Zionists Planning Al Aqsa Demolition

DR. S. AUSAF SAIED VASFI comments on a group of Zionists’ bid to hoist an Israeli flag inside al-Aqsa, and presents a brief history of repeated attacks on the Qibla-e-Awwal.

That the transplanted State of Israel wants to annex the region extending from the Euphrates to the Nile, including parts of Lower Egypt, Southern Lebanon, Southern Syria, lands east of Jordan and the northern parts of Hejaz and Medinah is a stale ruse.

The freshest one is that the United States, the patron of the aberration, believes in, and has taught its military top brass, that Enemy No. one of the unipolar power is Islam, and not merely the terrorists, allegedly deriving inspiration from the Divine Ideology.

Since 2004, this perverse thesis has had been regularly inculcated into the minds of the select military officers. After protests from the wards, it has been, perhaps for the time being, stopped. This is also an insipid story, covered in detail in our Issue No. 9. The question that deserves to be repeated is: Has the said course been stopped for ever or has it just been postponed for a while?

The Haramain constitute the sheet-anchor of Islam. Perhaps that is why they remain on the American-Zionists’ target list. The holiest of the holy Islamic shrines, housed in Makkah al-Mukarramah and Medinah al-Munawwarah are a thorn in the belly, nay flesh, nay eye of the bloodsuckers.

SUSTAINED EFFORTS

The latest news is that sustained efforts are, and have been, on for the ultimate destruction of the Qibla-e-Awwal, consisting of Masjid al-Aqsa at Jerusalem in Israel. Obviously, the Zionists want to erase off every vestige of Islam from the surface of the earth. Are the crusades not continuing unabated? On the debris of al-Aqsa they want to construct what the Jews call the “Temple of the Mound”.

As the first, but serious step, a group of the occupationists, on May 28, hoisted a 3-metre long Israeli flag inside the al-Aqsa and took photos with fluttering flags in the backdrop. For Muslims Bait al-Maqdis is a noble sanctuary and carries importance simply because it is the first Qibla of the world Muslims.

The Likud Party periodically provokes the extremist Israelis to demolish the Qibla-e-Awwal so that the Zionists may build “Mound Temple” on its dust. The truth is that they have never ever kept hidden their intention in this regard.

It has to be recalled that the al-Aqsa is one of the mosques ever built and marks the spot wherefrom the Last Prophet, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) set out for al-Isra or al-Meraj. That makes the sanctuary significant and sacrosanct. It is a place that carries sanctity for Muslims.

COMPOUND ATTACKS

The compound of al-Aqsa has been under repeated attacks of the short-sighted. In 1928, the emigrant Jews took control of the Western Wall. The original inhabitants, the Palestinians resisted the onslaught to the extent they could. A riot broke out which lasted for more than two weeks. Following this disturbance a committee was formed in 1930. The Britishers, who were instrumental in it, found, after investigation, that since the Wall is an integral part of the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, this comes under the ownership of Muslims. The area is a wakf property.

The committee – mark it – stated that the instruments of worship placed near or adjacent to the Wall by the Jews cannot be taken as evidence of Jewish ownership of the Wall or the adjacent area.

When in 1967, the Zionists embarked upon an occupation spree, the ownership of the Wall passed the hands unilaterally. Thus the entire occupation of the Wall came under question.

The information with regard to concerted efforts at damaging, nay eliminating the al-Aqsa is already on the net. The motivated had taken a series of steps in this regard. For example:

In 1967 in a show of Israeli superiority, Rabbi Shlomo Goren (a chaplain in the Israeli Defence Force), entered the al-Aqsa compound, sparking violence between Palestinian security personnel and Israeli guards. A warning against entering this, followed from the chief Rabbis of Israel at the time. Orthodox Jewish Rabbis still maintain that it is absolutely forbidden for Jews to enter al-Aqsa (known to Israelis as the Temple Mound).

In 1969 Al-Aqsa was attacked by an arsonist and set on fire. His name was Sirhan Bishira Sirhan.  The entire south wing was burnt down. The man responsible walked free after receiving psychiatric counselling.

Members of the ‘Temple Mount Faithful’ group – a group dedicated to demolishing the buildings within the Aqsa compound – forcibly entered the mosque in 1970. Muslim worshippers who held them back, then became targets of Israeli fire.

Israeli courts, in 1976, passed a law permitting Jews to pray in Masjid al-Aqsa. After a great deal of protest by Muslims, this was later revoked.

Jewish extremists, in 1979, blocked one of the entrances to the Aqsa compound before Friday prayers, pointing guns at worshippers who were trying to enter.

HARASSMENT TACTICS

1980’s harassment against worshippers escalated. In August 1981, an Israeli helicopter hovered at low altitude over Masjid al-Aqsa, preventing worshippers inside the mosque from hearing the sermon.

The adhan was prohibited in 1981 from the minaret overlooking the Western Wall because of a Jewish celebration. Extensive tunnels dug under the Aqsa compound were discovered, thereby weakening the foundations of the mosque.

A parcel with a fake bomb and having threats signed by the Jewish extremists was discovered at one of the gates in 1982. An ex-Israeli army officer opened fire within the sanctuary, killing two Muslims and filling the interior and exterior of the Dome of the Rock with bullet marks.

An Israeli was arrested for trying to blow up Masjid al-Aqsa. He was subsequently released without any punishment. Other Jewish fundamentalists attempted to enter the al-Aqsa Sanctuary with leaflets inciting Jews to take over the compound.

In 1983 the Temple Mount Fund was established in Israel, Europe and America to raise funds for re-building the Jewish Temple on the site of Masjid al-Aqsa. Explosives were discovered at an entrance gate to the al-Aqsa Sanctuary and four armed Israelis attempted to enter the compound. Six months later, they were set free.

Zionist extremists, in 1984, attempted to climb the walls of the Aqsa Sanctuary with ladders in the middle of the night, armed with ammunition. During this year, armed Israeli guards started patrolling outside the gates of the Aqsa Sanctuary.

Israeli troops, in 1988, stormed the Aqsa Sanctuary, firing tear gas into groups of worshippers. Later, further tunnels were discovered thereby sparking more unrest.

Israeli troops, in 1990, opened fire on worshippers killing 22 and wounding hundreds more in a confrontation with unarmed Palestinians.

Israel, in 1996, re-opened tunnels under the Aqsa Sanctuary, which resulted in widespread confrontations and the death of more than 70 Palestinians.

REPEATED ATTACKS

Zionists, in 1997, attempted to lay a 4.5 tonne rock within the precincts of al-Aqsa as a symbolic gesture of laying the foundation of their temple. They were forced back by Muslim custodians of the Holy site.

In 2000 Ariel Sharon, then leader of the opposition, stormed into the al-Aqsa Sanctuary with a thousand strong ‘security’ personnel. The troops attacked those trying to defend al-Aqsa, killing and maiming many innocent civilians. Clashes permeated throughout the occupied territories and gave rise to the al-Aqsa Intifada.

Palestinians under the age of 45 – note it – are barred from praying at the Holy Sanctuary.

Israeli forces, in 2004, began attacking worshippers at the mosque during the Friday prayers, using live rounds, tear gas, sound bombs and grenades, to instil fear into worshippers.

Israeli MP Uri Ariel, in 2006, forced his way into the al-Aqsa compound at a time when Palestinians were denied access to it in a show of Israeli authority over the land.

Persistent tunnelling beneath the mosque has led to a landslide near the western side, leaving a crater measuring two metres in length and 1.5 metres in width.

Excavations during 2010 have led to cracks as long as seven metres along the walls within al-Aqsa. Israeli forces entered the al-Aqsa Masjid after Friday prayers, firing rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades. Sixty worshippers were injured, among them a woman shot in the eye with a rubber bullet.

The excavations under the al-Aqsa Sanctuary are leading to dangerous cracks in the buildings adjoining the Western Wall. Archaeologists believe that the tunnels have weakened the structures of the buildings within the compound, so that even the slightest tremor could lead to a collapse of the Masjid.

Incursions into the sacred al-Aqsa compound continue on a regular basis, and inevitably, Palestinians who attempt to protect the site continue to be injured in the process.

QUESTION OF QUESTIONS

What are the Arabs, who, contrary to the explicit tenets of Islam, insist upon that Palestine is the problem of the Palestinians or at the most of the Arabs, doing to defend the Haramain, the Qibla-e-Awwal and themselves, at the end of the day?

Sitting crossed-leg and fingers-crossed, they, suffering from acute paralysis of will, inertia and amnesia are staring at the sky, waiting for a miracle. United leadership has, long ago, been gobbled up by the west-inculcated nation-states. There is no concept of Ummah which may deliver. These so-called nation-states do not see eye to eye with each other. Timidity and cowardice have overtaken the otherwise brave Arab body politic, chasing luxury, the age-old fickle mistress.