Temple Mount

MAY 21—The most hotly disputed piece of real estate in the world is in Jerusalem. Suffused with historic and spiritual significance for more than 3,000 years, Mount Moriah is the holiest site in the holiest city in the world.

It is the place where Abraham came to sacrifice his son, Isaac. It’s the place where Muslim prophet Muhammad was transported to heaven in a night vision. It’s the place, many Christians believe, where Jesus Christ will return in his full glory—the Second Coming. Muslims, Christians and Jews all expect the Messiah to make a spectacular entrance to earth on Mount Moriah.

Many years ago, a level plaza was constructed on the summit of this holy mountain in order to build a mighty worship centre, what the prophet Isaiah called a house for all nations. The platform is called the Temple Mount.

Solomon’s temple stood at this place. The Babylonians destroyed this magnificent destination for pilgrims and worshipers in 586 BC. The Jews rebuilt it 70 years later when they returned to the city.

Shortly before the time of Jesus, Herod the Great built a magnificent temple renowned for its splendor. But it too was destroyed, this time by the Romans in 68 AD.

About 700 years later Islam became the dominant religion in the region and the Dome of the Rock has stood on the Temple Mount ever since.

In the holiest of places in the holiest of cities in the holiest of lands, religious passions run very deep. Zealots of all three Abrahamic religions have threatened the peace in this place. Any provocation to the status quo erupts into humungous religious and social unrest. Tread carefully on the Temple Mount. It is at the very heart of the conflicts in the Middle East; it is the key to any solutions.