Lecturer on PA TV: No Jewish holy texts ascribe holiness to Jerusalem, only Islamic texts do so
Official PA TV program Palestine in the Quran
Lecturer on Islam at Al Al-Bayt University in Jordan, Bahjat Habashneh: “According to the Jews, the holiest place in the world is the [Foundation] Stone (i.e., on the Temple Mount). But the question arises: Since Allah didn’t bestow it with holiness, where did the holiness come from? There is no text, not in the Talmud, not in the Jewish Bible, not in the Apocrypha, and not in any of the Jewish writings that gives holiness to Jerusalem (False statement. Examples abound in all Jewish texts –Ed.). The source of the sanctity and purity of Jerusalem, and the existence of a mosque in it, are in the Islamic texts.”
Note: “Jerusalem” is mentioned in the Jewish Bible 669 times and “Zion,” another name often used for Jerusalem, appears 154 times, a total of 823 references. The claim that Jerusalem is not called “holy” in Jewish texts is likewise false. Jerusalem was called holy more than a thousand years before Islam was founded. Here is one among numerous examples: “Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city” (Isaiah 52:1).
Jerusalem is not mentioned even once in the Quran.
Lecturer on Islam at Al Al-Bayt University in Jordan, Bahjat Habashneh: “According to the Jews, the holiest place in the world is the [Foundation] Stone (i.e., on the Temple Mount). But the question arises: Since Allah didn’t bestow it with holiness, where did the holiness come from? There is no text, not in the Talmud, not in the Jewish Bible, not in the Apocrypha, and not in any of the Jewish writings that gives holiness to Jerusalem (False statement. Examples abound in all Jewish texts –Ed.). The source of the sanctity and purity of Jerusalem, and the existence of a mosque in it, are in the Islamic texts.”
Note: “Jerusalem” is mentioned in the Jewish Bible 669 times and “Zion,” another name often used for Jerusalem, appears 154 times, a total of 823 references. The claim that Jerusalem is not called “holy” in Jewish texts is likewise false. Jerusalem was called holy more than a thousand years before Islam was founded. Here is one among numerous examples: “Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city” (Isaiah 52:1).
Jerusalem is not mentioned even once in the Quran.