Another day passes as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat continue what could be monumental peace negotiations at the Camp David Summit. Long-standing conflicts hope to be ironed out such as borders, settlements, refugees, access to limited water resources and most importantly the status of Jerusalem.
Negotiations on the future of Jerusalem are particularly delicate among the 1.2 billion Muslims worldwide because of the symbolic and religious significance that the holy city of Jerususalem holds in the Islamic faith. In Islam, Jerusalem is the third holiest site, after Mecca and Medina. Jerusalem carries deep religious symbolism for Muslims all around the world because of Bait-al-Maqudis. It is an area which consists of Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock. With a rapidly approaching September 13 deadline to reach an agreement, the Muslim world watches and remains united in ensuring that Muslim rights to Jerusalem stay off the bargaining table.
American Muslim organizations issued a statement on Monday declaring that Muslim rights to Jerusalem are not up for negotiation at the Camp David Summit and that no individual or group has the right to surrender Muslim rights to the city. Muslim leaders also stated that any agreement diminishing Muslim rights in Jerusalem or preventing the right to return for Palestinian refugees would not prove feasible and are unacceptable from an Islamic point of view.
A statement issued by eight* major American Muslim organizations read:
“Jerusalem is the city of many prophets of Islam, including David, Solomon, Zakariah and Jesus. It is mentioned in the Qur'an, Islam's revealed text as a city whose precincts have been blessed by God (Qur'an 17:1). Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) told Muslims that Jerusalem is one of the three cities they should visit as a religious pilgrimage. Muslims and Arabs call Jerusalem 'al-Quds' ('The Holy').”
The statement went on to explain that Muslim and Christian holy sites have not been safe under Israeli occupation. “We only need to recall Israeli police shooting to death 17 Palestinian civilians who challenged Jewish extremists who sought to lay a 'cornerstone' at the holy sites in 1990 and the Israeli tunnel built near the foundations of the Haram ash-Sharif ('The Noble Sanctuary').” The statement also cited the closure of Jerusalem since the beginning of the peace talks in 1993, which has obstructed the freedom of movement and worship for Palestinian Muslims and Christians from the West Bank. It goes on to say Israeli policies espouse “Apartheid-like ideology that seeks to erase all traces of Islam and Christianity in Jerusalem.”
Go To Page: 1 2
