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Muslim Worship at Rachel's Tomb
(Israel Hayom) Nadav Shragai - Two weeks ago, a tour bus parked opposite Rachel's Tomb with dozens of Sufi Muslims from India, who entered the site and prayed alongside the Jewish worshipers. This sight has been repeated on several occasions at Rachel's Tomb recently. Shachar Fireman, the manager of the Rachel's Tomb site on behalf of Israel's National Center for the Development of Holy Sites, says, "These groups come here 12-13 times a year, they do not come to provoke or harm anyone....It's true, they are Muslims, but they do not incite or cause any harm." Prof. Yitzhak Reiter, from Reichman University, explains, "There are numerous biblical figures whom the Muslims honor and respect, attributing to them the status of prophets....Rachel's Tomb is not the only tomb of a biblical figure visited by the Muslims. They also come to David's Tomb, Samuel's Tomb (Nebi Samuel), Reuven's Tomb near Palmachim, and the Cave of Elijah." Veteran researcher of the Arab world Pinhas Inbari reminds us that for many years Rachel's Tomb has been identified with Rabia al-Adawiyya al-Qaysiyya, a medieval female Sufi saint. However, in recent decades, Yasser Arafat connected the site to Bilal ibn Rabah, a servant in the house of the prophet Muhammad who served as the first-ever mu'azzin. A decade ago, UNESCO succumbed to pressure from the Palestinians and the Arab states and registered Rachel's Tomb as the Bilal ibn Rabah Mosque, even though ibn Rabah is buried in Damascus. Rachel's Tomb, located just south of Jerusalem's municipal boundary, has been identified as a holy Jewish site for more than 1,700 years. Rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy Places Shmuel Rabinovitch noted that "Judaism does not prevent anybody genuinely seeking to visit Jewish holy sites from doing so. We have never closed off the Western Wall to any other religion. If a Muslim, from anywhere in the world, feels an authentic connection to the figure of the matriarch Rachel and comes to visit Rachel's Tomb, without disturbing or coming to incite, take over the site or harm the Jews there, or to engage in customs that are contrary to the holy nature of the site, then Judaism as a religion has no problem at all with this. This is completely in contrast to how the Muslims treat Jews on the Temple Mount."