The Holiest of Holies

The Temple Mount is considered to be holy for four religions: Judaism, Greco-Roman paganism, Christianity and Islam.

Jewish and Christian tradition identify the Temple Mount with Mount Moriah which was supposedly the place where Abraham attempted to sacrifice his son, Isaac. More importantly it signifies a place where God's divine presence was manifested.

King Solomon built the first Jewish temple at this location. Herod the Great rebuilt it in the days of Jesus. It was destroyed by Romans in 70 AD and never rebuilt (only the Western Wall remains). The site was abandoned for centuries until 634 AD when Muslim Arabs conquered Jerusalem and brought Islam to the region. In 690 AD the Muslim shrine known as the Dome of the Rock was built.

While Israeli police control the security checkpoints entering the Temple Mount, the Muslim guards have jurisdiction once we entered the area.

Our Pastors wife, who has been here numerous times, had to purchase this lovely outfit because her legs, which were completely covered were too 'shapely', (aka her black leggings were not appropriate even though no skin was showing)

At the site, our attire must be modest, especially for the women. Despite our best efforts, several of our women were deemed immodest and had to buy or borrow items of clothing at the last minute to cover up. Also our men were repeatedly scolded, "NO TOUCH HAND!" for holding his wife's hand or putting an arm around her shoulder.  Matthew was reprimanded twice.. once for putting his hand on my shoulder as he was taking a selfie and second when he was putting a hand on his daughter's shoulder for another picture. Boy they sure take anti-PDA to another level!

My friend Scott at first didn't want to take a picture with his family because he didn't want to be scolded like my husband was. But I told him he couldn't come all the way to the Temple Mount without taking a photo with his girls so I told him to keep his hands behind his back. It worked! He wasn't reprimanded!

The Dome of the Rock is an Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount. Beneath the golden dome is the Foundation Stone, the site of the Jewish Holy of Holies as well as the place where Muslims believe Muhammad ascended into heaven. This is also the traditional spot where Abraham prepares to sacrifice Isaac; Muslims believe it was Ishmael, not Isaac that was to be sacrificed.

Because the Temple Mount is considered to be one of the most holy sites by Muslims, any non-Islamic religious display is forbidden. No Christian literature, Bibles, large crosses, or Christian emblems on clothing were allowed. Security was tight. They searched our bags before we entered the area.

One unsettling incident happened here though. We lost a member of our group, and after searching vainly for 45 minutes, someone from our group decided we should stop and pray. So we gathered together and started praying aloud. We totally forgot that praying to our God was forbidden.  Remember.. any non-Islamic religious display is forbidden. It was actually unlawful. We broke their law there. The Muslim guards quickly surrounded us and started shouting to us to stop and forced us to leave immediately. All of us. That meant we couldn't look for our lost member. We were stuck and it was frightening and frustrating. Thankfully we eventually found her at another site later on in the day.

It really hit home that the freedoms we enjoy in the United States are not accepted worldwide. Our first instinct when we are in need is to pray, and we couldn't do that here. Freedom of religion is not a right on the Temple Mount, and that was very hard for us to accept and understand.

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