Youssef Ziedan, and Egyptian philosopher, religious scholar and bestselling author of the book Azazeel, that was published in 16 languages, has set Cairo’s intellectual circles aflame with the bombastic claim that the Prophet Mohammed never even set foot in Jerusalem.
The word “Jerusalem” does not appear in the Koran. Instead, the holy text holds that Mohammed was sent by God from Mecca to “al-Aksa,” and long-time convention holds that al-Aksa is located on the Temple Mount, haram el-Sharif, in the heart of ancient Jerusalem.
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In an appearance in the popular chat show Cairo Today, on the Al-Youm network, Ziedan told the taken-aback anchor, Amru Adib, that “the Jews sanctified Jerusalem, and we came after them and said it’s ours. Who even are you? The Jews laugh at us for this. We saw them sanctifying Jerusalem and followed.”
In his estimation ancient Muslims “prayed facing north, like the Jews, towards Jerusalem,” Ziedan said, and not towards mecca.
But the most scandalous of his contentions is that, in his judgment, the “alAksa” mentioned in the Koran isn’t and never was Jerusalem. “The scandal is that when asked is Jerusalem the ‘al-Aksa’ mentioned in the Koran, to which God took Mohammed, Ziedan replied “I don’t think it is,’” says Jackie Hougi, the Israel Army Radio reporter who broke news of the uproar.
At issue is a pillar of Islamic belief, the Mi’raj, Muhammad’s voyage to heaven. It is on that voyage that Mohammed received instructions from God that are the bedrock of Muslim faith.
After Ziedan’s shocking assertion, Hougi says, people are asking “if the Mi’raj didn’t happen, then what?”