Arabs living in the holy city for the last 5,000 years: Jordanian think tank

Jordanian think tank named Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute seeks to correct the misperception that Arabs are newcomers to Jerusalem.

The institute, an Islamic non-governmental entity, is headed by Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, personal envoy and special adviser to King Abdullah II of Jordan, since 2000.

The 108-page document quotes passages from the Old Testament to establish that “Jerusalem was always an Arab city” and notes that,

“the Palestinian Arabs of today are largely the direct descendants of the indigenous Canaanite Arabs who were there over 5,000 years ago.

Modern-day Arab Muslim and Christian Palestinian families (such as the “Kanaan” tribe, direct descendants of the Canaanites) are the oldest inhabitants of the land.”

The white paper also reiterates that “whenever Muslims controlled Jerusalem (in 638, 1187 and 1948), they did not expel Christians and Jews.”

The Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif in Jerusalem is one of Islam’s three holy sites.  According to the classical commentaries on the Qur’an, “the city,” “the land,” “the Holy Land,” “the Mount,” “the Temple” and “the Olive” all refer to Jerusalem or places in Jerusalem.

Courtesy : arabnews