TEL AVIV, Israel, March 3 -- The Israeli government Sunday banned construction of a mosque beside the main path leading to the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.
It acceded to requests by U.S. President George W. Bush, the Vatican and Christian churches, but encountered the wrath of the local Islamic Movement.
"This is a barbaric act of the first degree," Salman Abu-Ahmad, Nazareth's deputy mayor and the head of the Islamic Movement's Political Department told United Press International.
The Muslims have already begun illegal construction of a mosque they said would be named after Shahab e-Dinh a relative of Saladin who defeated the Crusaders in 1187, and who is buried there.
The Christians opposed the plan. Housing Minister Natan Sharansky, who headed a ministerial committee that looked into the matter and recommended that no mosque be built there, told reporters that throughout the years the area "was a place for permanent provocations against (Christian) pilgrims."
Some 70 percent of Nazareth's residents are Muslim, but Sharansky argued the government must ensure freedom of worship and protect the religious sites holy to believers throughout the world, not only those who live in the city.
He said all Christian denominations put up a united front in demanding that "no mosque, not even the smallest one should be built there as they (the Muslims) could cause provocations all over the place."
He noted that before Pope John Paul II went to Bethlehem, in 1999, arrangements were made to ensure a smooth visit. However, the moment he started the mass, the mosques' loudspeakers blared and they, "did everything he won't be heard."
The government said the Muslims could build a mosque some 250 to 400 meters away that is "almost right there" but not beside the path to the Basilica. It also offered government help to fix up and "upgrade" the grave.
Some Palestinian Authority officials, clearly wanting to avoid friction with the Christian world, have criticized the Islamic Movement's insistence.
The Mufti of the Palestinian Police, Sheikh Abdulsalam Abu Shkhaidem, several weeks ago told UPI the Palestinian Authority, too, opposes Nazareth Muslims' plans to build a mosque there -- and have told them so.
He said the Palestinian Authority received "some silly papers from silly people."
"The mosque in Nazareth must not be built," he said, adding, the area there is too small.
Sharansky said some Muslim clergymen have discreetly told the committee they, too, oppose construction of a mosque in front of the Basilica but were afraid to say so openly.
Abu-Ahmad slammed the decision as one "designed to carry on Bush's policy of hitting Muslims around the world. We are part of the Muslim nation and that is probably why they decided to hit us," he told UPI.
The Israelis will be able to enter the Shahab e-Dinh area only "with tanks. The Muslims will be there and will continue to pray to God to protect (it)," he added.
"At the right time, we shall resume construction. The legitimacy (for doing so) is religious and a deep Islamic belief that every Muslim must protect the holy sites," Abu-Ahmad added.
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