Ismail al-Sharif reveals to the world that Solomon's Temple was never in Jerusalem. It was built halfway around the world, in the Solomon Islands.
His proof?
There is a video of the islanders saying Shema, which i found:
And some people say that Solomon's Temple is in the middle of a jungle in the island of Malaita.
Al-Sharif notes that this is not so far-fetched. After all, the Koran tells us, King Solomon controlled demons who could whisk him to anywhere in the world.
The writer notes that there are other theories as to where the Temple was - Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and he claims a Jewish encyclopedia his father read once said it was on Mount Zion outside Jerusalem built of wood covered in fabrics (which sounds like someone got the Temple and the Mishkan/Tabernacle mixed up.) Either way, he asserts, the idea of a Temple in Jerusalem is a complete myth and the Jews made it up in order to expel the Muslims from their third holiest spot.
So he wouldn't mind if archaeologists explore the area, right?
Well, not quite. Al Sharif's suggestion is that the Arab League pay for archaeologists to find proof of the Temple anywhere in the world outside Jerusalem, in order to prove once and for all that Jews are liars.
Arab media - where every day is April Fools Day.
In case you are interested, a journalist went to the Solomon Islands a couple of years ago to track down the story:
There's one man in particular, named Frank Diafae , who lives in a village called Fuondo, a little north of the capital, and he considers himself to be a keeper of this archaeological site that he thinks contains evidence of some Jew that might have arrived, he says some 2,700 years ago or so - it's quite an elaborate theology, ethno-theology. But he's probably the most vocal proponent of the idea that some Jew arrived on the island a long time ago. He doesn't have specific archaeological, what we would call modern scientific evidence of this, but he certainly believes it. And what's interesting, when you travel across the island, is to find it echoed in other places, similar mythologies or things that where people talk about ancestors. And it's easy to understand with Jews having a kind of a lineal descent and an oral history that's very powerful. The idea of ancestors which is common in many religions. But I just felt that they had quite an affinity.
I went with Frank who led me to his Temple site, which is definitely an archaeological site. There are rocks piled up there, about four hours walk into the jungle, a very difficult walk in fact and there was clearly a settlement there or some kind. Really nobody credible has spent any time looking at it, but it was certainly striking to see that there was something there that he was convinced was evidence of a mythological past.
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