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ASK THE IMAM: AN EXCHANGE BETWEEN SUSAN
ROSENBLUTH AND SHEIKH PROFESSOR ABDUL HADI PALAZZI
ROME, September 18, 1998, Root & Branch:
Susan Rosenbluth Asks
If I understand you correctly, you are saying that the
anti-Jewish sentiments expressed by Islamic leaders
throughout the Middle East are, in fact, not religious in
nature, but, rather, political.
Sheikh Professor Palazzi Answers
That is exactly my point of view. The best proof of it is
in the fact that Islamic anti-Judaism is quite recent.
Omar ended the Roman ban that prevented Jews to enter
Jerusalem, the Ummayad caliphs in Cordoba built a synagogue
for Maimonides, and Salahu-d-Din, after defeating the
Crusaders, wrote to the Jewish leaders, "Your exile is
over. Whoever wants to come back is welcome." The late
King Faysal of Iraq openly expressed his sympathy for the
Zionist movement, while King Abdullah of Jordan was compelled
to wage war against Israel by the other Arab leaders.
Susan Rosenbluth Asks
Would this be correct, in reference to recent
Palestinian-Arab Wakf pronouncements, such as: the Western
Wall (Kotel) is not a Jewish shrine, but, rather, the wall to
which the Prophet's beast was tethered, or, at best, the wall
surrounding the Muslim Mosque? Is there any Qur'anic basis for
the Wakf's pronouncement that should all of Hebron be turned
over to the Palestinian Authority, Jews would be forbidden to
pray in the Cave of the Patriarchs?
Sheikh Professor Palazzi Answers
These kinds of declarations by the PLO gangsters are
ridiculous and absurd. The Kotel was effectively, according
to the Islamic tradition, the place where al-Buraq was
tethered, but it was already an existing part of the Herodian
structure. Muslims have never prayed close to it, and it has
never had a special relevance in Islam. On the contrary,
everyone knows how important it is for Jewish worshippers.
Apart from Mecca, no Islamic holy place is off-limits for
non-Muslims. Historical sources say that the Prophet Muhammad
entertained a delegation of Christians from Najran in the
Mosque of Medina, and permitted them to celebrate a mass
inside the Mosque, notwithstanding the fact that Christian
rites can include words that are against Islam (i.e., calling
Jesus "God", etc.).
There is nothing in Jewish worship that can be offensive
for Muslims, and nothing in Islamic Law prevents Jews to pray
on Haram al-Sharif/Har Habayyit (the Temple Mount), in the
Cave of Machpela or in any other place that is regarded as
holy by Muslims. Every time I meet those who say otherwise, I
ask them to identify a single authoritative Islamic source as
legal proof of their claim. None of them has ever answered
such a request of mine.
Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova from Rome, Italy,
Sheikh Professor Abdul Hadi Palazzi
Rome, Italy
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