How Holy is the Temple Mount at Jerusalem?
Temple Mount controversy has stood between Judaism and Islam for centuries. The primary bone-of-contention is of course the traditional claim that Islam’s Dome of the Rock mosque stands on the site of the former Jewish Temple. Islam assigns the Dome of the Rock as its 3rd most Holy site, after Mecca and Medina, respectively. Judaism claims their Holy Temple also stood atop the Temple Mount. There is, however, some recent controversy among Jewish authorities that the Temple site may not be beneath the Dome of the Rock. There are at least three different claims of the “true” location among archaeologists. The “holiness” of the true Jewish Temple site far precedes the Muslim claim by about sixteen centuries: 1000 B.C.E. to 600 C.E. For the reasons stated, Judaism has a well established right to access to that Holy Mount; although there are at least two reasons Jewish visitors are inhibited and even prohibited from even visiting the top area of that mount. 1. Unless and until the true site
