THE HISTORY OF JERUSALEM The city that is Holy to Muslims and Christians. It is the third most important place for Muslims throughout the world. The Christians concede that there were no churches until the church of Holy Sepulchre was built by Queen Helena in 328 C.E. This led to a great influx of Christians to the city to visit the sites sanctified by Christ. When Muslims conquered Jerusalem during the reign of Hazrat Umar (RA) from the Romans (Christians) in 638 (17 A.H.), it was known as Ilya, the name which appears in the covenant signed by Caliph Umar (RA). Strangely the only request that Archbishop Sophronius made to Caliph Umar at the time of surrender was that the Jews should not be allowed back into Jerusalem. Moshe Sharett on August 4, 1967 said: "The Wailing Wall is not a holy place - it is only a memory to the Jews. Give me a single holy place for the Jews in all Palestine - not only in Jerusalem, there is none. But it is full of Muslim and Christian churches, cemeteries, mosques and memories". The Crusaders onslaught ensured that Jerusalem fell to the Christian forces in 1099. Muslims were mercilessly massacred. For the first time in Muslim history Latin states were established on Muslim soil. Baldwin was crowned king at Bethlehem on Christmas day, 1100. The proclaimed objective of the Crusades was achieved. Salahuddin (RA) entered Jerusalem as the leader of a victorious army on a Friday, October 2, 1187. According to Heinrech Gratez, the 18th century historian of the Jews, Salahuddin's empire became a safe asylum to the oppressed Jews. The House of Commons in early 1920's adopted the Zionist slogan "we have to give the land without a people to a people without a land". Furthermore, the Zionist thinkers said that they have to pump in the Jews from outside and pump out the Arabs from inside. This kind of philosophy has nothing to do with peace. It is deeply related to aggression, discrimination and invasion. Therefore the constitution of Israel did not define the boundaries of the state, and a resolution adopted by the Knesset binding the state to a strategy of a greater Israel was passed and is still valid. The Israeli flag which is white in colour and has two blue lines which are symbols of the Euphrates river in Iraq and the Nile in Egypt - that is the greater Israel. We pray that Almighty Allah returns Jerusalem and Palestine to its former glory. For reference see; JERUSALEM - THE KEY TO WORLD PEACE by the Islamic Council of Europe.
