officials reject Israeli allegations about the Marwani Mosque's imminent collapse, reports Khaled Amayreh in Jerusalem The Islamic Waqf, or religious endowment, officials in Jerusalem have rejected Israeli allegations that an ancient mosque at Al-Haram Al-Sharif compound is in danger of collapsing. The officials termed the Israeli claims "baseless" and a "mere pretext to take over Islamic holy sites". On Sunday, an unnamed Israeli security official was quoted by the Israeli state-run radio as saying that the Marwani Mosque, previously known as "Solomon's Stables," was increasingly unstable and about to collapse. Israeli officials pointed out that the presence of hundreds of thousands of Muslim worshipers during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan could accelerate the collapse of the ancient structure. "We have been hearing such tendentious statements for a long time. We know for sure that these remarks are aimed at fabricating a pretext to seize a foothold in the Haram Al-Sharif complex," said Adnan Al-Husseini, head of the Supreme Muslim Council in Jerusalem. He told Al-Ahram Weekly that an internationally reputed engineering firm specialised in antiquities and ancient structures recently examined the Marwani Mosque and concluded that the structure was sound and faced no danger. "We invited highly professional experts from Egypt and other countries who examined the mosque, and they confirmed that everything was fine." The mosque, considered Islam's third holiest site after the Holy Shrine in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, attracts thousands of worshippers. Al-Husseini pointed out that there were no cracks or other worrying signs suggesting that the structure was facing imminent collapse. "Now the Israelis claim that they care about the safety of Muslims. That is a real joke," he said. Another Waqf official, Sheikh Mohamed Hussein, accused Israel of "targeting Al- Mosque for destruction." "If you ask me if Al- Mosque is in danger, the answer is definitely yes. But the danger comes not from its crumbling architectural structure but from Israel's rapacious and criminal designs against Palestinian architectural heritage including Al- Mosque." Hussein argued that Israel wanted to achieve two goals by disseminating the "rumours" of the mosque's imminent collapse: First, intimidating and scaring off Muslim worshipers. Second, using the rumours as an excuse for desecrating the Mosque. He told the Weekly that Israel was barring millions of Muslims from the West Bank and Gaza Strip from praying in the mosque, Palestine's holiest, for the 10th consecutive year. "If Jews were denied access to their religious places, the Jews would leave no stone unturned in protest. However, Israel systematically bars Palestinian Muslims and Christians from praying in their respective holy places in Jerusalem. This is a crime. The world should call a spade a spade and not be intimidated by Israeli bullying." Solomon's Stables were used by the Crusades to house and feed their horses in the 11th and 12th centuries. However, the Islamic Waqf, in cooperation with the Islamic movement in Israel, renovated the place nearly 15 years ago against the wishes of the Israeli authorities. Israel has been carrying out excavation works in the vicinity of Al- Mosque in a desperate effort to locate the remnants of an ancient Jewish temple. However, after more than 37 years of digging, archaeologists found no evidence of an ancient Jewish temple. A myriad of Jewish extremist groups openly call for the destruction of the Islamic holy sites in East Jerusalem in order to build a Jewish temple in its place. Some Jewish theologians believe the building of such a temple is a pre-requisite for the appearance of the Jewish Messiah, or redeemer, who would rule the entire world from Jerusalem. Last month, the outgoing Israeli Minister of Internal Security Tzahi Henegbi warned that Jewish extremists were planning to carry out a serious attack on Al- Mosque in Jerusalem in order to thwart Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral plan to withdraw from Gaza. The Haram Al-Sharif, which most Jews refer to as "Temple Mount", is considered one of the most contentious issues in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
