Word: shrine
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This tunnel, which is in fact part of an archaeological excavation, does not impinge on any Islamic holy places. It does not threaten any mosques. The only religious site it does touch is Judaism's holiest shrine, the Western Wall. The excavation had been open for eight years. It needed another gate to allow more visitors...
...crime against Islam." It doesn't and it isn't. The Washington Post explained that "it should come as no surprise that violent passions were aroused by Israel's tampering with the ground beneath the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosque." No ground beneath either shrine was touched (as noted, ironically enough, on the same day on the Post's op-ed page by archaeological scholar Hershel Shanks...
Tadros and Al-Ississ imagine a long history of Israeli compromises to the integrity of the Muslim holy sites on the Temple Mount, referring vaguely to "previous [Israeli] attempts at undermining the Islamic character of the shrine." No such attempts have ever been made. In fact, Israeli soldiers stand at the entrance of the shrine to prevent anyone wearing Jewish skullcaps or carrying Jewish religious articles from entering, so as not to offend Muslim worshippers...
Tadrous and Al-Ississ criticize the opening of the tunnel for "undermining the Islamic character of the shrine." Such hysterically paranoid comments have typified the reactions of many. While the tunnel is the literal foundation of the Jewish religion, it is of no relevance to Islam or to the Arab people. Furthermore, there is absolutely no threat whatsoever to Al-Aksa Mosque. Even if this was the intention of the Israeli government, which clearly it is not, aren't there any better ways of "undermining the Islamic character of the shrine" than excavating a 2,000 year-old tunnel alongside...
...directly provoked by the Israeli opening of a tunnel which borders the foundations of Al-Haram Al-Sharif--the third holiest site to Muslims around the world. The proximity of the tunnel to Al-Haram Al-Sharif, coupled with previous attempts at undermining the Islamic character of the shrine has caused angry responses all around the Arab and Islamic worlds. The opening of the tunnel came unilaterally without prior consultation with the Palestinian Authority; the right-wing mayor of Jerusalem Ehud Olmert proudly declared that "the time has come to show that such a decision would be made without seeking...