Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Islamic Imperialism. Further to the new investigations on the Temple Mount: Waqf boycotts Knesset committee
Head of Muslim body in charge of Temple Mount refuses to attend Knesset committee meeting on excavations at site. 'We don't recognize Israel's sovereignty in Jerusalem,' he explains
The Knesset State Control Committee decided Monday to ask the state comptroller to compile a report on the archeological digs carried out by the Muslim Waqf at the Temple Mount.
The decision came after a representative of the Muslim administrative body in charge of the holy site refused to attend the committee's meeting, stating that he did not recognize Israel's sovereignty at the Temple Mount or the Knesset's authority to make decisions on the matter.
Committee chairman MK Zevulun Orlev explained that the committee convened to discuss the alleged destruction of relics and other damages caused by the Waqf's digs. "We cannot ignore the fact that the Waqf does not recognize the Knesset and its committees. Its members are carrying out excavations at the Temple Mount, which is a very sensitive, special site," he explained.
The Waqf's director-general Adnan al-Husseini said his decision to shun the committee's invitation was dictated by the Waqf's year-long policy. "The Waqf does not acknowledge Israel's authority in Jerusalem or the Temple Mount…the Waqf boycotts Israeli politicians all the time."...
The Waqf exists at the invitation of the Israeli Knesset. Israel took control of the Old City of Jerusalem in 1967, all of it, and could, in theory, have done as she pleased.
It is a sign of Israel's morality (or stupidity... or perhaps both) that Israel chose, immediately after the war ended, to hand over the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem to an autonomous Muslim religious authority.
Personally, I think that this sort of statement -- particularly over an issue of this magnitude -- warrants a quiet comment from a representative of the Israeli Government: "We gave you authority over the Temple Mount, and we can take it back. Give us a good reason, and we'll chase you off the Temple Mount, and then seal it off hermetically. The Muslim holy places will remain intact, and utterly empty, for as long as we see fit. -- Now: what was that you were saying again?"
respectfully,
Daniel in Brookline
I think the "al aksa" mosque should be disassembled as the Abu Simbel temple was (sawed into pieces and numbered like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle) before it was submerged by the rising waters of the Aswan Dam.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Simbel
I further suggest that the "al aksa" mosque be reassembled on the dark side of the moon to make it truely the farthest mosque.