Columnist in official Saudi news agency says Quranic Al Aqsa is really in Saudi Arabia, not Jerusalem

Saudi writer Osama Yamani wrote a bombshell article published by the official Saudi Okaz news agency that questions whether the Al Aqsa Mosque mentioned in the Quran is actually in Jerusalem.

While traditional Islamic orthodoxy says that Mohammed's miraculous Night Journey to the "farthest mosque" went to Jerusalem, nowhere in the Quran is that location identified.

The mosque known today as Al Aqsa on the Temple Mount was built decades after Mohammed died.

Yamani brings a number of sources, even saying that it is not definitive that the first qibla (prayer direction) for Muslims was towards Jerusalem. 

He then says that the original "farthest mosque" was in Al-Jarana, between Mecca and Taif in Saudi Arabia, some 18 miles from the Kaaba in Mecca. 

He further asserts that the only reason Muslims say Al Aqsa is in Jerusalem is political, not historic.

This is causing an earthquake of anger in the Muslim world, especially since this was published by the official Saudi news agency which would not publish anything not approved by the Kingdom. Articles and television reports are claiming that the Saudis have swallowed Zionist lies. Palestinians are incensed.

Notably, Saudi currency features both the Jerusalem mosque and the Dome of the Rock.

Why would the Saudis want to publish such an article? They might want to align with Israel against Iran but they are not suddenly Zionist, claiming that Jerusalem is primarily a Jewish holy city. 

It is possible that the Saudis are nervous about the potential flood of Gulf Arabs flying to Israel to visit the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, feeling that it is a threat to the Mecca tourist industry, especially hard hit during the pandemic. Videos and photos of UAE pilgrims visiting the Temple Mount must sting. Promoting another Saudi site as the original site of Mohammed's Night Journey is a way to counter that. 

Daniel Pipes has written the most definitive article in English debunking the idea that the Al Aqsa mentioned in the Quran is in Jerusalem. He continually updates it here with new information.

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