Jordanian Fatwa Department condemns sheikh who said Jews should worship on Temple Mount

A few days ago, as MEMRI reported, Jordanian preacher Sheik Yassin Al-'Ajlouni said that Jews should be given a place of worship on the Temple Mount.

Sheikh Yassin Al-'Ajlouni: I have given a lot of thought into what I am about to say, because I know that it is the most important issue of our times, and that whoever talks about it is likely to face severe criticism, and will be accused of generating controversy and maybe even strife. Do the Israelites have the right to pray in Beit Al-Maqdis? Is it permissible to allocate a place of worship in Beit Al-Maqdis for the Israelites?

When Omar Ibn Al-Khattab entered Beit Al-Maqdis, he encountered a place of worship dedicated for those Israelites who were Christians. This place, called the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, was built in the days of Emperor Constantine. Omar left this place, in which the Christian Israelites prayed, intact. He did not take it away from them.

[…]

The place where Omar Ibn Al-Khattab prayed was named the Al-Aqsa Mosque, but the truth is that the Al-Aqsa Mosque is not the Mosque of Omar, but the entire area within the old walls, which is called Beit Al-Maqdis. I call upon the Islamic world and upon the Hashemite sovereign to allocate for the peaceful among the Jewish Israelites a house of prayer within Beit Al-Maqdis.

Beit Al-Maqdis is the place sanctified by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, as well as by Jesus son of Mary and by the Muslims. There should be a special place of worship for the Jews among the Israelites under Hashemite and Palestinian sovereignty, and in agreement with the Israeli regime. Guarding the place and the comings and goings will be under Hashemite control and sovereignty. This by no means entails the harming the Al-Aqsa Mosque or the Dome of the Rock. Part of the courtyard, where there are trees, will be allocated for the prayer of the Israelites.

I officially call upon the religious ruling authorities in Palestine and Jordan to issue a fatwa that will clarify their religious position regarding the building of a place of worship dedicated for the Israelite Jews. Allah's prayers and blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad and his companions.

Well, they clairified their position all right.

The Jordanian Iftaa Department (yes, there is such a thing) slammed al-'Ajlouni in no uncertain terms, without deigning to mention his name. It said that his ruling was "issued by a person with no legitimacy, and does not represent any legitimate viewpoint, nor has any consideration of all Islamic sects" and called him "ignorant." It stressed that the entire Temple Mount and surrounding area (including, of course, the Western Wall and its plaza) were all equally sacred to Muslims and all considered to be part of the Al Aqsa Mosque complex.

The fatwa added that Omar bin Khattab had a history of mercy and justice and fairness towards non-Muslims, but at the same time safeguarded the Islamic Waqf not to add any places of worship for non-Muslims in it, while he magnanimously allowed existing churches to remain at that time on their own non-Waqf soil. (If you had a pre-existing Temple or church on soil that Muslims afterwards claim as holy, then their idea of tolerance towards you evaporates quite quickly.)

The statement concludes that al-'Ajlouni's statement has "has no value from the legal, religious or historical perspective" and that they will take legal action against him.

This response has been published in dozens of Arab newspapers.