Another Islamapedia article - on Al-Aqsa

[Peter]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Al-Aqsa_Mosque#Unhistorical_Islamic_propaganda
Unhistorical Islamic propaganda

Like so much of Wikipedia these days, this article confuses history, with Islamic so-called "tradition" that was all created and put to the pen in the 7th to 10th centuries AD that masquerades as thousands of years of pre-Muhammad history, yet without reference to any actual history from before the 5th century AD. Every such reference needs to be moved to a segregated section labeled "Islamic Tradition". Is this supposed to be historical or not? I'll go ahead and add that category after all of the historical categories and transfer the germane sentences to that section.

The historical record tells us that the temple mount during Muhammad's day, and until 639, was being used as a garbage dump. So any speculation about any temple or anything else to do with worship on the temple mount in the 7th century is unhistorical. Prior to that there was one pagan temple that stood very briefly on the temple mount. The only claim Islam has to Israel or Jerusalem whatsoever, is Muhammad's entirely unwitnessed story that he rode on a buraq (like the one the Zoroastrian's fabled prophet rode on) one night and flew to Jerusalem, tied his buraq to a ring on the temple the prophets had used, and then went into the temple and prayed two rak'ahs in it. The problem with his story is that the temple of the prophets had been torn down 500 years before Muhammad claimed he prayed in it. Then he claimed to have flown on his buraq from Jerusalem on up to "paradise" and back to Mecca - all in one night.

The article states: "The historical significance of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Islam is further emphasized by the fact that Muslims turned towards al-Aqsa when they prayed for a period of sixteen or seventeen months after migration to Medina in 624, thus it became the qibla ("direction") that Muslims faced for prayer." There was no al-Aqsa in 624, so if they were praying specifically toward the temple mount, they were praying toward a garbage dump. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Mount#Sassanid_vassal_state_period I would like to hope that their qibla was actually to Jerusalem - to Israel - to THE Holy Land of the prophets and patriarchs rather than a garbage dump. PeterWaldo (talk) 17:53, 3 March 2012 (UTC)

[Peter]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Al-Aqsa_Mosque#Unhistorical_propaganda
Like so much of Wikipedia these days, this article confuses history, with Islamic so-called "tradition" that was all created and put to the pen in the 7th to 10th centuries AD that masquerades as thousands of years of pre-Muhammad history, yet without reference to any actual history from before the 5th century AD. Every such reference needs to be moved to a segregated section labeled "Islamic Tradition". Is this supposed to be historical or not?

The historical record tells us that the temple mount during Muhammad's day, and until 639, was being used as a garbage dump. So any speculation about any temple or anything else to do with worship on the temple mount in the 7th century is unhistorical. Prior to that there was one pagan temple that stood very briefly on the temple mount. The only claim Islam has to Israel or Jerusalem whatsoever, is Muhammad's entirely unwitnessed story that he rode on a buraq (like the one the Zoroastrian's fabled prophet rode on) one night and flew to Jerusalem, tied his buraq to a ring on the temple the prophets had used, and then went into the temple and prayed two rak'ahs in it. The problem with his story is that the temple of the prophets had been torn down 500 years before Muhammad claimed he prayed in it. Then he claimed to have flown on his buraq from Jerusalem on up to "paradise" and back to Mecca - all in one night.

The article states: "The historical significance of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Islam is further emphasized by the fact that Muslims turned towards al-Aqsa when they prayed for a period of sixteen or seventeen months after migration to Medina in 624, thus it became the qibla ("direction") that Muslims faced for prayer." There was no al-Aqsa in 624, so if they were praying specifically toward the temple mount, they were praying toward a garbage dump. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Mount#Sassanid_vassal_state_period The same section of the article even tacitly admits that Omar found a garbage dump which means that Muhammad would have been praying in a garbage dump on his "night journey" of fifteen years earlier. I would like to hope that their qibla was actually to Jerusalem - to Israel - to THE Holy Land of the prophets and patriarchs rather than a garbage dump.

The article even tacitly admits that Muhammad couldn't have prayed in a temple, and that the mount was a garbage dump: "Immediately after this conversation, Umar began to clean up the site—which was filled with trash and debris—with his cloak, and other Muslim followers imitated him until the site was clean. Umar then prayed at the spot where it was believed that Muhammad had prayed before his night journey, reciting the Qur'anic sura Sad.[61] Thus, according to this tradition, Umar thereby reconsecrated the site as a mosque."

But Muhammad didn't claim he tied his buraq up to, or prayed in, a "spot": Sahih Muslim, Book 001, Number 0309: It is narrated on the authority of Anas b. Malik that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: I was brought al-Buraq Who is an animal white and long, larger than a donkey but smaller than a mule, who would place his hoof a distance equal to the range of vision. I mounted it and came to the Temple (Bait Maqdis in Jerusalem), then tethered it to the ring used by the prophets. I entered the mosque and prayed two rak'ahs in it, and then came out and Gabriel brought me a vessel of wine and a vessel of milk. PeterWaldo (talk) 17:53, 3 March 2012 (UTC)