IS Vows To Follow Islamic Tradition Of Capturing, Neglecting Jerusalem

Jerusalem’s history bears evidence of this repeating pattern, from the initial Islamic conquest in the seventh century CE to the relatively short-lived Jordanian occupation of 1948-1967.

Ar-Raqqah, Syria, June 3 – A spokesman for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant today affirmed his group’s aspiration to reclaim Jerusalem on behalf of all Muslims and, following the example of every other Muslim conqueror of the city, to subject it to neglect and deprivation.

Abu Mohammad Al-Adnani, the movement’s chief spokesman, told an assembly of loyalists that Daesh, as the Islamic State is more commonly known, would soon be at the very gates of the holy city, which it would “liberate in fire in the name of Allah and His prophet,” and, following a brief period of flaunting the achievement and focusing attention on Jerusalem, would “emulate the shining example of Muslim rulers of yore who relegated Al-Quds to backwater status,” referring to the city by its appellation in Arabic.

Militarily and politically Daesh remains far from accomplishing such an objective, but admirers and followers find Al-Adnani’s pronouncement heartening. “I cannot wait for this dream to be fulfilled, that the Muslim Umma may once again take control of its third-holiest shrine and treat it as it should be treated: with a few months, maybe a year, of showcasing the place, followed by decades, even centuries, of letting it decay,” gushed Ali Moot of Jerusalem’s Old City, who has proudly but furtively flown the Daesh flag from the terrace of his second-floor home. “I pray it lasts for eternity, of course.”

Jerusalem’s history bears evidence of this repeating pattern, from the initial Islamic conquest in the seventh century CE to the relatively short-lived Jordanian occupation of 1948-1967. Umayyads, Abbasids, Seljuks, Fatimids, Mameluks, Ottomans, and other Muslim conquerors trumpeted the vanquishing of their foes at Jerusalem and their achievement in securing control of the holy city as nothing less than divine endorsement of their endeavors, an endorsement they acknowledged by investing briefly in rebuilding the fortifications and some institutions in the city, then forgetting about it until it became threatened or captured by other powers.

Apart from the prestige of returning Jerusalem to Muslim control, Daesh specifically objects to Israel’s continued investment in the infrastructure and civic life of the city. “As our forebears demonstrated, it is a violation of Islamic tradition to maintain the development and importance of Al-Quds beyond the initial years that follow conquest of the city,” explained Al-Adnani. “The Zionist pig-dogs have imposed an unnatural state of affairs on our third-holiest place, and we will not rest until we can sweep them away and once again make the city into the boondocks in keeping with the way Islamic tradition has always treated it,” he said.

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