Church of the Nativity

Once again, in yet another forum, ancient symbols of a religion other than Islam are being brought into the Islamic fold, their history and heritage co-opted.  Through antiquity to the present, Islam has converted buildings consecrated to religions other than Islam, to Islamic shrines and places of worship.  Just as Islam and the Koran have adapted and adopted parts of religions that pre-dated their own, to form an integral part of Islamic worship.

But Islamists do not stop at conversions of buildings and adoptions of saints and signal personages of huge importance to other religions.  They also destroy shrines dedicated to versions of Islam of which they do not approve.  And they destroy vestiges and symbols of other religions just as the Taliban destroyed the colossal stone Buddhas of the Bamiyan Valley in Afghanistan.


The Abraham of the Old Testament is also their Abraham, the Christ of the New Testament is also their Christ, as is Mary and various Old Testament figures.  The Judaic and Christian patriarchs and prophets have been claimed by Islam.  And the Church of the Nativity where Jesus was born has now also been claimed by the Palestinian Authority.


Just as the sacred places of other religions are claimed, so too is the ancient land claimed by a people who had no historical connection whatever to the land.  And so, UNESCO helpfully acquiesces to the PA's plan to validate their rights to territory through claims seen as needful of international support.  "We are ecstatic", says Palestinian spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi.

And Jerusalem, the ancient capital of historical Judaic culture, where the most sacred relic of the ancient Temple of Solomon, retaining wall still stands, has also been co-opted by Islam and Arabs.  To Jews it is Jerusalem, the City of Light, to Arabs it is al Quds where Mohammed was said to have risen to heaven upon his horse, from the Temple Mount. 


And the Temple Mount is where the remains of the Temple of Solomon and its sanctuary lay.  Over top of which was built an Islamic shrine, much later converted to a mosque, on what the Arabs call the Dome of the Rock.  Where worshipful Jews are not permitted to enter lest they disturb the sensibilities of Arabs; restrained by resentment and hatred from praying at their most cherished religious symbol.



"The world needs to remember that the Church of the Nativity that is so sacred to Christianity was desecrated in the past by Palestinian terrorists", reminded Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu.  These were the Palestinian terrorists whom the IDF were in pursuit of, who made themselves comfortable within the basilica while Israeli tanks and troops surrounded them for over a month.


Those churches who take revolving charge of the shrine - Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian - are all uneasy at this turn of events where World Heritage designation may lead to interference by the Palestinian government and the United Nations body in the affairs that they administer in charge of the church.

UNESCO reached its decision to list the Church and provide for repairs despite a UN experts committee having rejected the argument that the church is under threat.  For their part Israeli officials have no objection to the listing of the church, but they do to the "endangered" status which implies neglect on the part of Israel.


The Palestinian Tourism Minister is anticipating a rise in the number of international visitors to the site and to Bethlehem, thanks to the new heritage listing.  And the Palestinian Authority sees this as yet another victory in their stealth campaign to gain full legitimacy as a newly-minted sovereign state, bypassing the urgency of peace talks with Israel leading to statehood.