Abstract
Since 1967, when Israel took over East Jerusalem with its Old City and sacred
places, the Islamic perspective of Jerusalem has changed dramatically. A Muslim campaign for liberating Jerusalem from Israeli control was launched in August 1969 following the fire, which was started by an Australian non-Jewish tourist to the structure of the al-Aqsa Mosque. Over the last decade, this campaign has been conducted under the banner “Al-Aqsa is in Danger” with the claim that Jerusalem is “captive” of Jews and therefore Jihad should be carried out to liberate it. This campaign aims to influence the religious emotions and the political awareness the Arab and Muslim communities in the world and mobilize them for political ends. The campaign, which began in Jerusalem, was disseminated to the heart of the Muslim world, which is symbolized by Mecca, and rebounded back by an echo from “Mecca” influencing the political struggle over Jerusalem in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In the struggle for “cognition” over Jerusalem, one particular space — the
Temple Mount/al-Aqsa compound is in the eye of the storm. This space epitomizes the national strife between two peoples, two nations, which to a great extent is also an ideological battle between two cultures and two religions. Although this most sacred place is administered in practical terms by the Muslim Waqf authorities, Muslims view it as being continuously threatened by the Israeli-Jewish side of the conflict. Jews as well as Muslims regard it as a bone of contention, because it is such a central symbol of identity. For Jews, the Temple Mount is the utmost sacred place, with its outer Western Wall (Hakotel) symbolizing the original structure of the Second Temple (destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE). In their daily ritual and liturgy, it is a place that during 2000 years of exile they have aspired to return to and re-build. For the Muslims al-Aqsa is mentioned in the Quran as the destination of the Prophet Muhammad’s nocturnal journey and being interpreted and identified with the place of the rock (or foundation stone) in Jerusalem. According to tradition Muhammad ascended to heaven from this place, and the first direction of prayer before Mecca. Nowadays, for both communities, Jewish Israelis and Palestinian Muslims regardless of the level of their religious observation this compound has become a central symbol of identity which both political and religious actors seek to mobilize to achieve their political ends.