosque "gave reality to the figurative name used in the Koran ..." As Pipes points out, moreover, "it had the hugely important effect of giving Jerusalem a place in the Koran post hoc which naturally imbued the city with a higher status in Islam." Which is another way of saying, before the Umayyads built Dome of the Rock and Al Aksa, Jerusalem had no status at all in Islam. Israeli scholar Izhak Hasson says: "construction of the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosque, the rituals instituted by the Umayyads on the Temple Mount and the dissemination of Islamic-oriented Traditions regarding sanctity of the site, ''all point to the political motives which underlay the glorification of Jerusalem among the Muslims''." In other words the sanctification of Jerusalem in Islam is based on the Umayyad building program.--> |
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}}</ref> |
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Later medieval scripts, as well as modern-day political tracts, tend to class al-Aqsa Mosque as the third holiest site in Islam.<ref name=Webster>{{cite book |first=Wendy |last=Doninger |title=Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions |
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|date=1 September 1999 |publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]] |isbn=0-877-79044-2 |page=70}}</ref> For example, [[Sahih Bukhari]] quotes [[Abu al-Dardaa]] as saying: "the Prophet of Allah Muhammad said a prayer in the [[Masjid al-Haram|Sacred Mosque]] (in Mecca) is worth 100,000 prayers; a prayer in [[Al-Masjid al-Nabawi|my mosque]] (in Medina) is worth 10,000 prayers; and a prayer in al-Masjid al-Aqsa is worth 1,000 prayers," more than in an any other mosque. In addition, the [[Organization of the Islamic Conference]], (whose ''raison d'être'' is to "liberate al Aqsa from the Zionist [Israeli] occupation"), refers to the al-Aqsa Mosque (in a resolution condemning Israeli actions in the city) as the third holiest site in Islam.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oic-oci.org/english/conf/is/2/2nd-is-sum.htm#2 |title=Resolution No. 2/2-IS |accessdate=17 November 2006 |date=24 February 1974 |work=Second Islamic Summit Conference |publisher=[[Organisation of the Islamic Conference]]}}</ref> |
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==Current situations== |
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===Administration=== |
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The Waqf Ministry of [[Jordan]] held control of the al-Aqsa Mosque until the 1967 [[Six-Day War]]. After Israel's victory in that war, instead of the government taking control of the al-Aqsa Mosque, Israel transferred the control of the mosque and the northern Temple Mount to the Islamic ''[[waqf]]'' trust, who are independent of the Israeli government. However, [[Israeli Security Forces]] are permitted to patrol and conduct searches within the perimeter of the mosque. After the 1969 arson attack, the ''waqf'' employed architects, technicians and craftsmen in a committee that carry out regular maintenance operations. In order to counteract Israeli policies and the escalating presence of Israeli security forces around the site since the [[al-Aqsa Intifada]], the [[Islamic Movement (Israel)|Islamic Movement]], in cooperation with the ''waqf'', have attempted to increase Muslim control inside the Temple Mount. Some activities included refurbishing abandoned structures and renovating.<ref>[http://www.passia.org/jerusalem/publications/khaled_khatib_Conservation_Jerusalem/chapter1.htm Social Structure and Geography] [[Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs]].</ref> |
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[[Muhammad Ahmad Hussein]] is the head [[imam]] and manager of the al-Aqsa Mosque and was assigned the role of [[Grand Mufti of Jerusalem]] in 2006 by [[Palestinian president]] [[Mahmoud Abbas]].<ref>Yaniv Berman, [http://www.spme.net/cgi-bin/articles.cgi?ID=1280 "Top Palestinian Muslim Cleric Okays Suicide Bombings"], ''Media Line'', 23 October 2006.</ref> Other imams including Shaykh Yusuf Abu Sneina and the previous Mufti of Palestine, Sheikh Ikrima Sabri. Another of the former Imams of al-Aqsa, Shaykh Muhammad Abu Shusha, now resides in [[Amman]]. |
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Ownership of the al-Aqsa Mosque is a contentious issue in the [[Israel-Palestinian conflict]]. Israel holds sovereignty over the mosque along with all of the Temple Mount, but [[Palestinians]] hold unofficial custodianship of the site through the Islamic ''waqf''. During the negotiations at the [[2000 Camp David Summit]], Palestinians demanded complete ownership of the mosque and other Islamic holy sites in [[East Jerusalem]].<ref>[http://www.passia.org/publications/bookmaps/page2.htm#_edn8 Camp David Projections] [[Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs]]. July 2000.</ref> |
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===Access=== |
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[[Image:Hebrew domeEntrance sign.jpg|thumb|right|Sign in [[Hebrew]] and [[English language|English]] outside the [[Temple Mount]] warning [[Jew]]s not to enter the mosque compound]] |
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While all [[Arab citizens of Israel|Muslim citizens of Israel]] are allowed to enter and pray at the al-Aqsa Mosque, Israel has imposed, on occasion, severe restrictions on access to the mosque for [[Jewish Israelis]], and [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] Muslims living in the [[West Bank]] or [[Gaza Strip]]. Palestinian males must be married and at least 50 years of age and women must be married and at least 45 years of age to enter the mosque, on those occasions. Palestinian visits are therefore rare during most of the year, except during the month of [[Ramadan]]. Israeli reasoning for the restrictions is that older, married Palestinians are less likely "to cause trouble".<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/08/middle_east_ramadan_prayers_at_al_aqsa_mosque/html/3.stm Ramadan prayers at al-Aqsa mosque] ''[[BBC News]]''. 5 September 2008.</ref> |
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Many [[rabbi]]s, including Israel's chief [[rabbinate]] in 1967, have ruled that [[Jew]]s should not walk on the Temple Mount due to the possibility of them stepping on the site of the [[Holy of Holies]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} [[Israeli government]]al restrictions only forbid Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, but allow Jews as well as other non-Muslims to visit for certain hours on certain days in the week. Several rabbis, and several [[Zionist]] leaders have demanded the right of Jews to pray at the site on [[Jewish holiday]]s.<ref>Klein, Aaron. [http://www.templeinstitute.org/archive/25-12-07a.htm Jews Demand Right to Pray on the Temple Mount] The Temple Institute.</ref> The [[Israeli Supreme Court]] has supported individual, as opposed to group, prayer; however, [[Israeli police]] bar Jews from praying there "in any overt manner whatsoever on the Temple Mount, even if he is just moving his lips in prayer"<ref>Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, {{cite news |title=No moving Jewish lips in prayer on Temple Mount, says Dichter |work=[[Haaretz]] |date=1 March 2008 |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/940710.html |accessdate=18 May 2009}}</ref> |
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=== Al-Aqsa Intifada === |
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{{Main|Al-Aqsa Intifada}} |
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On September 28, 2000, [[Ariel Sharon]] and members of the [[Likud Party]], along with 1,000 armed guards, visited the al-Aqsa compound; a large group of Palestinians went to protest the visit. After Sharon and the Likud Party members left, a demonstration erupted and Palestinians on the grounds of the [[Haram al-Sharif]] began throwing stones and other projectiles at Israeli riot police. Police fired tear gas and [[rubber bullet]]s at the crowd, injuring 24 people. The visit sparked a seven-year uprising by the Palestinians, commonly referred to as the [[Al-Aqsa Intifada]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Provocative' mosque visit sparks riots |work=[[BBC News]] |publisher=BBC MMVIII |date=28 September 2000 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/28/newsid_3687000/3687762.stm |accessdate=1 July 2008}}</ref> On September 29, the Israeli government deployed 2,000 riot police to the mosque. When a group of Palestinians left the mosque after [[Jumu'ah|Friday prayers]] (''Jumu'ah''), they hurled stones at the police. The police then stormed the mosque compound, firing both live ammunition and rubber bullets at the group of Palestinians, killing four and wounding about 200.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dean |first=Lucy |title=The Middle East and North Africa 2004 |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |page=560 |
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|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=pP315Mw3S9EC&pg=PA560&dq=Al-Aqsa+Mosque&lr=&sig=IseiUfRdw01atYbe__TFrkv9NGc |isbn=1857431847}}</ref> |
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===Excavations=== |
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{{Main|Excavations of Al-Aqsa Mosque}} |
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Several excavations of the al-Aqsa Mosque took place throughout the 1970s: In 1970, Israeli authorities commenced intensive excavations directly beneath the mosque on the southern and western sides. In 1977, digging continued and a large tunnel was opened below the women's prayer area and a new tunnel was dug under the mosque, going east to west in 1979. In addition, the Archaeological Department of the [[Religious Services Minister of Israel|Israeli Ministry of Religious Affairs]] dug a tunnel near the western portion of the mosque in 1984.<ref name="Ahram"/> |
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In February 2007, the Department started to excavate a site for archaeological remains in a location where the government wanted to rebuild a collapsed pedestrian bridge. This site was 60 meters away from the mosque.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lis |first=Jonathan |title=Majadele: Jerusalem mayor knew Mugrabi dig was illegal |work=[[Haaretz]] |publisher=Haaretz |date=2 December 2007 |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/824624.html |accessdate=1 July 2008}}</ref> The excavations provoked anger throughout the [[Islamic world]], and Israel was accused of trying to destroy the foundation of the mosque. [[Ismail Haniya]]—then [[Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority]] and [[Hamas]] leader —<ref>{{cite news |title=Profile: Hamas PM Ismail Haniya |work=[[BBC News]] |publisher=BBC MMVIII |date=14 December 2006 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4655146.stm |accessdate=1 July 2008}}</ref> called on Palestinians to unite to protest the excavations, while [[Fatah]] said they would end their ceasefire with Israel.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rabinovich |first=Abraham |title=Palestinians unite to fight Temple Mount dig |publisher=''[[The Australian]]'' |date=8 February 2007 |url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21189993-2703,00.html |accessdate=1 July 2008}}</ref> Israel denied all charges against them, calling them "ludicrous".<ref>{{cite news |last=Friedman |first=Matti |title=Israel to resume dig near Temple Mount |publisher=USA Today |date=14 October 2007 |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-10-14-2466485405_x.htm |accessdate=1 July 2008}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
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*[[Islamic architecture]] |
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*[[List of mosques]] |
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*[[Mosque of Omar]] |
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*[[Islam in Israel and Palestinian territories]] |
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*[[Masjid an-Nabawi]] |
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*[[Palestinian nationalism]] |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist|3}} |
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==External links== |
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{{Commons category}} |
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* [http://www.noblesanctuary.com/AQSAMosque.html Noble Sanctuary: Al-Aqsa Mosque] |
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* [http://jerusalempedia.com/Al-Aqsa-Mosque.html Al-Aqsa Mosque] |
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* [http://www.islamicarchitecture.org/architecture/alaqsamosque.html Al-Aqsa Mosque Architectural Review] Islamic Architecture. |
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* [http://www.visualdhikr.com/extra/aqsa_pano.htm 360° view of the inside of the Mosque by Visual Dhikr] Islamic Virtual Arts. |
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* [http://www.360tr.com/kudus/mescidaksa_eng/ Unique 360 degrees panoramic tour] |
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* [http://www.jerusalemshots.com/img_en23_1645p1.html Al-Aqsa Mosque Photos] Jerusalem Photos Archive. |
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* [http://www.hweb.org.uk/content/view/4/3/ History of Al-Aqsa] hWeb. |
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* [http://www.aqsa-mosque.com Al-Aqsa Mosque] Real facts about the Al-Aqsa Mosque. |
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* [http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1171897364021&pagename=Zone-English-Muslim_Affairs%2FMAELayout Myths and Facts About Al-Aqsa (Interview with Dr. Mazin Al-Naggar)]''IslamOnline.net'' |
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* [http://www.occri.org.uk/Articles/Obama-Aqsa.htm Obama, the Biggest Threat to Al-Aqsa in 90 Years? by Shaikh Dr Riyad Nadwi] |
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* [http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1256033896021&pagename=Zone-English-Living_Shariah%2FLSELayout# Can Birds Help Muslims Free Al-Aqsa Mosque? by Ali Al-Halawani] |
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{{Mosques in Israel and the Palestinian territories}} |
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{{Islamic structures on the Temple Mount}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Aqsa Mosque, Al-}} |
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[[Category:710s architecture]] |
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[[Category:1030s architecture]] |
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[[Category:Aga Khan Award for Architecture winners]] |
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[[Category:Islamic holy places]] |
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[[Category:Mosques in Jerusalem]] |
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[[Category:Arabic architecture]] |
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[[Category:Palestinian nationalism]] |
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[[Category:Ziyarat]] |
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[[Category:Conversion of non-Christian places of worship into Churches]] |
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[[af:Al-Aqsamoskee]] |
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[[te:మస్జిద్-ఎ-అఖ్సా]] |
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Revision as of 12:26, 22 February 2010
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