Special Dispatch - Egypt
October 3, 2003
No. 583

Egyptian Ministry of Culture Publication: The Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the
Rock were Built to Divert the Pilgrimage from Mecca; Jerusalem was Not the
Center of Worship for the Followers of the Prophet Muhammad

On August 5, 2003 Ahmad Muhammad 'Arafa, a columnist for the Egyptian weekly
Al-Qahira, which is published by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, wrote an
article rejecting the established Islamic doctrine that the Prophet
Muhammad's celebrated "Night Journey" (Koran 17:1) took him from Mecca to
Jerusalem. 'Arafa, presenting a new analysis of the Koranic text, asserts
that the Night Journey in Surat Al-Isra' (that is, "the Sura of the Night
Journey") in the Koran does not refer to a miraculous journey from Mecca to
Jerusalem, but to the Prophet's emigration (Hijra) from Mecca to Medina.(1)

Two weeks later 'Arafa published another article(2) in the same weekly
questioning the sanctity of Jerusalem in Islam. The following are excerpts
from this article:

The Change in 'Qibla' Means Jerusalem Lost its Former Priority in Islam

"...Palestine was conquered [by the Muslims] in the year 17 A.H. [638 A. D.]
in the time of 'Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, and in his day, the people [of
Palestine] were beginning to adopt Islam. Hence, how could there have
existed in Palestine, at the time of the Prophet [i.e. before Palestine was
conquered by Islam], a mosque, be it called 'the most distant' [Arabic:
al-aqsa] or not...

"Therefore, the mosque known today as the Al-Aqsa Mosque is not the one
referred to by the Koranic words: 'From the Al-Haram Mosque [in Mecca] to
the most distant mosque (al-aqsa).' It is true that the Prophet did direct
himself in prayer, according to Allah's instructions, toward Iliya [i. e.,
Aelia] - the name of Jerusalem in that period - for 17 months, and then,
instructed by Allah, he redirected himself to the Al-Haram Mosque in Mecca.
Aelia was the center of worship for the Jews, as it continues to be. This
means that, for a while, the Prophet shared with them their direction of
prayer (qibla), and then he turned away from it toward another qibla...

"The change of qibla from Jerusalem to the Al-Haram Mosque [in Mecca] meant
that Jerusalem was no longer the center of worship for the followers of
Muhammad and that it no longer deserved to be respected by Muslims beyond
what any historical city in their domain deserved. If this is not understood
in this way [namely, that the change of qibla signifies that Jerusalem lost
its previous religious status], then the change of qibla has no meaning..."

The Al-Aqsa Mosque was Built and Promoted in the Context of Political
Rivalry

"When 'Abd Al-Malik Ibn Marwan became caliph and [his rival] Ibn Al-Zubayr
held control of Hijaz, he [Caliph 'Abd Al-Malik] feared that the people
would be inclined towards him [Ibn Al-Zubayr] when they made pilgrimage [to
Mecca], because the only way they could enter Mecca and Medina was with Ibn
Al-Zubayr's permission and under his control. And if he [Ibn Al-Zubayr]
received them hospitably... then he would win the allegiance of many of
them.... Therefore, 'Abd Al-Malik prevented people from making pilgrimage
until [Ibn Al-Zubayr was defeated and] the war ended. He [Abd Al-Malik]
began to build a large mosque in Jerusalem, which had been the first qibla.
It is from this point in time that some transmitters of traditions started
to promote the religious significance of this mosque and turn it into the
'third to the two holy mosques [of Mecca and Medina]'(3)....

"The new mosque [in Jerusalem] was first called 'the Mosque of Aelia,' and
prophetic traditions were invented mentioning this name [so as to invest it
with Islamic significance]. Then the name 'Al-Aqsa' was stolen for it [from
the mosque in Medina], because it [i.e. the mosque of Aelia] was the most
distant from Mecca and Medina. It was claimed that the Koranic expression
'the most distant mosque' referred to it [i.e. the mosque of Aelia] because
the mosque of the Prophet [in Medina] was neither 'distant' nor 'most
distant' for the people of Medina...(4)

"In sum, the mosque of Jerusalem, known as the Al-Aqsa Mosque, began to be
built in the year 66 A.H. at the time of 'Abd Al-Malik Ibn Marwan, and
construction was completed in the year 73 A. H. The religious connection of
Muslims to Jerusalem ended with the change of the qibla from Jerusalem to
Mecca. When 'Abd Al-Malik Ibn Marwan prevented the people of Syria and Iraq
from performing pilgrimage for a number of years, so they should not be
inclined towards Ibn Al-Zubayr, and began to build a large mosque in Aelia,
religious traditions appeared glorifying this mosque and the Dome of the
Rock. And it was called at first the Mosque of Aelia, and then the name of
the mosque Al-Aqsa was stolen for it from the mosque of Medina. And what
facilitated this [transfer of the name 'Al-Aqsa'] is that the people of
Medina did not call [their mosque] 'distant' or 'most distant,' because it
is a geographical term [which was not relevant to them].... We inherited
these [traditions promoting the sanctity of Jerusalem] as if they were part
of [the Islamic] religion."

Endnotes:
(1) For the previous article by 'Arafa, see
http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP56403
(2) Al-Qahira (Egypt), August 19, 2003.
(3) The author is repeating a particular theory, expounded by I. Goldziher
in 1890 (See Muhammedanische Studien, II, pp. 35-37; English translation:
Muslim Studies II, pp. 44-45), that in building the Dome of the Rock and the
Al-Aqsa Mosque 'Abd al-Malik was motivated by his desire to divert the
Pilgrimage from Mecca to Jerusalem, as part of his campaign against Ibn
al-Zubayr. This theory, which had been widely accepted, found its way into
textbooks on Islamic history. It should, however, be noted that this theory
was reexamined and refuted by S. D. Goitein (see "The Sanctity of Jerusalem
and Palestine in Early Islam," in his Studies in Islamic History and
Institutions, Leiden, 1966, pp. 135-137) and is no longer accepted in modern
scholarship. Arafa begins this article with a quotation from Al-Uns al-jalil
bi-ta'rikh al-quds wa'l-khalil, by Mujir al-Din 'Abd al-Rahman al-'Ulaymi
al-Hanbali al-Maqdisi (810/1456-928/1522), stating that the Ummayad Caliph
'Abd Al-Malik Ibn Mar!
wan decided to build the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque to divert
the pilgrimage away from Mecca - at that time controlled by his rival Ibn
al-Zubayr - to Jerusalem, which was under his control and close to Damascus,
his own capital. 'Arafa notes that he borrowed this quotation from an
article by Ahmad 'Uthman on the dispute over Jerusalem's holy sites 'Awda
ila 'l-khilaf 'ala muqaddasat al-aqsa, al-ha'it wa'l-masjid, published in
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, November 19, 2000.
(4) The author explains that once the name Al-Aqsa was appropriated for the
mosque in Jerusalem, this new name was incorporated into the various
traditions that were disseminated in order to promote the Islamic
significance of Jerusalem.

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