Dr. Sharif AbuShammala
CEO, Al-Quds Foundation Malaysia
Since the Islamic conquest in 16
HD / 636 AD, the era of the Crusader occupation of Jerusalem (al-Quds) was one of the worst and hardest
periods in the history of the city in general and al-Aqsa Mosque in particular.
The holy city
continued under the Crusader occupation for 88 years (1099 - 1187), Muslims
were forbidden to pray in al-Aqsa which was converted to headquarters for the
invading Crusader forces coming from Europe.
The fleets of
the Crusader armies sailed from Europe, motivated by the
instigation of the clerics to liberate the Holy Sepulchre from the Muslims, but
the economic objectives and colonial ambitions of the leaders of these
campaigns were clearer than hiding those religious claims. The Crusader forces
invaded the Islamic lands led by European princes and knights, exploiting the weakness state of Islamic states and emirates which were in civil wars
competing each other.
After the fall
down of many cities in the Levant ‘Sham’ and the establishment of the Crusader emirates,
the Crusaders arrived to al-Quds, which was under the control of the Fatimid,
and they imposed a siege on it for forty days until they managed to storm it in
492 AH / 1099 AD. According to the Crusader historians’ narrations; over three
days, the Crusaders killed all those who were in the city, whether they were
residents or just seeking the protection until the bodies filled its streets
and alleys. Some sources estimated the
death toll at 70 thousand until it
became difficult to walk through the streets of the city.
During the Crusade horrific attacks on al-Quds
city, thousands of residents resorted to al-Aqsa mosque seeking the protection because they believed the sanctity of the holy mosque would be prevention without killing them,
but the Crusaders slaughtered them inside the mosque. There are many sources talked about these
massacres, whether Islamic or Crusade; According to
the Gesta
Francorum, "...[the Crusaders] were killing and slaying even to the Temple
of Solomon [Al-Aqsa], where the slaughter was so great that our men waded in
blood up to their ankles..." According to Raymond of Aguilers. Despite the
horrible massacres that the people of Bait al-Maqdis have been subjected to in
the streets and roads "But these were small matters compared to what
happened at the Temple of Solomon [Al-Aqsa], a place where
religious services are ordinarily chanted. What happened there? If I tell the
truth, it will exceed your powers of belief. So let it suffice to say this
much, at least, that in the Temple and porch of Solomon, men rode in blood up
to their knees and bridle reins. Indeed, it was a just and splendid judgment of
God that this place should be filled with the blood of the unbelievers, since
it had suffered so long from their blasphemies. The city was filled with
corpses and blood. ". Fulcher of Chartres in his book “A History of the
Expedition to Jerusalem” says: “others fled to the temples of the Lord and of
Solomon. A great fight took place in the court and porch of the temples, where
they were unable to escape from our gladiators. Many fled to the roof of the
temple of Solomon, and were shot with arrows, so that they fell to the ground
dead. In this temple almost ten thousand were killed. Indeed, if you had been
there you would have seen our feet colored to our ankles with the blood of the
slain. But what more shall I relate? None of them were left alive; neither women
nor children were spared”. Fulcher of Chartres adds that the crusader commander, Tancred, plundered large amounts of gold, silver and precious stones from al-Aqsa
Mosque.
The Muslim historian Ibn al-Atheer mentioned in
the events of year 492 AH “The Crusaders killed more than seventy thousand at
al-Aqsa Mosque, including a large group of Muslim imams, scholars, worshippers,
and mystics who left their homes to live next to the holy mosque" He adds
details of the value of the properties taken from al-Aqsa Mosque; from the Dome
of the Rock a little more than forty silver candelabras, The price of each
candelabra was three thousand and six hundred dirhams, they also took one
hundred and fifty silver candelabras from the small candelabras and more than
twenty golden candelabras. He concludes: They took away what could not be
counted”
Crusaders used those who kept them alive to clean the streets of al-Quds
city from the bodies as well as the yards of al-Aqsa Mosque. They began to
reuse al-Aqsa Mosque, so they carried out several procedures aimed at changing
the landmarks and the nature of al-Aqsa Mosque and turning it into Crusader
facilities; such as:
1.
The Crusader King of Jerusalem, called ‘Baldwin’
turned al-Quds city into a Crusader kingdom after the occupation and moved his
royal residence to al-Qibly Mosque.
2.
When the Crusader king moved to another place, al-Qibly
Mosque was given to the Knights Templars who are distinguished by their cruelty
and Crusader extremism. They changed its features and covered its decorations, divided it into
rooms, halls and sections: a church, a residence, stores and an administrative
headquarters.
3.
They turned the Dome of the Rock into a church,
and called it "The Holy of Holies" after covering its internal
Islamic features and symbols by images, statues and Christian symbols and they
raised a huge golden cross over it.
4.
The Knights Templars turned al-Musalla
al-Marwani (located in the south-eastern corner of al-Aqsa Mosque) into a
stable for their horses, and they pierced its columns to tie their horses, and
called it (Solomon’s Stables), which is adopted at the present time by many
foreign references unlike the original name.
5.
The Dome of the Chain was turned into a church.
6.
They started to build a church in the courtyard
of al-Aqsa Mosque and did not complete it.
7.
They turned the western part of the mosque into
a warehouse for the weapons and supplies of the Crusader soldiers.
During the period of the Crusader Occupation, the priests used to cut
parts from the rock of Bait al-Maqdis which is located in the Dome of the Rock
and sell them to the pilgrims and visitors with their equivalent weight by gold
to return these pieces to their country to gain the blessing as they claimed. So,
some of their kings ordered to cover the rock by marble and surround it by a
steel barrier to protect and keep it safe if this trade continues.
This painful situation remained throughout the
era of the Crusader occupation of Bait al-Maqdis for nearly 90 years until the conquest
of al-Quds when Sultan Salah al-Din and his Mujahideen liberated al-Aqsa Mosque
in 583AH (1187AD).