What Happens If Al-Aqsa Status Quo Is Changed? Muslim Nations Issue Stark Warning

Edited
by:
M
Gag o

The
stateme t
issued
afte
this
week’s
meeti g
i
Jo da
was
blu t
about
what
might
happe
ext.

Is aeli
i f i geme ts
o
o e
of
Islam’s
holiest
sites,
the
Al-Aqsa
Mosque
i
east
Je usalem,
could
lead
to
“a
eligious
co flict
with
epe cussio s
that
will
exte d
beyo d
the
egio
a d
th eate
egio al
a d
i te atio al
peace
a d
secu ity,”
the
fo eig
mi iste s
of
10
cou t ies
belo gi g
to
the
A ab
League
said
afte
Wed esday’s
eme ge cy
meeti g
i
Amma ,
Jo da .
The
stateme t
was
also
sig ed
by
mi iste s
f om
I do esia,
Pakista ,
Tu key,
a d
Malaysia.

Jo da ‘s
fo eig
mi iste
called
the
meeti g
because
of
mou ti g
evide ce
that
the
Is aeli
gove me t
is
su eptitiously
cha gi g
a
decades-old
ag eeme t
mea t
to
e su e
i te commu al
peace
at
the
Al-Aqsa
Mosque
compou d,
a
a ea
of
g eat
eligious
sig ifica ce
to
Muslims,
Jews,
a d
Ch istia s.

“We
wa
that
tampe i g
with
the
status
quo
…
could
t igge
a
eligious
co flict
that
will
eve be ate
beyo d
Palesti e
a d
Jo da
i to
the
whole
Muslim
wo ld,”
Fo eig
Mi iste
Ayma
Safadi
told
the
UK
ewspape
the

Gua dia
befo e
the
meeti g.

Is ael’s
Fo eig
Mi ist y
issued
a
espo se,
sayi g
the
stateme t
was
i accu ate
a d
Je usalem
“has
eve
bee
mo e
ope
a d
accessible
to
wo shippe s
of
all
faiths.”

Why
is
Al-Aqsa
such
a
big
issue?

Al-Aqsa
is
co side ed
the
thi d-holiest
site
i
Islam,
afte
Mecca
a d
Medi a
i
Saudi
A abia.
The
compou d,
also
k ow
as
the
Temple
Mou t,
is
also
Judaism’s
holiest
site
—
two
Jewish
temples
a e
thought
to
have
stood
the e
—
a d
it
is
also
of
sig ifica ce
to
Ch istia s
fo
its
biblical
co ectio s
to
Jesus
Ch ist’s
life.

Al-Aqsa
also
bea s
a
lot
of
political
weight
because
the
mosque
is
see
by
ma y
as
the
embodime t
of
Palesti ia
ide tity,
a
flashpoi t
i
a
city
sought
as
the
capital
of
a y
eve tual
Palesti ia
state.

Because
of
the
site’s
impo ta ce,
whe
Is ael
fi st
occupied
East
Je usalem
i
1967,
it
was
deemed
i
the
i te ests
of
Is aeli
atio al
secu ity
to
keep
allowi g
Muslims
to
wo ship
the e.
Jews
could
o ly
visit
a d
would
ot
be
allowed
to
p ay
the e.
I stead
Jewish
visito s
pe fo m
eligious
ituals
at
the
wall
below
the
mosque,
k ow
as
the
Weste
o
Waili g
Wall.

Jo da
was
also
allowed
to
co ti ue
its
ce tu y-old
custodia ship
of
the
site,
a d
today
the
mosque
is
admi iste ed
by
a
eligious
t ust
called
the
Islamic
Waqf,
paid
fo
by
Jo da
at
about
$20
millio
(&eu o;17
millio )
a ually.
Is aeli
autho ities
still
take
ca e
of
secu ity
the e.

This
delicate
comp omise
is
k ow
as
the
“status
quo.”
But
ece t
epo ts
i dicate
that
the
situatio
has
bee
cha gi g.

Reside ts
of
Je usalem
say
doze s
of
mosque
officials
employed
by
Jo da
have
bee
p eve ted
f om
e te i g
Al-Aqsa
this
yea .

The
umbe
of
Muslim
wo shipe s
halved
du i g
2025,
acco di g
to
Je usalem-based
mo ito s.
Mo e
Jewish
wo shipe s
a e
bei g
allowed
i
a d
a e
i c easi gly
ove tly
pe fo mi g
ituals,
somethi g
fo bidde
fo
decades,
i cludi g
by
Jewish
eligious
autho ities.
The

Times
of
Is ael
epo ted
i
Ja ua y
that
police
ope ly
let
Jewish
visito s
take
p i ted
p aye
sheets
o to
the
site
fo
the
fi st
time.

I
Ju e,
the e
we e
also
epo ts
of
a
Is aeli-US
pla
to
tu
the
mosque
a ea
i to
a
“multifaith
ce te ,”
although
US
Sec eta y
of
State
Ma co
Rubio
late
de ied
a y
k owledge
of
such
a
pla .

Why
is
this
happe i g
ow?

This
is
ot
the
fi st
time
that
the
gove me ts
of
Muslim-majo ity
cou t ies
a d
activists
i
Je usalem
have
issued
such
wa i gs.

Fo
decades,
Jewish
f i ge
g oups,
ofte
efe ed
to
as
the
Temple
Mou t
moveme t,
have
dema ded
that
they
be
allowed
to
p ay
at
the
site.
The
most
ext emist
of
these
g oups
say
they
wa t
to
demolish
the
mosque
a d
co st uct
a
ew
Jewish
temple.

At
fi st
they
we e
mostly
ig o ed,
Je usalem-based
lawye
Da iel
Seidema
w ote
i
2025.
Seidema
is
the
fou de
of
Te est ial
Je usalem,
a
o ga izatio
that
t acks
such
developme ts
i
the
city.
But,
he
said,
that
” adical
f i ge”
has
become
mo e
mai st eam.
“Ove
time,
the
Temple
Mou t
moveme ts,
backed
by
mo e
tha
100
abbis
associated
with
the
settle
moveme t
i
the
West
Ba k,
became
mo e
visible,
mo e
vocal
a d
mo e
p ovocative,”
Seidema
said.

“This
c isis
has
bee
decades
i
the
maki g,”
said
Oma
Rahma ,
a
fellow
at
the
Middle
East
Cou cil
o
Global
Affai s.
“The e’s
bee
a
effo t
f om
eligious
ext emists
to
dest oy
the
Al-Aqsa
Mosque
si ce
at
least
the
1980s,
whe
plots
to
do
that
we e
u cove ed.
But
those
g oups
a d
those
ideologies
have
gai ed
mo e
ep ese tatio
withi
the
Is aeli
[pa liame t]
K esset
today.”

A
Octobe
2025
epo t
by
the
I
Amim
Associatio ,
which
focuses
o
Is aeli-Palesti ia
issues
i
Je usalem,
fou d
that
politicia s,
i cludi g
f om
withi
P ime
Mi iste
Be jami
Neta yahu’s
atio al-co se vative
Likud
pa ty,
f eque tly
b eak
ules
a ou d
the
Al-Aqsa
status
quo
but
eve
face
co seque ces
f om
autho ities.

“I
p actice,
Neta yahu
allows
a d
o malizes
g ave
b eaches
of
the
status
quo,”
the
associatio
epo ted.
Yet
Neta yahu
“co ti ues
to
decla e
that
his
gove me t
emai s
committed
to
the
status
quo
a d
othi g
has
cha ged.”

What
happe s
if
e osio
of
Al
Aqsa
status
quo
co ti ues?

“It
would
be
ve y
u wise
to
make
a y
so t
of
p edictio ,”
Joost
Hilte ma ,
a
special
advise
fo
the
Middle
East
a d
No th
Af ica
at
the
C isis
G oup
thi k
ta k,
told
DW.

But,
Hilte ma
said,
it’s
esse tial
to
co side
that
“while
the
fate
of
Je usalem
as
a
city
may
be
a
ove idi g
Palesti ia
co ce ,
the
fate
of
the
holy
sites
of
Islam
i
Je usalem
is
a
abidi g
global
Muslim
co ce .
Not
just
fo
the
A ab
wo ld
but
also
fo
the
la gest
Muslim
cou t ies:
I do esia,
Pakista ,
Ba gladesh.
So
a y
Is aeli
attempt
to
cha ge
the
status
quo
would
face
a
global
backlash.”

I
the
past,
cha ges
have
led
to
viole ce.
I
2000,
A iel
Sha o ,
a
Is aeli
ight-wi g
oppositio
leade
at
the
time,
visited
Al-Aqsa
—
a
eve t
that
was
see
as
o e
easo
fo
the
Palesti ia
up isi g
k ow
as
the
Seco d
I tifada.
I
2017,
whe
Is aeli
autho ities
e ected
came as
a d
metal
detecto s
at
the
site,
it
led
to
deadly
p otests.

O e
likely
outcome
of
fu the
i f i geme ts
of
the
status
quo
would
be
majo
public
p otests
i
Muslim-majo ity
cou t ies.
“While
the
A ab
egimes
would
be
elucta t
to
e gage
i
a y
so t
of
co f o tatio
with
Is ael,
thei
publics
will
be
out aged,”
Hilte ma
said.
“The
egimes
will
have
to
ma age
that,
a d
they
will
t y
to
do
so
by
lau chi g
vigo ous
c iticism
of
Is ael,
ot
followed
by
a y
actio
—
they’ve
become
ve y
good
at
that.
The
same
will
be
t ue
fo
I do esia
a d
othe s.
But
all
of
them
may
have
a
ha d
time
co t olli g
domestic
fu y.”

Rahma
said
the
co seque ces
of
fu the
Is aeli
i f i geme t
would
depe d
o
how
adically
thi gs
cha ged
at
Al-Aqsa.
“It
would
t igge
a
fai ly
sig ifica t
eactio ,
but
the
exte t
of
it
is
ha d
to
say,”
he
said.
“It
could
spa k
a
catast ophic
eligious
wa
o
maybe
just
a
diplomatic
eactio ,
o
maybe
it
simply
adds
to
the
well
of
g ieva ce
agai st
Is ael,”
he
added.

Because
Al
Aqsa
is
so
impo ta t
i
Islam,
it
could
also
make
it
ha d
fo
some
cou t ies
to
esist
a
upsu ge
i
a ti-Is ael
feeli g,
eve
if
they
might
wa t
to,
he
adds.
Fo
example,
cou t ies
like
Mo occo
a d
the
U ited
A ab
Emi ates
that
o malized
elatio s
with
Is ael
might
feel
fo ced
to
eve se
that.

Because
of
Al
Aqsa’s
sig ifica ce
to
Palesti ia
ide tity,
the
Gaza-based
milita t
g oup
Hamas
ofte
says
it
is
defe di g
the
mosque.
Ext emist
g oups
with
a
Islamist
backg ou d
have
also
used
defe se
of
Al
Aqsa
to
ec uit
membe s.

Disclaime :
This
epo t
fi st
appea ed
o

Deutsche
Welle,
a d
has
bee
epublished
o
ABP
Live
as
pa t
of
a
special
a a geme t.
Apa t
f om
the
headli e,
o
cha ges
have
bee
made
i
the
epo t
by

ABP
Live.

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