July 23, 2000
As care-takers of Muslim holy sites, it is our duty to maintain them, that is the reality of our work.
Hershel Shanks's op-ed, "Protect the Temple Mount" (July 18), grossly misrepresented the activities of the Muslim Waqf (trust) on the Haram al Sharif compound. Muslim officials have been responsible for the maintenance of Muslim religious sites in Jerusalem since the 7th century.
The Waqf's current work on the Haram al Sharif is being done in anticipation of the thousands of Muslim pilgrims who will be able to visit the Haram after Palestinian-Israeli peace. As there is little room on the Haram, the Waqf decided to restore and rehabilitate the al-Marwani prayer room below, a site that first provided Muslims sanctuary in the 8th century.
In order to rehabilitate the al-Marwani, we have carefully removed dirt from the entrance. This has been done under the close supervision of a team of professional Palestinian archaeologists including the Chairman of the Department of Islamic Architecture at Al-Quds University and the Chairman of the Department of Antiquities at the Waqf. They have examined samples of the excavated dirt and found no structures, artefacts or archaeological remains from any era.
The Haram is a living place of worship for Muslims. Shanks's accusation that we are damaging this holy site is ludicrous. By contrast, since occupying the Old City in 1967, Israeli authorities have taken numerous unilateral actions in disregard of Muslim sensibilities (such as destroying of the 12th century Maghrebi Quarter to make the "Western Wall Plaza," and using bulldozers to excavate the Ummayed Palaces adjacent to the Haram).
Shanks's unfounded accusations, combined with Israel's track record of heavy-handed unilateralist in Jerusalem, demonstrates all too clearly why Palestinian negotiators have insisted that Israel end its occupation of this sacred city.
Signed,
Adnan Husseini
Director of the Muslim Waqf
Jerusalem
