Go back far enough in history and one can find that at one time all races, ethnic groups, etc. were barbarians. Due to circumstances that often had more to do with where an ethnic group was located than anything else, some groups of people advanced toward civility much more quickly than others.

Thus, the following observations are not based upon race or ethnic superiority. We all have skeletons in the closet whether we be white, black, brown, or whether we be Christian, Jew, or Muslim.

The issue of ‘who the land belongs to’ in the modern age is a complicated one. A case can certainly be made that caucasians took land in North America from Native Americans. Does this mean, then, that the 350,000,000 people living in the United States and Canada must be uprooted and sent elsewhere? The logistics of such a preposterous notion boggles the mind.

Mexico claims that the American southwest belongs to it, failing to recognize that Native Americans occupied not only the southwest but Mexico itself long before Spanish settlers claimed the land.

Even the American Indian or Native Americans must admit, if we accept the facts from history, that even they were not the first to settle in this land. Their ancestors came from elsewhere, most likely from northern Asia who crossed the Bering Land Bridge over the Bering Sea during the last period of glaciation. These peoples then made their way southward along the western coastline.

With this backdrop in mind, it is important to examine the Middle East from the perspective of history. The Hebrew people wandered as nomads duirng a time in human history when barbarism to one degree or another was the order of the day. Eventually the group settled in what was known as ‘the land flowing with milk and honey,’ or ‘Caanan’ specifically. This was during the period of Moses, which was roughly 1250 B.C., or 3261 years ago, approximately.

It was then that the Hebrew nation was born, which was named ‘Israel,’ and its main city became Jerusalem. At one time the entire region was encompassed by the Roman Empire. Later, however, Islamic groups invaded the area, desecrated the Jewish and Christian holy sites, destroyed the Temple, and built a mosque over it.

This was the common practice of Islam at the time. Jerusalem was not the only place this occurred, but one can find the very same practice of building mosques on top of former Christian churches in various areas of Europe, northern Africa, and other regions of the world.

The plan that Barack Obama proposed Thurday of this week calls for the division of Israel into 2 states–one would be for Jews and Christians, and the other for Muslims. The problem is that the time-frame to which he refers–pre-1967–as the starting point of the division would place old Jerusalem, the site of all of the most sacred Jewish and Christian holy sites, out of the reach of the two groups. The last time Muslims controlled that portion of the city, before 1967, they did not allow Jews and Christians to come into the places where their most sacred sites are located–the Temple Mount, the Western Wall, the Mount of Olives, Gethsemane, the Via Dolorosa–the ‘way of suffering’ which refers to the route through which Jesus was forced to carry his own cross prior to his crucifixion, and Golgatha–the place where Jesus was crucified.

Muslims in the region, except for the ones who actually live in Jerusalem, want control of ALL of these holy places both Jews and Christians hold sacred. It is interesting that even since Israel was re-established in 1948 after a long period of exile, Muslims were allowed to live in Jerusalem with Jews and Christians, as they do to this very day. A recent poll of Jerusalem Muslims shows that 70% of them oppose the plan to divide the ancient city.

And why would Muslims in the city so overwhelmingly oppose dividing Jerusalem? The answer is straightforward. Under the control of Israel, Muslims are allowed to practice their religion freely and without interference. So are Christians. Jerusalem itself is an example of what happens when people are free. Israel has insured that freedom for all.

But the forces who wish to divide the city do not believe in human or religious freedom. That in itself is all we need to know.

Written by Anthony Martin and published on Conservative Examiner, May 21, 2011.

Be sure to visit his blog at The Liberty Sphere, in addition to his Ministry site at Martin Christian Ministries.

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