Word: aqsa
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...Western Wall as if they were caressing their grandchildren. Moments later, you skirt by a Muslim scholar, a white turban wrapped around his scarlet fez. He is bent double in the shade of a pine, scrubbing his feet and hands as he prepares to pray in al-Aqsa Mosque. The air is alive with the sacred mumblings of Hebrew and Arabic. It smells like dust and cumin and cardamom. And the gold of the Dome's roof--vibrant 1,300 years after it was built--reflects the sun back into the sky and reminds you, no matter what your faith...
...When Israeli right-winger Ariel Sharon visited the site two weeks ago in a bid to boost his political support and reassert Israeli rights to the land, Arabs saw it as an act of such political arrogance that it could only trigger an outburst. In what Arabs call the "Aqsa intifadeh," the uprising of al-Aqsa Mosque on the Mount, at least 80 people have been killed and nearly 2,000 injured, mostly Palestinians...
...Isaac. That rock is where some scholars believe the Ark of the Covenant sat. But it also lies beneath the golden Dome of the Rock, the spot where Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad ascended into heaven and back. The main mosque in the compound is al-Aqsa--also 1,300 years old. More sacred to Muslims than any place except Mecca and Medina, the Mount is the single most holy spot for Jews as well. Rabbi Haim Richman, who works at the Temple Institute in the Jewish Quarter, explains, "When the Temple is rebuilt, it goes right here and only...
...tools that will be needed in the "Third Temple": a silver mizrak to collect blood from sacrificial animals, even a million-dollar menorah. And Sheik Hassan Barghouti is preparing--in a row of tiny classrooms built into the ancient north wall of the compound. As principal of al-Aqsa School, Barghouti drills 140 young Koranic scholars in the literal divinity of the stones from which their schoolroom is built. "This Jewish temple is a pure lie," says Barghouti. "It's the duty of every Muslim to die to defend al-Aqsa...
Barak's nastiest surprise last week may turn out to be the violence among Israel's Arab population. Though Israelis call them "our Arabs," the 1 million Arab citizens of Israel consider themselves Palestinians. The call to defend al-Aqsa brought them out in the thousands. And it highlighted the political problems Barak still faces at home. Without the help of Israeli Arabs, Barak may not be able to cement his power--and Arafat may find himself facing a hard-line Israeli government. U.S. and Israeli officials often talk about how difficult it is to understand what Arafat wants...