The Middle East has been the home of violence for years but it remains to be seen whether religion is being used as the get-out clause in the continuing conflict.
Events in Jerusalem this week are a stark reminder of the unstable nature in the Middle East. In one of the most disputed areas of land in the whole world there seems to be little disagreement between the different groups about its holy significance, but instead a whole host of arguments about who lays claim to its holiness.
The most recent argument surrounds a small hill in the Old City of Jerusalem. Jews call it Temple Mount and say it marks the site of their ancient temples; while Muslims call it the Noble Sanctuary and say it is where the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) ascended to heaven.
In 2001, then Israeli opposition leader, Ariel Sharon, visited the site with his security contingent, which in itself sparked riots and eventually claimed hundreds of lives. In 2005, bad weather caused the collapse of the small stone ramp Sharon used to enter the site.
Now, six years later, as repair work is due to begin on the ramp, more conflict has started over Israeli plans to repair it. As the Israeli digging work is about to begin to construct the new ramp, Muslims argue that the excavation work is too close to the holy site – threatening the existence Al-Aqsa Mosque – and should not go ahead. Meanwhile, Israelis say that the work is about 60 metres from the holy site and so the site itself will not be affected.
What appears to be clear in this situation is not that one group is right and the other is wrong but that both sides have not helped themselves in this continuing and increasingly violent battle. This most recent part of the conflict clearly involves religion and the asserting of one set of religious views over another, but what is also important is how much this fighting is really based on the religions.
It seems as though, far from having its foundation in religion, the situation in the area is so precarious that any action can be construed as an act of aggression and the other side is quick to act. Religion is now almost an inconsequential reason for the tensions between the groups to be released.
Whether religion will ever come back into the equation is another matter, but it will take a strong leader to be prepared to tackle to issue and bring the situation back down to reality where religion is once again the focus of the area.
