by Taylor Luck | Apr 25,2012 | JORDAN TIMES

AMMAN/OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — When Grand Mufti of Egypt Sheikh Ali Gomaa entered the hallowed grounds of Al Haram Al Sharif last week, he instantly stepped into a decades-old debate over whether visits to the third holiest site in Islam represent the fulfilment of a religious duty or a direct threat to the Palestinian cause.

Several politicians and scholars were quick to denounce the mufti’s visit, issuing statements ranging from demanding his ouster to criticising Amman for facilitating “normalisation” with Israel.

Such visits require Arabs and Muslims to apply for a visa from Israeli embassies in Cairo or Amman, a step Islamists and other clerics claim represents a “written acknowledgement of Israel”.

Hammam Saeed, overall leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, criticised a series of recent visits to Al Haram Al Sharif by various Jordanian officials, ranging from Interior Minister Mohammed Al Raoud to Public Security Department Chief Lt. Gen. Hussein Majali, declaring them against Islamic Sharia.

“Occupation forces guard the site, they dictate who is allowed to enter and who is not, they force through extremists who wish to destroy Al Aqsa while preventing the mufti from entering it,” said Jamil Abu Baker, Muslim Brotherhood spokesperson.

“Visiting Al Aqsa is akin to recognising Zionists as the rightful owners of the site.”

The Jerusalem Awqaf Department, which is responsible for managing the site, condemned the Islamists’ stance, stressing that rather than a controversial act, the visit sent a positive message to Arabs and Muslims across the world that praying at Al Aqsa is acceptable, removing a decades-old “stigma”.

“Al Aqsa is in the greatest danger in its history, and the best way to defend it is to come and visit and pray, not to abandon it,” said Azzam Khatib, the department’s director.

“Refusing to visit Al Aqsa on grounds of normalisation supports Israel’s plans to empty Jerusalem of its Arab and Muslim residents and irreparably change its Islamic character.”

On Wednesday, Reuters quoted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as saying that visits to Jerusalem to pray privately at the third holiest site in Islam should not be seen as acceptance of Israeli occupation.

The argument by some respected Islamic scholars that going to Al Aqsa Mosque is forbidden as long as access is controlled by Israelis is wrong-headed, Abbas said.

Hajj or haram?

In the latest in a series of fatwas (Islamic edicts) issued over visits to Al Aqsa, the Islamic Action Front’s Islamic Scholars Committee declared visits to Al Haram Al Sharif during the occupation as tantamount to “encouraging” the Israeli occupation of Jerusalem, declaring such travel “haram” or “forbidden” for Muslims.

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Al Haram Al Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary, revered as the third holiest site in Islam. Decades after the Israeli occupation of Jerusalem, scholars, imams and politicians are divided whether visits to the site are represent ‘normalisation’ (Photo by Taylor Luck)