Aref al-Aref (1892-1973) iwas a historian, journalist, and politician born in Jerusalem. Along with other pioneering intellectuals like : Musa al-Hussaini, Isa’af al-Nashashibi, and Khalil al-Sakakini, Aref created the Palestinian Nahda  or Renaissance in Jerusalem.^[1]

Education and Early Profession:

Aref was born and grew up in a time when Palestine was under the Ottoman Empire’s control. Like many of his generation who lived under the Turkish rule, Aref was fluent in Turkish and demonstrated intelligence as a young student.^[2] long with other Jerusalemites, he was granted a scholarship to study in Turkey during the era of the first world war, during which he served as a member of the Turkish army.^[3]

Soon after the war, Aref was captured and had to spend three years in a camp in Siberia. he unrest caused in the region by the Russian Revolution allowed him to escape and return to Palestine.^[4] There, he engaged in political activism and began working as an editor to the first Arab nationalist newspaper published in Jerusalem in 1919 Suriyya al-Janubbiyya in which he called for the unity of Palestine with Greater Syria.^[5]

Advocacy against Zionism:

Aref was a young man when the first clashes took place between the Jews immigrating to Palestine under the British Mandate and the native Arab citizens. He was known for his ability to mobilize and assemble youth  against the colonization of Palestine. He was arrested by the British mandate during the 1920 riots in Jerusalem, but  he managed to escape to Syria. The British court sentenced him to 10 years in prison in absentia on charges of fomenting the riots.^[6]

In Syria, Aref became a deputy in the General Syrian Congress. Along with Hajj Amin Husseini and others he  formed the Palestinian Arab Society and became its Secretary General. His stay in Syria was short-lived because  the new High Commissioner of Palestine Herbert Samuel issued a pardon that allowed Aref to return to Jerusalem, but the British government didn’t didn’t allow his newspaper office to re-open.^[7]

Positions held:

Upon his return from Syria, Aref was appointed as a civil servant under the British mandate. Later, he became the district administrative officer in Bir al-Sabi’ and many other Palestinian cities such as Jenin, Nablus, Bisan, Gaza and Jaffa.^[8] He also held the position of a ministerial officer in Jordan. Aref was appointed as the mayor of Jerusalem twice between the years of 1950 and 1955 at a time when the West Bank was under Jordanian rule. In 1967, Aref was appointed director of the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem–he was the last Arab to hold this position.^[9]

Books and intellectual works:

Aref left a legacy of historical, social and intellectual work. He was known for his pioneering work on the history of Jerusalem, Gaza and Asqalan, as well as his analysis of The Nakba.His close relationship to the bedouins during his job as a district administrative officer in Bir al-Sabi’ helped him in providing an ethnographic work on the Bedouin tribes and their traditions.^[10] His collection of works on the history of the Palestinian cities provides   detailed descriptions of the cities’ histories and their Arab character and culture..^[11] Some of his works include:^[12]

• Bedouin Love: Law and Legend, A History of Bir al-Sabi’ and its Tribes.
• History of Gaza
• History of Jerusalem
• Al-Nakba : the Catastrophe of Jerusalem and the Lost Paradise.

In his book he Detailed History of Jerusalem, Aref provides a thorough description of the city’s history from its early times to the modern era. The book also provides a valuable description of the city’s crafts, markets, mosques, schools, and water systems. This book is considered a treasure for any research into the city’s culture, economy,education,  religious landscape, and history,  .^[13]

Death and legacy:

Aref died in Ramallah on July 30, 1973.^[14] His beautiful villa in Bir al-Sabi’ which he built during his time working in the area,  is now a museum under Israeli control. Although Aref’s children tried to buy it to preserve their father’s literary and intellectual heritage, their efforts were denied. His extensive library was donated by his family to the universities of al-Quds and Bir Zeit.^[15]

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There are a number of terraces In the Al-Aqsa plaza– open spaces built above the surface of the main square accessible by means of different staircases. ^[1] 

These terraces were added to expand the available space available to people in the vicinity of the mosque in an aesthetically pleasing way.. They are often used for prayer, and have a mihrab^[2] to indicate the direction of the qibla, as well as spaces for different religious study circles and classes.^[3]

Number of Terraces in Al-Aqsa

Some sources indicate that throughout Islamic history, there have been a maximum of thirty-eight terraces in Al-Aqsa, while others indicate much less.  Regardless–the known terraces are all located near water facilities and the mosque gates. Most were built in the Mamluk and Ottoman periods, whereas  some were constructed more recently.^[4]Below is a list of the contemporary terraces of  the Al-Aqsa mosque:^[5]                                                                           

The Al-Basiri Terrace	The Eastern Arcature Terrace
The Sheikh Budeir Terrace	The Terrace of the Eastern Level Entrance
The Suleiman Terrace	The NorthEastern Terrace of the Eastern Sanctums
The Translation Terrace	The Southern Terrace
The Al-Zaher Terrace	The al-Karak Terrace
The Qaitbai Terrace	The Moroccan Terrace
The Ali Pasha Terrace	The Qattanin Terrace
The Tenkise School Terrace	The North Qattanin Gate Terrace
The Al-As’ardiah School Terrace	The Iron Gate Terrace
The Hetta Gate Terrace	The Honorary Terrace
The Suleiman Dome Terrace	The Moroccan Mosque Terrace
The  Al-Ghazali Terrace	The Funerals Terrace
The Ablution Terrace	The Mercy Gate Terrace
The Goblet Terrace
The Great Eastern Terrace
The Sabra and Shatila Terrace
The Al-Toumar Terrace
The Cylindrical Terrace
The Pine Terrace
The Floral Terrace
The Sha‘alan Water Facility Terrace
The Qasim Pasha Terrace
The Proximity of the Eastern Sanctums Terrace

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Nature of Al-Aqsa Gates

Al-Aqsa has many gates in its surrounding walls, all of which are made of wood and have of one or two shutters and an opening for praying latecomers who reach the gates after they are officially closed at sunset.^[1]

Not all of Al-Aqsa gates open, in fact, only the ones in the northern and western parts of the Al-Aqsa plaza are open, while the ones in the eastern and southern parts of the area are closed..^[2]

List of Al-Aqsa Gates

The Al-Aqsa Plaza is connected to the city of Jerusalem through ten open gates that are located on the northern and western sides of the plaza.^[3]

Gates on the northern side include The Lions Gate, The Hetta Gate, The King Faisal Gate, and The Ghawanimah Gate. ^[4]

Gates on the western side include Al-Nazer Gate, The Iron Gate, The Qattanin Gate, The Purified Gate, The Chain Gate, and The Moroccan Gate.^[5]

Of the closed gates, seven lead to the Al-Aqsa mosque–five of which lie on the eastern and southern sides (the Golden Gate and the Funerals gate,^[6]the Single Gate, the Double Gate, and the Triple Gate.^[7]) and the Barclay Gate and the C. Wamen Gate^[8] in the west.^[9]

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Map of Jerusalem, from ‘Civitates Orbis Terrarum’ by Georg Braun (1541-1622) and Frans Hogenberg (1535-90), c.1572

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Who is Ekrima Sabri (عكرمة صبري)?

Ekrima Sa‘id Sabri, born in 1939, is an influential religious figure in Jerusalem. He is the Imam and preacher of the Al-Aqsa mosque. He was also the Grand Mufti (المفتي الأكبر) of Palestine from 1994 -2006.

Ekrima is well known for his positions against the occupation and its policies in Jerusalem.

Who was Sa‘id Sabri(سعيد صبري)?

Sa‘id Sabri,Ekrima’s father, served as a judge in Jerusalem, a member of the Shari‘a Court of Appeal and a founding Member of the Supreme Islamic Council in Jerusalem.

Where Did Ekrima Sabri Study and Get his Education?

 As a result of his father, Ekrima was well-poised to become a religious leader and had access to educational opportunities to do so. He studied Religion and Classical Arabic in Baghdad,Iraq in the early 60s. He then obtained a masters degree from al-Najah University in Nablus,Palestine and a PhD in General Jurisprudence from the Faculty of Sharia and Law of Al-Azhar University in Egypt.^[1]

What Positions of Importance Does Sabri Hold?

Sabri held and still holds many sensitive and key positions not only in Jerusalem, but abroad.

In 1994, he was appointed by Yasser Arafat to the position of Grand Mufti of Palestine. He held this position until 2006. Below is a list of other local and international positions he has held or currently holds.. ^[2]

• Director of Preaching and Guidance in the West Bank and director of the Faculty of Islamic Sciences in Abu Dis
• Head of the Supreme Muslim Council in Jerusalem
• Founder and President of the Association of Scholars and Preachers
• Member of the Islamic Fiqh Academy in Jeddah
• Chairman of the Supreme Islamic Council in Jerusalem
• Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Jerusalem Islamic schools
• Chairman of the Islamic House of Mercy for the Elderly in Jerusalem
• Founding member of the YMCA in Jerusalem
• Honorary President of the Association of Blind Jerusalemites
• Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Supreme National Authority for Combating Drugs
• Member of the Board of Trustees of the World Union of Muslim Scholars

What Are The Works Sabri Has Published?

Sabri is the author of a number of published works on religion and Islamic contemporary thought. Below are some titles.:^[3]

• Islamic Endowment between Theory and Practice
• The Book of Enlightenment on Islamic Creed and Quranic Exegesis
• Compendium of the Science of the Foundations of Jurisprudence
• Highlighting the Miracles of the Quran
• Islam and Modernity
• Education in Islam
• Science is the Path to Faith
• Our Right to Palestine

What Role Has Sabri Played in Activism Against the Occupation?

Sabri is routinely questioned, interrogated and harassed by Israeli authorities ^[4] for his fierce opposition to the policy of Judaization and the continuous violations that occur at the hands of Israelis in the Aqsa Mosque and in East Jerusalem. Ekrima spoke out against the Israeli decision to silence the call to prayer in Jerusalem, and the Israeli decision to close the gates and arenas of to worshipers in 2017.  Sabri was hit by a rubber bullet after an Israeli attack on worshipers who refused to enter al-Aqsa through the electronic scanners placed by the Israeli government at the Lions Gate^[5] Following the Jerusalem riots of 2017, where he was arrested, the Israeli government has issued orders to bar Sabri from travel.

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The Yabous Cultural Center^[1] (YCC) is a Palestinian non-governmental organization based in Jerusalem. The YCC was established in 1995 when a number of artists and cultural enthusiasts thought about centralizing the movement of performing arts in Jerusalem. Suhail Khoury, a Palestinian musician and the Director General of Edward Said National Conservatory of Music , was at the forefront of the idea and founded the center in 1997.

The center aims at reviving the cultural scene in Jerusalem and supporting Arab art that reflects its historical, cultural, religious, and political character.

Today, YCC is considered the largest cultural center in Jerusalem. Since its establishment, the YCC has been engaged in producing and organizing cultural events in different genres of the performing arts, including the musical, literary, cinematic, and choreographic arts, and creating spaces for art and other exhibitions and special programs for youth, kids, and women.

In addition to its own programs that focus on Jerusalem and its people, the center also hosts events and programs for other Palestinian organizations.

The center’s activities and events can further be explored here.

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The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, or the Church of Resurrection according to the Eastern Orthodox Church,^[1] is located in the Christian Neighborhood in the northeastern quarter of the Old City in Jerusalem.,^[2] It lies on the hill of Golgotha where, according to Christians, Jesus was crucified and buried.^[3]

Importance of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Since 1810, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher has been home to the Stone of Anointing. Christians believe that Joseph prepared the body of Jesus was for burial by Joseph on this stone.^[4]

The building serves as the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and has been a place of pilgrimage since the fourth century AD.^[5]

In the second century AD, before the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as its formal religion, one of the temples of Aphrodite existed at the site instead of the Church.^[6] When, in 325 AD, the Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and declared it the official religion of the empire,^[7] his mother, the Empress Helena, ordered that a church be built there. She visited Jerusalem to supervise the process of construction.^[8] Some historians even claim that she engaged personally in the work and thereby discovered what is known as the True Cross upon which Jesus was believed to have been crucified.^[9]

In 614 AD, Persian empire sent forces to raid Jerusalem. They burnt the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and captured the True Cross and took it to Persia.^[10] Fifteen years later, in 629 AD, the Byzantine Emperor Hercules recaptured the city and the cross was returned as part of the conditions agreed upon in the peace treaty that ended the war between the Persian and Byzantine empires.^[11]

The Church after the Muslim Conquest

Churches remained protected institutions following the Muslim conquest of the city in The Umari covenant guaranteed the safety of the Christian citizens in the city and their freedom to worship. In general under Muslim rule, Christian-Muslim relations in the city were peaceful and tolerant–with few notable exceptions. At the end of the tenth century, during riots caused by some Fatimids followers, the roof and doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher were burnt and damaged.^[12]

Destruction and Renovation

In 1009, in the reign of the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was completely destroyed. ^[13] Christian Europe was enraged, but an agreement was reached between the new Fatimid Caliph, Al-Zaher who was the son of Al-Hakim and took over after his father’s death, to rebuild The Church and restore the damaged churches in the time of his father in addition to re-establish the patriarchate in Jerusalem in exchange for the of release of five thousand Muslim prisoners in Byzantium, and the re-opening of all the mosques that were closed in Europe.^[14] The agreement was reached in 1027-1028 but the re-construction continued until 1048. When the Turkish Seljuk dynasties took over the rule of Jerusalem after the Fatimids, relations between Christians and Muslims improved..^[15]

When the Crusaders took over Jerusalem, a series of renovations were undertaken, and The Church became the seat of the Latin Patriarchate.^[16] When Salah Al-Din recaptured Jerusalem in 1187, the Church remained a protected place and was a popular destination for pilgrims .^[17] Salah Al-Din then entrusted the keys of the Church to two Muslim families: Al-Nuseibah, and Al-Huseini who still hold them, and are responsible for opening The Church and closing on a daily basis.^[18] The Church was renovated many times after that, most notably in 1555 and 1808 when fire damaged the structure.^[19]

Control over the Church

Many churches, including the Catholic, Orthodox, Latin, and Armenian churches, have monasteries inside the Church itself. The Coptic church has one beside the Holy Sepulcher itself.^[20] Occasional violence and riots occur among different Christian communities over control of the Church. In the beginning of the Ottoman era, control over the church alternated between Franciscans and the Orthodox Church, depending on which part obtained the favor of the ottoman authorities. However, towards the end of the Ottoman era, in 1853, a decree was issued by the Ottoman Sultan to divide the territories of the church between the different Christian communities present within in the city. Periodic clashes continued to occur every once a while after.^[21]

The Church under the Israeli Occupation

Since the Israeli occupation, Arab Jerusalemites and Palestinians in general–regardless of religion, have sought to protect the Church and emphasize its importance as a historical and religious landmark.The Church is a primary target for the Israeli occupation. On February 25th, 2018, the Church was closed in protest against the Israeli policy of imposing arnona taxes (municipality taxation) on the church’s owned-prosperities that do not have worship houses on.^[22] This was the second time the church was closed–the first was in 1990, also under the Israeli occupation,^[23] the first closure was imposed by Palestinian Christians to protest a Jewish settlement in Jerusalem’s old city.^[24]

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