Eid-al-Fitr in Jerusalem

 

   Worshippers pray outside the Old City on Friday morning. Photograph: Lorenzo Tondo/The Guardian

Three years ago next month we were in Jerusalem at the confluence of Jewish Passover/Pesach, Christian Holy Week/Easter, and Islamic Ramadan. While there were cautions about religious tensions and an increased police and military presence in the Old City we moved around freely and there were no incidents of violence. 

We did not go up on the Temple Mount where the Al Aqsa Mosque is situated although I have been there a couple of times before, doffing my shoes before entering for a moment of reflection. We were in the large plaza at the base of the Western Wall and both Al Aqsa and the Golden Dome were quite visible before us. 

    Al Aqsa with the grey dome, The Golden Dome, and the Western Wall Plaza to the left 

Today Muslims in and around Jerusalem are lamenting that on this final day of Ramadan called Eid-al-Fitr they have been denied access to the Temple Mount, an important aspect of this time of fasting and contemplation. According to The Guardian: 

For the first time since 1967, al-Aqsa mosque – Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site – will be closed at the end of Ramadan on Friday, with tensions rising among Palestinians as Israeli authorities keep the complex shut, forcing worshippers to hold Eid prayers as close as they can to the sealed site.

On Friday morning hundreds of worshippers were forced to pray outside the Old City, as Israeli police barricaded the entrances to the site.Because of security concerns related to the US-Israeli war on Iran, on 28 February Israeli authorities had effectively sealed off the mosque complex in Jerusalem to most Muslim worshippers during Ramadan. 

The reality is that Israel has increasingly restricted access to the Temple Mount for Muslims and there have been a number of incidents of provocation by right-wing members of the Netanyahu government who have gone to this contested area despite protests. It is shameful that an area considered holy by the three great monotheistic religions has become the focal point of so much tension. 

Eid Mubarak or "blessed feast" to Muslms around the world as they celebrate Eid al-Fitr to conclude Ramadan. As hard as it is to imagine an end to these religious tensions we can pray for a new way forward.