Who wants to start a religious war?

We saw yesterday that Hanan Ashrawi accused Israel of starting a religious war by considering opening up an additional gate for Temple Mount.

Today Mahmoud Abbas made a similar accusation:

President Mahmoud Abbas warned Israel on Wednesday against turning the Palestinian-Israeli conflict into a religious war, stressing that recent attacks on Muslim worshipers in the Al-Aqsa mosque threatened to nature of the national struggle.

Abbas said in a televised statement from his presidential headquarters in Ramallah that Palestinians and "the world know the dangers of using religion in political conflicts; we must all see what goes around us and Israel must pay attention and understand that such steps are dangerous to both Israel and others."

He added that Israel's attempts to open a second gate for Jews to enter the compound, altering the religious status quo, was a provocation about which Palestinians "could not remain silent."

Abbas also warned that the same kinds of provocations are happening at the Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron, where worshipers are prevented from praying inside "as if Israel wants to completely cancel the Islamic existence of the mosque."

Allowing Jews to have access to Jewish holy places is inciting a religious war. Banning Jews from their holy spaces, however, is perfectly fine.

This is how most Muslims think.

Now, if you want to see something that no one at all will be upset at, check this out, seen in Facebook:

Yes, that is the Kotel (Western Wall) that is being overrun by Muslim hordes.

This is hardly an anomalous mindset.

So Arab officials will accuse Israelis of wanting to start a religious war at the drop of a hat.

But good luck finding an Arab who denounces paintings like this one as being against peace.

(h/t YMedad)