Right now, most of the pitched battles between Muslims and Jews in Jerusalem concerns Jews trying to pray in the vicinity of the spurious Al-Aqsa. I say spurious since any competent historian, with only the must rudimentary knowledge, could dismiss Muslim claims in five minutes or less.

The Muslims assert that Mohammed rode al-Buraq -- a mule with the face of a woman -- to Al Aqsa (the Furthest Mosque), in Jerusalem, where from thence, he ascended to heaven.

The ascent to heaven is called: al-Miraj, from where we get the word: mirage. A more ridiculous and fantabulous story could not be postulated. 

The official histories of Islam note that, at that time, Mohammed was in the Hejaz -- the west coast of Saudi Arabia. The armies of Islam would not reach Jerusalem until five years after Mohammed’s death. Hence, there was no mosque in Jerusalem for Mohammed to visit in his lifetime. Offical Islamic histories undercut Islam’s ridiculous claims.

The whole story is an outright lie, and you probably read this in under five minutes. Al-Aqsa should be referred to as “The Southern Mosque,” in reference to its location on the Temple Mount. It does not merit the Islamic title.

There is an even more damaging theory, starting to bubble up in academic circles, that Islam actually came out of Petra, not Mecca, and that Mohammed is a quasi-historical figure, invented by the Caliph Abd al-Malik in order to create a mythology to legitimize his power base.

If so, Mohammed, of Petra, might conceivably have visited Jerusalem as a “tourist.” However, the rest of the whole history of Islam falls apart -- as Mecca would be shown to be a fraud; and hence, Islam itself would be demonstrably false at the core, with any of its claims to Al-Aqsa being equally false.

Either way, Al-Aqsa is a historical fraud.

Yet, the greatest historical atrocity on the Temple Mount is not Al-Aqsa, but the Dome of the Rock. However, that is overlooked and rarely mentioned. The Dome gets a pass because it dominates the skyline in Jerusalem’s Old City.

So what is the Dome of the Rock?

The Dome of the Rock is situated on Mount Moriah, on the Foundation Stone, a rock where, according to the Bible, and Jewish commentary, Abraham attempted to perform a sacrifice of his only legitimate son, Isaac -- before an angel of the Lord stopped him.

Now, whether one believes in evolution or a literal six-day Genesis creation account, the historicity of Abraham -- unlike Mohammed -- is beyond question.  Abraham absolutely existed; even the Arab Muslims claim him as their ancestor, Ibriham.

The Binding of Isaac (in anticipation of sacrifice) is considered the most important event at the start of Jewish history, and is given the name, the Akedah (Heb: the Binding). The Holy of Holies, inside the Jewish Temple, was later situated on this very rock.

Jewish legends believe the world was created from this Foundation Stone,

The world was not created until God took a stone called Even haShetiya and threw it into the depths where it was fixed from above till below, and from it the world expanded. It is the centre point of the world and on this spot stood the Holy of Holies." -- Wikipedia, quoting the Zohar

Since Israel is at the confluence of three continents, and not the exact center of the planet, I take such commentary as poetic reference, and not literal geography -- though it is close.

Recently, there were signs placed around the Temple Mount which read:

Jewish tradition teaches that the Temple Mount is the focal point of Creation. In the center of the mountain lies the 'Foundation Stone' of the world. Here Adam came into being. Here Abraham, Isaac and Jacob served G-d. The First and Second Temples were built upon this mountain … -- Israel National News

It is clear that this Foundation Stone is far more central to Judaism than it could possibly be to the Muslims, who have their own rock -- the Black Stone -- back in Mecca. Not content with their counterfeit stone, the Muslims have decided to appropriate the Temple Mount merely to deprive the Jews of their history.

The point here is that from Abraham to the first century A.D., there is a seamless connection of Jewish history -- at or near that Foundation Stone -- from Abraham, to Isaac, to the Temple, to the Holy of Holies -- even to Jesus, who was Jewish. There are many who take the connection back further to Adam and Eve, all in the vicinity of that Foundation Stone. And there are some who believe that the Ark of the Covenant is in the vicinity as well.

In [Eze 28:14], God seems to equate Eden with “the holy mountain of God,” which is identified in Scripture as Mount Moriah, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

This might indicate that the Eden’s Garden was located in what is modern day Jerusalem. -- OAOA.com

This Foundation Stone is equally important for Christians.

According to Christian theology, Jesus was crucified outside the city, to bear the disgrace of all sinners. Calvary was not too far from the Foundation Stone, probably only 1500 feet or less.

The whole point of the Bible is that Man fell, and God would have to bring Man back to the central location, where that Fall occurred, to deal with the consequences of that Fall. Christians believe Jesus dealt with that Fall at nearby Calvary. Both Jews and Christians believe the Messiah will come (or come back) to the nearby Mount of Olives. All within walking distance -- a Sabbath day’s walk?! -- of the Foundation Stone.

The Jewish artist, Marc Chagall, created an insightful image of the Akedah where on the upper right of the drawing there is a picture of Christ at Calvary. In Chagall’s painting, there is a symbolic flow of red (blood) from Calvary back to the Binding of Isaac. Though Jewish, Chagall understood this connection between Abraham’s binding of Isaac and Christianity’s Crucifixion. Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son Isaac, while to Christians, God would sacrifice His Son.

Now, even if one is agnostic, or an atheist, there is no doubt that a man called Abraham existed. There is no doubt that the Jewish Temple was where the Temple Mount is today, and that it was Jewish, There is no doubt that Jesus existed -- even if one does not accept the Resurrection.

That center is the Foundation Stone which the Muslims have appropriated as the Dome of the Rock.

Yet, it looks so pretty on the Jerusalem skyline that it is admired rather than seen as the historical crime that it is.

That Golden Dome -- the gold leaf was only installed around sixty years ago -- is nothing but a thumb in the eye of legitimate history, whether one takes that history only to the secular level, or goes deeper into spiritual realms. It is a fraud, even worse than the adjacent Southern Mosque [Al-Aqsa], and should not be admired, but detested as such.

To strike a biblical phrase -- which since this is the Holy Land, is appropriate -- the Dome of the Rock is like a well-festooned harlot: attractive to behold, but underneath the facade is festering disease. The disease is the Islamic claim.

The Al-Aqsa lie, by comparison, is a sideshow.