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Source: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Encountering-Peace-A-new-intifada-419540
There Is No Real Threat to Al-Aksa
(Jerusalem Post) Gershon Baskin - In the days prior to the second intifada that began in 2000, campaigns were being waged by the Islamic Movement (Northern Branch) to protect al-Aksa. Then, as now, there was no real threat to al-Aksa. For Palestinians and Muslims, al-Aksa is not just the mosque at the southern end of the Temple Mount, but the entire mount. The symbol of the Dome of the Rock - the Golden Dome - is found in most Palestinian homes. But the issue of Jewish presence and prayer there is not a religious issue. According to sharia - Islamic law - there is no prohibition against Jewish prayer on al-Aksa. More than one Palestinian Muslim official told me that from the point of view of Islam there is no problem with Jews or others being on the Temple Mount. The problem, they said, was political. The real problem is the extremists on the Muslim side who are prepared to use violence to prevent the Jews from praying there. The writer is co-chairman of IPCRI, Israel Palestine Creative Regional Initiatives.