Baitul Mukaddas

The place I dreamed to be, especially to visit Al-Aqsar mosque and Dome of the Rock which are described in the Quran. But the presence of the Israelis soldiers turned me off. The news report about their abuse of Palestinians in their own land is a reality in my eyes. Hitler was condemned as a monster for genocide but he saw what would happened if this race is in power. The Israelis are worst than Hitler.






The separation wall built by the Israelis with powerful surveillance cameras at every corner.












One of the graffiti on the separation wall expressing the feelings of the Palestinians.










The Palestinians live in the biggest prison in the world, created by the Jews and the world powers (America and the likes) just ignored the blatant assault on human dignity. The Palestinians are robbed of their lands and their dignity. It blows my mind to know how the Jews could practice their life principles of legalizing shooting women and children (especially Palestinians) if they present the slightest threat to their position. I think animals have more compassion than they do.

I had no choice. Baitul Mukaddis/Maqdis is a holy city. Being Muslims, I chose to brave the threatening situation there. I was quite confused - was I going into Palestine or Israel? At the immigration point manned by Israelis, we had to wait for hours before we were cleared (because we were 19 Muslims). There were 46 non-Muslim Indonesians who arrived later but they were being
cleared quickly. We left Jordan at 5 am but by 2 pm we were still there, hungry and tired.

There was no such thing as special consideration for seniors and children. If you drop dead in front of their eyes, the Israelis couldn't care less.

Dome of the Rock from Mount Olive.








I am so very grateful to Allah for giving me time and allowing me to visit Al-Aqsar and Dome of the Rock in Baitul Mukaddas. Though a first my body was so tired and in need of rest I decided to join the group for subuh at 4 am at Al-Aqsar. It was a good decision. I might not be able to go there again.






Dome of the Rock took my breath away. I was able to see the hanging rock on which Prophet Mohammad stood before Israj Mi'raj. I was in awe to be able to be where Israj Mi'raj happened and see the stunning architecture inside and outside the Dome.










The exterior of Dome of the Rock.











Syukur alhamdullillah, praying in Al-Aqsar was a humbling experience. This is where the Qiblat for Muslims to pray was, but Allah commanded Prophet Mohammad to shift Qiblat to Mecca.
The visit to Hebron was unforgettable. It pained my heart to see so many children left orphaned and poor because of the war and the opperssion by the Jews. The Palestinians live poorly but the Jews live in palatial homes on Palestinian land. I pray that the Israelis will stop digging underneath the Al-Aqsar as an excuse to look for their lost temple which until now they had not found a trace of it. Or is it just an excuse to destroy Al-Aqsar?


The Ibrahim mosque is a historical landmark in Hebron, Baitul Mukaddas. This is where Prophet Ibrahim, his wife, Sarah, Prophet Ishak and his wife were buried. The 84 year old caretaker tearfully narrated to us the massacre in 1994 when an American Jew shot 29 people while they were praying in the mosque. The irony was that, since this was done by a non-Muslim, the incident was treated so coolly. But if it were done by a Muslim, the non-Muslim world would cry bloody murder and accused Muslims as terrorists.
I hope the Palestinians will get back their land and their dignity and hell go to the oppressors.















In the Chapel of Ascension at Mount Olive where Prophet Isa (Jesus) stood before he was lifted to heavens by God.