(Jerusalem Post) Lori Lowenthal Marcus - The Simon Wiesenthal Center has been accused by Muslim leaders of building its new Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem atop a Muslim cemetery. In the early 1920s the grand mufti of Jerusalem issued a fatwa or religious decree declaring that the Mamilla Cemetery was no longer sacred ground, and was therefore available for building. Accordingly, in 1929 Arabs removed graves and built the Palace Hotel atop the cemetery's southern part. Shortly afterwards, the Muslim Supreme Council developed plans to build a university on a site that included the entire Mamilla Cemetery grounds.
2006-02-28 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive