November 10, 2023
As Muslims savage Israel, hoping to destroy it, there should be concerns among Christians and Jews about their histories in the Holy Land if these seventh-century throwbacks win.
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Muslims are the bulls in the china shop of history.
The same uncivilization that brought sacralized lying, taqiyya, also brings lying about the past by destroying it, Jahiliyyah.
Jahiliyyah … is an Arabic term that refers to the period of time and state of affairs in Pre-Islamic Arabia before the advent of Islam in 609 CE. It usually refers to the Age of Ignorance.
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Jāhiliyyah, in Islam … indicates a negative Muslim evaluation of pre-Islamic life and culture in Arabia as compared to the teachings and practices of Islam.
The destruction of historical artifacts is an attempt to enforce the teachings of Islam. Jahiliyyah is used to rationalize the destruction of artifacts as symbols of idolatry or cultural practices considered incompatible with Islam.
It is intended to erase the past and has metastasized outside Arabia.
The most notable example of such destruction and metastasizing is the demolition of the ancient Buddha statues in the Bamiyan Valley, Afghanistan, by the Taliban in 2001. Their destruction was justified based on the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic teachings.
Damage by Muslims is never a one-off.
There have been many other cases where historical artifacts and cultural sites have been targeted. Some examples:
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1. Destruction of ancient artifacts in Timbuktu, 2012: Armed Muslims targeted ancient manuscripts and artifacts in a UNESCO World Heritage Site, leading to their destruction, because they were considered contrary to Islamic beliefs.
2. Demolition of historical monuments in Palmyra, 2015: Islamic State militants demolished several ancient structures in an attempt to eradicate what they viewed as symbols of polytheism and idolatry.
3. Vandalism of ancient sites in Iraq: Islamic groups targeted historical sites and artifacts, causing irreparable damage. These acts of destruction were carried out based on Muslims’ opposition to cultural practices deemed incompatible with Islamic beliefs.
And what would a Muslim war party be without inviting Christians? As an example, in 2016, ISIS bombed a Coptic Orthodox church in Cairo, killing 28 people and injuring dozens more.
The so-called Palestinians (SCPs), in their ongoing efforts to kludge a history, have to destroy evidence of the multi-millennia presence of Jews in the Holy Land. One source documenting these actions toward historical revision is the “National Heritage Survey” published by the Shilo Forum and the Shomrim HaNetzach:
Simply put, hundreds of cherished Jewish sites in the Land of Israel which survived 2,000 years of Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Crusader, Mameluke and Ottoman occupation are being systematically destroyed … by the Palestinians [sic][.] …
These include sites dating back to biblical times, as well as those from the Second Temple, Herodian and Hasmonean periods.
Consider the following examples:
Outside of Jericho … is the second largest ancient Jewish burial ground in all of Israel. Dating back to the Second Temple period, it is spread out over an enormous area adjacent to a Hasmonean palace and contains a vast complex of dozens of burial caves which were used for two centuries and where an estimated 100,000 Jews were buried[.] …
[G]rave robbers and other hoodlums have been damaging and demolishing the burial grounds, leaving the graves of our ancestors desecrated and their bones scattered about[.] …
Another major site under Palestinian (sic) assault is Tel Aroma in Samaria, where a spectacular Hasmonean palace stood, one of eight that was established by the dynasty to defend Israel’s eastern boundary[.] …
[T]he Palestinian [sic] Authority seized control over Tel Aroma and brought in heavy engineering equipment to pave a road over parts of the ruins, thereby causing inestimable damage. Adding insult to injury, they then had the gall to hold a formal ceremony and declare the palace, which was built by the descendants of the Maccabees, to be a “Palestinian [sic] Heritage Site.” …
“The Palestinian [sic] Authority not only doesn’t preserve and protect heritage sites, but it is responsible for some 90% of the attacks on them,” says the report.
This is nothing less than a concerted campaign by the Palestinian [sic] Authority, our ostensible “peace partners,” to systematically destroy tangible evidence of the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel.
It is an assault on history and on the truth and it must be stopped.
And the phenomenon described in the report is just the tip of the iceberg. After all, the survey examined a representative sample of just 365 out of the more than 10,000 Jewish historical and archaeological sites that have been found thus far throughout Judea and Samaria, ranging from ancient synagogues to Jewish cemeteries to palaces erected by the kings of Israel.
The above is a much-abbreviated list. There is considerably more, including SCPs’ arson and vandalism of Joseph’s Tomb last year.
While Jordan had control of East Jerusalem, 1948–1967, religiously important sites were destroyed, defiled, or diminished.
Jewish sites:
- The Jewish Quarter of the Old City was destroyed following the 1948 war. Ancient synagogues and over 50 yeshivas were demolished or repurposed, some dating back centuries.
- The Western Wall became a slum area with poor sewage drainage…
- The ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives was desecrated with tens of thousands of tombstones broken into pieces or used for paving roads and building latrines.
Christian sites:
- Strict limits were placed on entry and worship in Christian holy sites.
- Jordan’s Christian Affairs Department attempted to take control of Christian institutions, interfering in church administration and schools.
- Christian charities and hospitals were required to have a Muslim on their board of directors. Christian schools were forced to teach the Quran.
- Christian cemeteries were largely maintained better than Jewish ones, but some damage and vandalism to graves were reported.
Even if Muslims are not breaking stuff, including administrative interference with functioning, they are preventing non-Muslims from visiting their holy sites.
During the period of Jordanian control of East Jerusalem and the Old City from 1948 to 1967, access to holy sites for Jews and Christians was severely restricted:
- Jews were barred from visiting the Western Wall and other Jewish holy sites in the Old City. Synagogues in the Jewish Quarter were destroyed.
- Access to Christian holy sites was permitted only to denominations recognized by Jordan.
- Under the Jordan-Israel armistice agreement, Israeli Christians and Muslims were supposed to have visitation rights to religious sites in Jerusalem. Jordan rarely honored this.
- Jordan prohibited Jewish Israelis entirely from visiting holy sites, violating the armistice terms. Israeli Arabs could visit the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa if they carried special permits.
The Israeli victory in 1967 allowed full access to holy sites for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Israel declared freedom of worship and made Jerusalem’s holy sites open to all religions.
There is no evidence of Muslim or Christian holy sites being systematically destroyed or defiled after Israel gained control of East Jerusalem. Israel has maintained access to holy sites for all religions.
The future of the past is at grave risk. Muslims, besides being uncaring, ignorant, and deceptive about the past, are triumphalist destroyers of it. Jews and Christians (primarily) cannot allow the beast of Islam to prevail in its race to mayhem, or their pasts will have no future.
Image via Pexels.
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