Terra Sancta

We paused for a moment below the larger-than-large billboard to read its clear, emphatic message. The proclamation in Arabic and an awkwardly phrased English translation said :

“And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers.” My guests (business associates from England) were transfixed by this unequivocal declaration of exclusivity placed less than a muezzin's call from the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

Well I suppose all the monotheistic faiths lay claim to an exclusive right-of entrance to the next world. Many promise a heaven to come for their believers sometimes phrased on billboards too. However they usually respect a certain territorial etiquette, keeping the message by their own gate.

The billboard is also a form of protest expressing a deep rooted frustration.

In 1994, ahead of the millennium commemorations the Nazareth municipal council with the support of the Israeli government embarked on a programme to significantly upgrade the city's tourist infrastructure in anticipation of a hoped-for record number of tourists. One of the plans called for the demolition of an old Ottoman school adjacent to the Basilica of the Annunciation and turning the vacant plot into a Venetian-style plaza. However local Islamic Movement leaders claimed the school was built on waqf (Islamic trusteeship) land and that it should be handed over to the waqf. The local and state authorities rejected the claims and in December 1997 they went ahead with the demolition work. Almost simultaneously thousands of Muslims moved in and occupied the disputed plot of land. They erected a large makeshift tent mosque and put up a billboard showing an illustration of a mosque they planned to build on the site.

On the north side of the plaza-to-be there's a small tomb which tradition holds is the burial place of Shehab el-Din, nephew of the famous Muslim hero Saladin. Shehab completed his uncle's work and drove the last of Crusaders from the Holy Land (for the time being). The tomb lies a mere 100 metres from the Basilica of the Annunciation. For more than eight hundred years Shehab el-Din has rested peacefully, an almost anonymous figure. For almost four hundred years the children and their teachers in the Ottoman school let nephew Shehab rest undisturbed. Then suddenly with the approach of the millennium there was an urgent need to honour his memory by building a mosque.

One journalist described the proposed place of worship as follows: “The minaret of the mosque would be topped by a laser-lit crescent and would tower over the already imposing cone-shaped dome of the adjacent basilica."

The plan to build the mosque was clearly a case of Islamic one-upmanship.

The Israeli High Court of Justice dismissed the Muslim claim, but did grant permission for a smaller mosque to be built on the lot. The Solomonic decision to divide the land for use as a mosque and tourist plaza frustrated both sides and led to three days of rioting during Easter 1999, in which 28 people were injured and a number of shops were torched.

In October 1999 the Vatican's envoy to Israel criticised the compromise decision. He said that it jeopardised the pope's visit in the year 2000.His words have a particular relevance, bringing to mind the Ground Zero mosque imbroglio. “The plans to build a mosque are a provocative act. The Vatican has expressed its opposition. If a mosque is needed, very well, but not in that place." ….. "The Holy Father has a position of strong solidarity with the Christians of Nazareth and with the Christians of the Holy Land. He would like to see them duly protected in their rights and in their dignity."

In November 1999, Bishop Joseph Fiorenza, president of the U.S. National Conference of Catholic Bishops, protested the decision by the Israeli government to allow the mosque to be built. He wrote that the Christians in Nazareth are "fearful that the building of the mosque will only worsen their already insecure place in the community."

A few days later the leaders of the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Armenian Churches in the Holy Land and the Franciscan ''Custos of the Holy Land,'' released a declaration that stated (in part) that ''all Sanctuaries of the Holy Land will be closed on the 22^nd and 23^rd of November 1999." They felt that the Israeli decision was ''clear discrimination against the Christian community in Galilee.'' Suleiman Abu Ahmed, a local Muslim leader, commented: ''I can't believe what I am hearing. I thought that religious people were supposed to be more forgiving."

Although government permission for the construction of a small mosque was given no permit was issued. Notwithstanding this, the construction work was started.

With pressure mounting an about-face was inevitable and in January 2002 the Israeli government reversed its earlier decision and ordered a stop to the construction of the controversial mosque and then, at dawn in June 2003, the Ministry of the Interior sent in bulldozers, backed by 500 police, to destroy the foundations of the mosque.

Today, a limestone-paved plaza provides tourists with a place to gather before and after visiting the Church of the Annunciation.

The news media was quick to blame the government for mishandling the mosque dilemma. In retrospect it seems there was no amicable solution to that no-win problem which is still unresolved. Today a modest structure without a minaret serves as a makeshift mosque.

The fact that the mosque was to be built right next to and towering over the Basilica of the Annunciation, and was to be located within easy walking distance (less than 500 metres) of two additional mosques, seems to suggest that some Muslims in Nazareth did indeed want the mosque to overshadow one of Christendom’s most holy places and to put the one-time majority Christians of Nazareth in their new minority place.

At this juncture it’s pertinent to mention that throughout mediaeval Christendom, and even later still, no synagogue was permitted to “out-steeple” a church. While we are in the realm of spires and domes its worth recalling that the “Hurva” synagogue in Jerusalem’s Jewish quarter, which was destroyed by the Jordanian army in 1948 and was recently rebuilt, now towers higher than the Dome of the Rock mosque. Maybe St James Cathedral in the Armenian quarter is a tad higher than the synagogue and the mosque.

A little further south on Mt. Zion is the Church of the Dormitian. According to local tradition, it was here that the Virgin Mary passed into eternity.

Close by is a Crusader period building that strangely enough (also according to tradition) houses King David’s tomb, a Muslim prayer room and a room claimed to be the site of the Last Supper. Now when the Church of the Dormition was built in 1910 its bell tower was positioned purposely, out of regard for Muslim sensitivity, so that its shadow wouldn’t fall on the Muslim prayer room (Nebi Da’ud).

Back to Nazareth and the Basilica of the Annunciation For many years the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land wanted to replace the 17^th century church built over the ruins of earlier churches. The old church barely accommodated the needs of the local community and the growing volume of Christian tourists. Over the many centuries of Islamic rule in the Holy Land no new churches were built. Reconstruction and repairing of damaged and destroyed churches was often forbidden or postponed. The situation improved in the 19^th century when the much weakened Ottoman Empire had to accede to requests from European rulers to renovate old churches and build new ones. The situation improved further under the British Mandatory government. At the same time it was mindful of the sensitivity of the local Muslim population and tried to avoid conflicts.

Israeli governments have helped church construction and on occasions have acted as mediators whenever sectarian disputes erupted (in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem).

The rebuilding of the Basilica in Nazareth was fraught with indecision and delays. Finally, in 1951 the Custody put aside a preliminary design by the noted architect Antonio Barluzzi and commissioned Professor Giovanni Muzio to prepare fresh plans for a basilica. Barluzzi designed many churches and other Christian institutions in this country. The decision to discard his design and commission Muzio to build the Basilica instead was a veritable death blow. He died before the new church was consecrated.

The decision to choose Professor Muzio's design met with some opposition in Catholic circles. Muzio a modernist was closely associated with the Novecento Italiano group, an Italian artistic movement. At one time some of its members were supporters of Benito Mussolini. Il Duce took no great interest in art; however his mistress, the writer and art critic Margherita Sarfatti commanded a pivotal influence in the Novecento Italiano group. The group disbanded long before Giovanni Muzio was commissioned to design the Basilica in Nazareth. Incidentally Antonio Barluzzi was not without "original sin." He designed the Church of Beatitudes which stands on the hill thought to be the site of the Sermon on the Mount.The church was commissioned by Benito Mussolini.

Giovanni Muzio's design for the Basilica of the Annunciation incorporated the Grotto of the Annunciation and preserved the remains of both the Byzantine and Crusader churches built over it. The design is a major departure from traditional and contemporary church architecture in this country. The massive use of bare concrete creates a powerful but austere atmosphere with unmistakable symbolism. I recommend a visit.

There's an ironic twist in the final chapter of the saga of the Basilica.

The man whose design was rejected, Antonio Barluzzi had a prior association with Mussolini's Fascist government. The chosen architect Giovanni Muzio was also tainted with Fascist affinities via Novecento Italiano. However, the church was built by the Israeli construction company Solel Boneh.

No doubt you are wondering why I chose to write about matters sacred when I usually mention our profane politics and the bitter conflicts with our neighbours.

I had earmarked a number of topics for this week’s letter; the foreign workers problem and the dilemma of the status of their children, the scandal surrounding the appointment of a new IDF chief of staff to replace Gabi Ashkenazi, Gaza, Lebanon even Syria and of course the inevitable showdown with Iran.

In this hyperactive country there’s never a dearth of existential threats, political intrigues and human interest items.

However, this week I was in no mood to deal with the profane so instead I chose the sacred. Admittedly not all that is holy is wholesome.

Having said this I’ll add that some good things have happened: A summary of the second fiscal quarter of the year 2010 showed a 4.7% increase in economic growth. An interesting collaboration between Israel and Saudi Arabia has come to light. The IDB Group, chaired by Israeli businessman Nochi Dankner, is establishing a $1 billion investment fund together with Saudi partners in the Swiss bank - Credit Suisse to invest in emerging markets in Latin America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

In addition to the large reserves of natural gas in the Mediterranean near Haifa, a test drilling near Rosh HaAyin north of Tel Aviv seems to indicate that somewhere below the surface there’s a large workable oil field.

Maybe God is on our side after all.

Have a good weekend.

Beni 19^th of August, 2010.