Radical Islam and Jerusalem: The Burdensome Stone

One is tempted to wonder, “What is the problem?” If giving the Palestinian Arabs part of Jerusalem for their capital will bring peace to the Middle East, then why not? But would peace be the outcome? Why is Jerusalem so significant?

At the Camp David Summit of July 11-24, 2000, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak shocked President Bill Clinton, and the world, by offering the establishment of the Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem, with Palestinian sovereignty over seven or eight of its nine outer neighborhoods, Palestinian sovereignty over half of the Old City – specifically the Muslim and Christian Quarters, and Palestinian “custodianship” over the Temple Mount. Palestinian President Yasser Arafat rejected this offer outright.

An end-time prophecy in Zechariah 14:2 says that half of the city of Jerusalem shall go into captivity. It seems that Barak’s 2000 offer wasn’t timely; but half of the city will lose the freedom it enjoys under Israeli sovereignty. (Half of the city was in captivity by Jordan from 1948 until 1967, but that 19-year period does not seem to fulfill the rest of the prophecies in Zechariah 14.)

And yet again, if the sacrifice of part of Jerusalem would bring peace, why not make the sacrifice? Response: Because giving Arabs sovereignty over part of Jerusalem, or all of Jerusalem, WILL NOT BRING PEACE! There will never be peace in the Middle East without the presence of the Prince of Peace. Muslim sovereignty over Jerusalem will only trigger more violence.

The Muslims burst upon the scene in the Sixth Century. Their armies swept over much of the earth. They were the al-Qaedas of the time, with Mohammed as their Osama bin Laden. They overran much of Asia, all of the Middle East, all of north Africa and Spain, captured Greece and threatened all of Europe before they were stopped in France.

Mohammed, claiming to be speaking as an oracle of Allah, commanded that all those who do not obey his commands are to “be killed or they should be nailed on a tree or their hands and legs be cut off, or they be driven out of the land…for that is their shame here on earth and in the world to come.” Sura 5:36. The Koran commands Muslims to behead anyone who does not accept the teachings of Islam. Sura 47:4,7.

There are more Muslims in the world than Protestant Christians. It is the world’s fastest-growing religion. There are two main divisions of Islam, with many subdivisions. The two main divisions are the Sunnis and the Shiites. The Sunnis follow the Caliphs who succeeded Mohammed; while the Shiites follow the teachings of his son-in-law and his successor imams. These Shiites venerate shrines, and believe the last Imam went into hiding in the Tenth Century, and will reappear as the Mahdi for the last times. Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon are predominately Shiite nations. Other Arab nations are majority Sunni, but have substantial Shiite minorities. There are also radical elements in Sunni factions, such as al-Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and others.

Radical elements in Islam, including radicals in both the Shiites and the Sunnis, see the possession of Jerusalem as the key to their successful Jihad (holy war) to spread Islam to the whole world. The reason they have not recaptured the territory they once held (from Spain to the very gates of Athens and Vienna) is because they have not conquered Jerusalem, and made it the caliphate of a new Arab/Islamic super-state.

The radical elements in Islam have a well-developed theology of end-times. There are some differences between the sects, but all believe in an apocalyptic jihad that spreads their religion by the sword. Again, the Shiites believe in a messiah figure, the Mahdi, who will lead this campaign from Jerusalem. The Koran makes several references to the “end of time” in what it calls al-sa’a, or “the Hour.” (Mohammed probably “borrowed” the concept from the Last Prophetic Hour of the Book of Revelation.) There are signs of the approach of “the Hour,” including the capture of Jerusalem. Then once Jerusalem is captured, there are prophecies about the subsequent conquest of Rome (Christendom).

Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Koran. Mecca (in Saudi Arabia) is the holiest city for Muslims. It is where Mohammed received the revelations that eventually became the Koran. It is where Islamics believe Abraham offered Ishmael (not Isaac). It is where Abraham and Ishmael built a house of worship. Medina (also in Saudi Arabia) was the first capital of the Islamic united caliphate (religious kingdom). According to tradition, Mohammed said one prayer in Mecca was worth 100,000 prayers elsewhere; one prayer in Medina was worth 10,000 prayers; and one prayer in Jerusalem was worth 1000 prayers.

The only Koranic reference to Jerusalem is a night-time vision or actual visit to heaven Mohammed took on a winged horse. On his journey, he stopped briefly at the “furthest mosque.” Jerusalem was not in Muslim hands at that time, and there was no mosque there; but many Islamic scholars believe the reference is to the rock on the Temple Mount, where the Dome of the Rock now stands.

Even though there are other cities that are considered by Islam to be more holy than Jerusalem, and even though its only Koranic reference is an obscure connection to Mohammed’s Night Journey, Jerusalem has great apocalyptic significance – not only to Judaism and Christianity – but to radical Islam. It is the place where the messianic Mahdi will establish his capital. Therefore, that city should become the seat of the new caliphate that most Islamist groups – from the Muslim Brotherhood to al-Qaeda – seek to establish. Jerusalem’s recapture is seen by some as one of the signs that “the Hour” and the end of times are about to occur. Some believe that Jesus (or perhaps the Mahdi) will return to earth and battle the dajjal (anti-christ). And most importantly, it is the launching pad for a new global jihad that will spread Islam by force over the whole world.

An Islamic website, operated by the Hezbollah Shiite group in Lebanon, said. “The liberation of Jerusalem is the preface for liberating the world and establishing the [Mahdi’s] state of justice and values on earth.” What would these radicals do if they were handed control of Jerusalem? Would they be content and abandon their violent terrorism?

Much of the Western world seems to be under the delusion that giving territory, and especially part of Jerusalem, to the Palestinian Arabs will bring peace. Israel’s pullback from Lebanon did not bring peace or stability along its northern border. Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip did not bring peace or stability along that border. When the Soviet Union pulled out of Afghanistan, the mujahidin did not turn peaceful. Their victory over a superpower convinced them that they could repeat the successes of the Seventh Century, and defeat the other world powers. The mujahidin morphed into the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Giving up any part of Jerusalem will not bring peace either.

Any surrender of Jerusalem will only embolden the most radical elements in Islam. It would confirm their apocalyptic vision. So, not dividing Jerusalem will cause terrorism and global jihad to continue; but dividing Jerusalem will further feed the radical elements to believe that terrorism and global jihad will succeed. In either event, Jerusalem will continue to be at the center of world concern – and Bible prophecy. Zechariah 12:3 says, “And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.”