The Cave of Mechpelah.... (3)

Continued on the same topic of the Cave of Machpelah dated on 3/12, Friday...

What does the bible in Genesis tell us about these holy sites that are so important and so contentious to both Jews and Arabs? To get a clear picture about this, we need to go back to the time when Sarah died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Cannan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to sweep over her. After mourning, he spoke with his neighbor, the Hittites, whether he can buy a property from them that he can use as the burial site for his beloved wife. If you can recall, Hittites are the sons of Cannan, of which Ham is the father. They are Hamites and cursed by Noah due to his own fault. He became drunk and lay uncovered inside this tent. Ham, the father of Cannan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers outside. So, to a greater degree, Hittites and Shemites are cousins.

Although the bible did not tell us the reasons as to why Abraham specifically picked the cave of Machpelah near Mamre from the Hittite, Ephron, son of Zohar, for burying Sarah, Ephron sold him the whole field (the cave is in it) for 400 shekels of silver in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. Mamre is at today's Hebron in the land of Cannan. So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.

When Abraham died at the age of 175, his sons Isaac and Ismail also buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron, son of Zohar the Hittite, the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. In fact, the cave of Machpelah is the first property Abraham bought ever. But when did Abraham move to Hebron? This story is actually in Genesis 13. When Abraham and Lot parted company, because of quarreling between Abraham and Lot, as well as between his herdsmen and Lot's. Lot chose the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. Abraham lived in the land of Cannan. After the Lord had said to him, "Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I'm giving it to you.", Abraham moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the Lord.That's actually the first time Abraham entered the city of Hebron. Of course, at the ancient time, there is no city per se, at least, the way we understood it today.

The Cave of Machpelah...

Continuing to the the blog on the same topic on 3/11....

A bit more history about how the whole clashes came about for you to understand the bigger picture..... When, on Feb. 3, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu originally outlined a plan to restore 130 so-called Jewish heritage sites, the two mosques were not included. However, after Jewish settlers and their allies in the government exerted pressure on the Israel premier, he decided to add them. But the general view, especially from Palestinians, is the fact that Netanyahu truly believes the sites belong to Israel. The Israeli plan is to invest more than $100M on them. These two sites in the West bank are perceived to be designated as "Israeli national heritage sites" by Israel.

Netanyahu added two Islamic sites "in order to reconnect Israelis to their history". This, even though the two mosques are located in the heart of Palestinian population centers where no significant Jewish population now exists. The city of Hebron has a population of 200,000 Palestinians and a furhter half a million living in surrounding villagesl, compared to only 400 Jewish settlers living in the city's Old Quarter, protected round the clock by thousands of Israel soliders to provide the settlers with optimal security. Israel's decision to add two ancient mosques in the West Bank to its list of alleged Jewish heritage sites is viewed as threats to change the identity of the land. If we understand the history a little bit, of course modern history... These sites are being taken away when they are on Palestinians land that was occupied in 1967 (6-day war) by Israel, precisely the lands upon which the independent palestinian state will be established. And since 1967, most of the West Bank has been under Israeli military occupation. With the exception of East Jerusalem, the West Bank was not annexed by Israel. Most of the residents are Arabs, although a large number of Israel settlements have been built in the region since 1967. Close to 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank settlements, illegal under international law the Fourth Geneva Convention. The West Bank has a land area of 5,640 square kilometers (including East Jerusalem). The Palestinians view the mosques being an inseparable part of these lands. The two mosques are the Bilal Ibn Rabah Mosque near Bethlehem and the Ibrahimi (Abraham) Mosque in Hebron.

We all know Abraham well and his importance to Jews and his position with God. But we do not know too much about Bilal ibn Rabah, this name and person. So, a littel bit introduction about him. He was an Ethiopian-born in Mecca in the late 6th century, sometime between 578 and 582. The Islamic prophet Muhammad chose an African slave Bilal as his muezzin, effectively making him the first muezzin of the Islamic faith. A muezzin or muzim, is a chosen person at the mosque who leads the call (adnan) to Friday service and the five daily prayers from one of the mosque's minarets. He was among the slaves freed by Abu Bakr, Muhammad's father-in-law, and was known for his beautiful voice with which he called people to their prayers. Bilal Ibn Rabah, was an emancipated slave of key importance in Islam. He is said to have been one of the most trusted and loyal companion of Muhammad and of Ali. His respected stature during the birth of Islam is often cited by Muslims as evidence of the importance of pluralism and racial equality in the foundations of the religion.

What is "adnan"? The adhān is the Islamic call to prayer, recited by the muezzin. The root of the word means "to permit" and "ear." Adhan is called out by the muezzin in the mosque, sometimes from a minaret, five times a day summoning Muslims for mandatory prayers. There is a second call known as iqama (set up) that summons Muslims to line up for the beginning of the prayers. The main purpose behind the loud pronouncement of adhan five times a day in every mosque is to make available to everyone an easily intelligible summary of Islamic belief. It is intended to bring to the mind of every believer and non-believer the substance of Islamic beliefs, or its spiritual ideology. Loudspeakers are sometimes installed on minarets for the purpose. The adhan sums up the teachings of Islam: there is no God but Allah; Muhammad is God's Messenger; salvation is found through obedience to the Will of God, of which prayer is an important expression. Continue.....

The cave of Machpelah

I arrived on business in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 2/26, Friday, from Bahrain and am planning to go back on 3/15, Monday. During these 2 week stay, my life is like between the Sheraton hotel and the office. The office in Tatweer building is just on the corner of the cross street. The walking distance is less than 10 minutes. But every morning I have to take a taxi making a big circle on a detour to get to the office, because there's been a construction for building a under-tunnel bridge to direct the traffic flow better since last year. Just to be safe, I do not want to rent a car and drive myself in Riyadh. The city is big with around 4 million people now. The traffic is bad and people drive recklessly.

Ok, enough about Riyadh this time.... I'll talk more about it next time....

During my more than two-week stay, some of local news on the cover page in Arab News caught my eyes. One was about the visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with his wife to the Kingdom, after so many years that Ghandi had visited (20 or 30?), to strengthen the relationship, termed a "New era of strategic partnership", between the two countries. The other one, more interesting to me, was about the tension over holy sites between Israel and Palenstine, just before the US Vice President, Joe Biden's, visit to the Middle East to restart the peace process. These two news were reported repeatedly for around a week in Arab News.

Some exertps from Arab News.....

"16 people were wounded in clashes after police entered Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to disperse Palestinians trying to prevent Jewish extremists from praying at the site....", "Israel eyes permanent presence in West Bank..", "Mideast talks get 4-month window...", "Israel us the ante as Biden arrives...", "1600 more homes for Jews in East Jerusalem...", "Halt provocation, GCC tells Tel Aviv..."

What were all these news actually reporting? What was all this tension about? What is the Al-Aqsa compound and where is it? What does it mean to Arabs and, espeically, to Palestinians? I was reading on.... The clashes came after days of Palestinians protests over an Israel plan to renovate two contested holy sites in the occupied West Bank.

Al-Aqsa Mosque/Masjid al-Aqsa.

The mosque along the southern wall of the Temple Mount.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound (see the above two pictures), known as Al-Haram Al-Sharif or "Sacred Noble Santuary" (along with Dome of the Rock), is Islam's 3rd holiest site in the Old City of Jerusalem after the Kaaba in Makkah and the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah. Muslims believe that the prophet Muhammad was transported from the Sacred Mosque in Mecca to al-Aqsa during the Night Journey. The site is also known as the Temple Mount and is the holiest site in Judaism, the place where the First and Second Temples are generally accepted to have stood.

The latest disturbance came after days of unrest in the West Bank town of Hebron over an Israel plan to renovate the Tomb/Cave of Patriachs there, another ancient site revered by Jews and Muslims. The disputed site in Hebron is a 2000-year-old fortress-like structure built where tradition says the Prophet Abraham is buried. It is also called Cave of the Double and is a series of subterranean caves located in a complex called by Muslims the Sanctuary of Abraham or Ibrahimi Mosque.

Cave of the Patriachs from the south.

Cenotaph of Abraham.

The more visible known entrance to the caves. The minibar at the Ibrahim Mosque.

The plan, which also includes Rachel's Tomb, located at the northern entrance of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, has infuriated Palestinians with fear that Israel was intending to judaize the holy city. It is historically known as th Dome of Rachel, by Arabs who also associated the tomb wth that of the biblical figure, in recent years the site has be renamed to Bilal ibn Rabah Mosque, and is claimed by Muslims to have been built at the time of the Arab conquest. The tomb is venerated by Jews and Christians. It is considered the third holiest site in Judaism and the symbol of the return of the Jewish People to its ancient homeland.

Illustration of the tomb in 1880.

Rachel's tomb, c. 1910. The tomb in 1978.
The tomb today located within the complex.

Continue....