Latest news with #ChurchoftheHolySepulchre
Observer
14-07-2025
- General
- Observer
Places of worship, rituals, and security in the Arab world
It is truly unfortunate that entering a place of worship can make one feel uneasy or unsafe due to heightened security checks. These measures have become common in recent decades, especially following attacks on churches, mosques and Hussainiyas. One recent example is the bombing of Saint Elias Church on the outskirts of Damascus. In Kuwait, the Ministry of Interior decided to relocate Ashura rituals to school premises instead of traditional Hussainiyas, citing security concerns. Similar examples can be found elsewhere across the region. For centuries, Arab societies have coexisted horizontally across their diverse components. It has long been a familiar sight to see mosques and churches side by side in Egypt, Iraq, the Levant and Sudan. Christians of various denominations lived among Muslims, sharing in their joys and sorrows, business ventures and daily lives. Muslims were accustomed to the sound of church bells and took part in Christian celebrations. Likewise, Christians lived with the sound of the call to prayer and joined their Muslim neighbours in festivities. Even today, the keys to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — among the most sacred Christian sites in the world — remain in the custody of two Muslim families. Despite their numerical majority, Muslims have never sought to damage or desecrate it. On the contrary, they have contributed to its preservation and upkeep. While in Djerba, Tunisia, I visited Shaikh Mahfoudh Dahman in his workshop dedicated to bookbinding and restoration. Among his collection was a Hebrew manuscript. When I asked about it, he explained: 'We have Jews in Djerba who need copies of their religious texts for prayers and supplications. They come to us for transcription and binding. This particular manuscript is a copy of the Psalms of David. Half of it is written in Arabic using Hebrew script, and the other half is in Hebrew. It's about 150 years old. The Jewish community here numbers around 1,500 people, comprising roughly 150 to 200 families. Each group freely practises its faith and rituals.' Mariwan Naqshbandi, Director of Interfaith Relations at the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs in Iraqi Kurdistan, shared a powerful story: 'During IS assault on the Yazidi town of Sinjar, a Muslim soldier from Kurdistan was selected by lottery to perform Haj. He had already paid $4,000 for the pilgrimage. But four days before his departure, IS attacked Sinjar. He gave up his Haj and went to defend the Yazidis. He died in the battle.' This reflects the natural human solidarity that emerges from long-standing coexistence. The Holy Quran states: 'Were it not that Allah repels some people by means of others, monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques — wherein Allah's name is often mentioned — would surely have been destroyed' (Al Hajj: 40). According to Father Hanna Iskandar, a Maronite priest, the term 'biya' in this verse refers to churches with dome-shaped ceilings, the word being derived from Syriac, meaning 'egg", referring to the rounded architecture. Abu Bakr al Siddiq is also reported to have said during military campaigns: 'Do not betray, do not steal, do not mutilate the dead, do not kill children or those in monasteries.' Today, unfortunately, we occasionally witness attacks on churches, mosques, Hussainiyas, and other places of worship. These acts raise troubling questions: Are they part of a political scheme to incite sectarian unrest? Or do they stem from ideological extremism that justifies such violence? Or are they a result of inflammatory rhetoric that fuels division and undermines peaceful coexistence? We need serious reflection — not just to protect sacred sites but to guarantee individual freedoms. Every Arab country should be spacious enough to accommodate its diverse religious expressions, dealing with citizens on the basis of shared humanity. Only then can true security and belonging emerge from within, not merely from state authorities, and withstand political or security upheaval. Translated by Badr al Dahfri. The original version of this article was published in the print edition of the Oman Arabic on July 9
Days of Palestine
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Days of Palestine
Israel shuts down Al-Aqsa and Holy Sepulchre for 12th day, blocks Palestinian access
DaysofPal – For the 12th consecutive day, Israeli occupation forces have kept both the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre closed to worshippers, enforcing sweeping restrictions on Palestinian access to Jerusalem's Old City and places of worship. These extraordinary actions coincide with a stepped-up military crackdown in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. Local sources confirmed that the Al-Aqsa Mosque remains completely closed to worshippers, with entry permitted only for Islamic Waqf staff and mosque guards. The same applies to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which has been entirely shut off to Christian worshippers. Access to the Old City itself has been limited to residents only, enforced through a network of military checkpoints. 'These are unjustified and unacceptable measures,' said Sheikh Akrama Sabri, the preacher at Al-Aqsa Mosque. 'Israel is exploiting the atmosphere of war, first in Gaza, then with Iran, to impose tighter control over Al-Aqsa and to undermine the authority of the Islamic Waqf, the sole legitimate custodian of the mosque.' Sabri stressed that Israel's policies are deliberately designed to 'prevent worshippers from accessing the mosque,' calling the ongoing closure 'worrying and dangerous.' The Israeli restrictions, which began intensifying on April 13, have expanded to a full-scale lockdown of key roads and neighborhoods throughout East Jerusalem and the West Bank. This includes road closures between Jerusalem and Ramallah, particularly the Jaba checkpoint, and the sealing of neighborhood entrances in Al-Tur and other areas using concrete blocks. Night raids have become frequent in areas including Jabal al-Mukaber, al-Issawiya, al-Tur, Wadi al-Joz, and Kufr Aqab, where residents report the use of tear gas and stun grenades inside homes. An Anadolu correspondent reported that many shops in the Old City have shut down due to the restrictions, dealing a severe blow to the local economy. Ziad al-Hamouri, director of the Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights, described the measures as 'unprecedented,' noting that while similar closures were seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, 'since the start of the war on Iran, they have been far more severe.' 'Israel is trying to destroy the commercial sector in the Old City,' al-Hamouri said. 'These restrictions are part of an effort to push out the 35,000 Palestinian residents who live there.' He added that Israel's strategy includes 'a combination of neighborhood closures, commercial strangulation, and psychological pressure through repeated night raids.' The left-wing Israeli organization Ir Amim, which monitors developments in Jerusalem, confirmed a 'sharp escalation of restrictions and forced closures' since Israel's recent attack on Iran. 'In a matter of days, we documented a series of aggressive measures taken by Israeli security forces,' the organization reported. 'These include night raids, the use of force inside residential buildings, and arrests based solely on social media activity, all targeting Palestinians.' The group emphasized that the emergency measures reflect 'systematic discrimination against East Jerusalem residents,' who continue to suffer from chronic infrastructure neglect. It also highlighted the severe disparity in civil protection: while new bomb shelters have been constructed in West Jerusalem, less than 10% of East Jerusalem neighborhoods have access to any shelter facilities, leaving roughly 400,000 Palestinians exposed during escalations. The Israeli government has not issued an official explanation for the continued closure of the city's holiest sites, nor for the sweeping measures imposed on Palestinians in and around Jerusalem. Israeli raids in the broader West Bank, which includes Jenin, Tulkarm, and the Nour Shams refugee camp, have destroyed hundreds of homes, killed dozens of Palestinians, and forced over 40,000 to flee their homes since January 21. Shortlink for this post:
Middle East Eye
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Israeli continues closure of Al-Aqsa mosque and Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Israeli occupation forces have shut Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for the 12th consecutive day, barring worshippers from entry. The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that only guards and Islamic Waqf Department staff are allowed inside Al-Aqsa, while the Church of the Holy Sepulchre remains closed to Christians. Entry to Jerusalem's Old City is restricted to residents only. Restrictions have stopped hundreds of thousands from praying at Al-Aqsa, with shops closed as access to the Old City is tightly controlled through military checkpoints.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
From Fishermen to Kings: A Family's Royal Discovering Unearthed Through Genealogy
An American couple uncovers a bloodline of Kings, Crusaders, and a Roman Senator PHOENIX, May 14, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Author John and Myra Nichols always believed their roots ran deep in the Scottish Lowlands where their family history was tied to the life of seafaring fishermen. However, when they set out to confirm their ancestry, they uncovered a truth far richer: their family wasn't just catching fish but claimed by many historians as shaping the course of Western civilization. Ready to share their story, they published, "The Rebirth of the Knights Templar, from Jerusalem to America: One Family's History." In the book, the couple chronicles their genealogical journey starting with Nichols's Y-DNA strand and his connection to royal linage back to 10 monarchs, including a Roman Senator, an Episcopal Bishop of Metz, a Roman Emperor, and Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland who sheltered the persecuted Knights Templar. As their research deepened, they uncovered connections to Templar artifacts, including a Cross Charlemagne etched in stone near their home in the Ironwood Forest National Monument in Ariz. and a large stone cross on Oak Island, near Nova Scotia, C.A. "What amazed us most was realizing that our ancestors helped shape history." Nichols said, "The Knights Templar stood against tyranny, bringing Christianity to Jerusalem and laying the foundation for the values that would eventually define America: free, justice, and faith." Humbled to discover their legacy, the couple was inspired to tell America's real history and aims to protect Jerusalem during a time of uncertainty. "There's so much about our history we believe will make Americans feel proud," Nichols said. "By sharing our family's story, we hope to inspire others to protect sacred places like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, now under threat in the Middle East. Our ancestors' courage and conviction remind us to live purposely, stand for truth, and work toward a hopeful world." "The Rebirth of the Knights Templar, from Jerusalem to America: One Family's History" By Author John and Myra Nichols ISBN: 9781665750646 (softcover); 9781665750660 (hardcover); 9781665750653 (electronic) Available at Archway Publishing, Amazon and Barnes & Noble About the author John Nichols, a veteran of the United States Army, worked 43 years for Southern Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads. His hobby is Archeology, and he specializes in interpreting petroglyphs or rock carvings. Myra Nichols learned research by participating in a successful Congressional Investigation in the 1988 Yellowstone wildfires. Her master's in education helped her students achieve the highest reading scores for first and second graders in the district. They both wrote a highly successful book in 2016 called "Calalus Revisited.". To learn more, please visit General Inquiries: LAVIDGE – Phoenix Taylor Moralez Tmoralez@ Media Contact Taylor Moralez, LAVIDGE, 4803066597, tmoralez@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE LAVIDGE Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Found a 2,000-Year-Old Garden Beneath a Church. It May Be the Site of Jesus' Tomb
This story is a collaboration with Popular Mechanics 'At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid.'—John 19:41 As a literary device, this description of the burial place of Jesus Christ is effective. It offers a contrast between the site of Jesus' death at the crucifixion site of Calvary (also called Golgotha, both derived from the Latin for 'place of the skull') and a fertile garden, brimming with life. It also provides a cyclical shape to the final chapter of the Christ narrative, which begins with his arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. So, as storytelling, this single sentence from the Gospel of John—the most recently written of the four canonical gospels, most scholars agree—has a substantial power to its brevity. But, as a historical record of where, exactly, one of the most famous men who ever lived was laid to rest, you'd be forgiven for finding it sorely lacking in detail. Yet, thanks to a new discovery reported in the Times of Israel, that sentence might be key to confirming where the real man at the center of the Christian faith was placed after his famous crucifixion. As the Times notes, the site that now hosts the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is held in the Christian tradition to encompass both the crucifixion site and the tomb in which Christ was buried. As such, it's beset upon at all times by Christ-following pilgrims from across the planet who are determined to worship at the site where they believe the Messiah lay dead for three days before his resurrection on Easter Sunday. But this popularity is only part of the problem for archaeologists hoping to examine the purportedly holy site. According to the Times, there were 'decades of in-fighting' between the three religious communities charged with managing the church: the Orthodox Patriarchate, the Custody of the Holy Land, and the Armenian Patriarchate. When these groups finally came to a consensus in 2019 that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre required renovations to replace the site's 19th century floor, a team of Italian architects with La Sapienza University saw their opportunity. 'With the renovation works, the religious communities decided to also allow archaeological excavations under the floor,' Francesca Romana Stasolla from the Sapienza University of Rome told the Times of Israel. The excavations have been under Stasolla's direction since they commenced in 2022. 'We take turns, but our team in Jerusalem always includes 10 or 12 people,' said Stasolla, while noting that the bulk of their group remains in Rome, receiving their data for the post-production process. But this core team would occasionally be joined by specialists, including 'geologists, archaeobotanists, or archaeozoologists.' Their contributions would prove important, as beneath the 19th century floor, there lies a quarry which dates back to the Iron Age (1200–586 BCE). During the time of Jesus, this quarry was a burial site 'with several tombs hewn in the rock.' It wasn't the only such site in Jerusalem, but when Constantine—the first emperor of Rome to convert to Christianity—was in power, this quarry was the one exalted by early Christians as the site of the burial, so the emperor ordered the construction of the first iteration of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre there. The church would suffer numerous attacks over the centuries, before its current form was constructed by Crusaders in the 12th century. What Stasolla's team found was that, in the time between when the quarry was originally mined during the Iron Age and the construction of the church atop it, the area to which the burial site is attributed had (at one time) been used for agriculture, based on the discovery of 2,000 year-old olive trees and grapevines. 'Low stone walls were erected, and the space between them was filled with dirt,' noted Stasolla, who added: 'The archaeobotanical findings have been especially interesting for us, in light of what is mentioned in the Gospel of John, whose information is considered written or collected by someone familiar with Jerusalem at the time. The Gospel mentions a green area between the Calvary and the tomb, and we identified these cultivated fields.' Stasolla acknowledged that a full analysis of all the artifacts uncovered during the excavation, which also included coins and pottery dating roughly to the 4th century, would take years to complete. As for whether this discovery definitively proved the burial site of Christ, Stasolla chose to look at it from a different angle. 'The real treasure we are revealing is the history of the people who made this site what it is by expressing their faith here,' she told the Times. 'Whether someone believes or not in the historicity of the Holy Sepulchre, the fact that generations of people did is objective. The history of this place is the history of Jerusalem, and at least from a certain moment, it is the history of the worship of Jesus Christ.' You Might Also Like Nicole Richie's Surprising Adoption Story The Story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Her Mother Queen Camilla's Life in Photos
