By Pinhas Inbari
One of the strangest ideas discovered in the hacked emails of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s closest aides was a suggestion to declare Jerusalem as the real direction in which Muslim should pray – the Qiblah. One of Assad's advisors, Hadeel al-Ali, elaborated on these ideas as tentative text for a speech by the president meant to contain the Sunni uprising. Al-Ali explained that Assad should deliver his ideas about true Jihadist Islam and declare Israel as its principle enemy, adding that Jerusalem should be considered as the true prayer destination. In the end, her ideas did not find their way into the speech, but were partially realized in the 'Rescue al-Aqsa' conference that took place in Damascus in April.
While the call to unite Islam against Israel is a transparent attempt by the troubled regime to shift attention to an enemy abroad, Jerusalem’s proposed transformation into the true Qiblah deserves further explanation. Jerusalem served as the direction of prayer of the original Muslim community before prophet Muhammad decided to turn Mecca into the Qiblah. Nevertheless, the Damascus Umayyad caliph, Abd al-Malik bin Marwan, built the Dome of the Rock’s magnificent edifice in the first century following the advent of Islam in order to move the hadj – pilgrimage – from Mecca, which was ruled by challengers to the Umayyad dynasty, to Jerusalem.
Astonishingly, history is repeating itself today. During the first Muslim century, the puritan Hejaz posed a danger to the rule in Damascus, which was considered cosmopolitan and hospitable to Christians. Today, the Salafist school – in addition to the Muslim Brotherhood – is leading the campaign to topple the regime in Damascus.
History shines a light onto the essence of the 'Rescue al-Aqsa' conference, where both anti-Israeli and anti-Salafist content was advocated by the Bilad a-Sham, or Greater Syria, scholars. The mufti of the Grand Umayyad Mosque was the conference’s keynote speaker. His and others’ speeches boiled down to one thesis: Muslims must unite against the Salafists, who are the source of all evil, and pursue the religious obligation to liberate Jerusalem as in Byzantine times.
President Assad and the Alawaites (who may consider themselves as the natural heirs to the Umayyad dynasty) are not alone to aspire to crown Jerusalem not only as an outlet for the difficult challenges posed by the Arab Spring but as a tool for regional dominance and the revival of the call for a Muslim Caliphate. In fact, this strategy is already employed by the Muslim Brotherhood.
When Sheikh Qaradhawi called for the "liberation of al-Aqsa" from Cairo's Tahrir Square, it was both a founding event for the Muslim Brotherhood and a model of future Egyptian foreign policy, once the Brotherhood takes over the presidency.
This ancient schism over Jerusalem elucidates the reason why there has been a prolonged disagreement between the PLO and the Muslim Brotherhood about the issue of Muslim leaders visiting ‘occupied’ Jerusalem. While PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas has called on Arab and Muslim leaders to visit Jerusalem, Sheikh Qaradhawi published a fatwa completely banning any visit to Jerusalem as long as it is under occupation. Hamas, needless to say, supports Qaradhawi’s verdict. Saudi Arabia, home of the current Qiblah, inherently, and privately, supports visits to Jerusalem.
President Abbas is not alone in challenging Qaradhawi's fatwa. Every regional power that opposed the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood has stood behind Ramallah. Senior Jordanian officials have made public visits to Jerusalem’s Haram. At the same time, Jordan gave patronage to the Mufti of Egypt, Ali Gumaa, to come on a similar visit. This triggered angry reactions among the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and across the Middle East, as Sheikh Ali Gumaa preserved his loyalty to the deposed Mubarak regime.
Why are the PLO, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia challenging the Muslim Brotherhood’s call to boycott Jerusalem? Simply put, the Brotherhood’s Jerusalem agenda can become a trigger that will lead to the establishment of its regional dominance and pave the way to the much-wished-for Caliphate.
