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sion: the T en Commandments,
which God gave Moses on Mount
Sinai. Sinai is part of rny country
and
L
am very proud of it. Those
commandments are the basis for
all three religions. That is why
J
shall build a temple for all three
religions on Mount Sinai-one
compound that includes a
mosque, a church and a syna–
gogue."
What impact, if any, will this
peace center have on the volatile
situation in the Middle East?
What is its significance at this
critica! juncture in history?
Mountain of Moses
Look for a moment at the amaz–
ing history of this special moun–
tain.
Mount Sinai, also called Hor–
eb, is known in Hebrew as
Har
Sinai.
In Arabic as
Jabel Musa
(Mount of Moses). It is located in
the rugged south central portion
of the triangular Sinai Península,
lying between the two northern
"horns" or arms of the Red Sea.
The Sinai forms a land bridge
between Egypt and Palestine.
Mount Sinai rises abruptly
from the surrounding plain to a
height of 7,497 feet (2,285
meters) above sea leve!.
The arid southern area of the
Sinai Península consists of rugged
granite peaks, sharp ridges and
deep rocky gorges. The region is
difficult of access-appropriately
symbolic of the arduous search
for peace in today's world.
Sinai is a very ancient name.
Though sorne scholars have sug–
gested that the word is derived
from the Akkadian moon-god
Sin, it is most likely that it comes
from
seneh,
the Hebrew word for
the well-known "burning bush"
(Exodus
3).
Literally, Sinai
means
thorny.
The word
Horeb–
the other word for Mount
Sinai-is derived from the He–
brew root
hrb,
indicating
dryness
or
drought.
The exact location of the bíbli–
ca! Mount S inai has presented a
problem to sorne scholars.
It
is
true, as noted by the eminent
Israe lí archaeologist Benjamín
Mazar of Hebrew University,
that the exact geographic location
6
was obscure already in the time of
the Monarchy, sorne 500 years
after the Exodus of the 15th cen–
tury B.C.
Nevertheless, the imposing
granite mass of
Jebe/ Musa
has
long been accepted as the bíblica!
Mount Sinai in the traditions of
Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
And it is so considered today by
most scholars.
Mount Sinai is first mentioned
in the Bible when the God of
Abraham revealed himself to
Moses in the burning bush (Exo–
dus 3). Scripture states that
Moses "carne to the mountain of
God, even to Horeb" (verse 1).
Since the mountain was called
the "mountain of God" even
before God's revelation to Moses
there, it is possible that it was a
place of worship even before
Moses and the Israelites carne to
it. (Many ancient peoples consid–
ered mountains to be holy
places.)
The first century Jewish histo–
rian Flavius Josephus lends sup–
port to this theory. He records
that until the time that Moses
drove his flocks to the mountain
to graze, "it had not been before
fed upon , because of the opinion
men had that God dwelt there,
the shepherds not daring to
ascend up to it."
Common Denominator
Before tracing the subsequent
bistory of the mountain, it will be
helpful to consider the interrela–
tions between the three faiths
that hold Mount Sinai to be
sacred. An understanding of
these ancient links will reveal
clearly the reasoning behind Pres–
ident Sadat 's choice of Mount
Sinai for his trifaith World Peace
Center.
Judaism, Christianity and Is–
lam all trace the ultimate begin–
nings of their faiths to the
patriarch Abraham, who lived in
the 20th and 19th centuries
B.C.
Abraham was the physical pro–
genitor of severa! ancient nations.
From his son Isaac and grandson
Jacob descended the twelve tribes
of Israel. From one of these
tribes, the tribe of Levi , carne
Moses- the central figure in
Judaism.
From another of these tribes,
that of Judah, carne Jesus- the
central figure of Cbristianity.
Few in the West understand
that Mohammed, the founder and
prophet of the Islamic faith, was
likewise a descendant of Abra–
ham! From lshmael, Abraham's
son by Hagar the Egyptian (Gen–
esis 16:15), sp rang twelve
princes, the progenitors of the
majority of the Arab peoples
(Genesis 25:13-16). It was from
Ishmael 's son Kedar
(Qaidar
in
Arabic) that Mohammed 's family
traces its descent.
Interestingly, Islamic tradition
states that the Kaaba- the
Islamic holy place in Mecca, Sau–
di Arabia-was built anciently by
Abraham and lshmael for the
worship of the One God. But over
the centuries, tradition has it, it
had become a house of ido! wor–
ship. During Mohammed's time,
the Kaaba was said to have con–
tained 365 idols, one for each day
of the year!
In the days of Mohammed, a
handful of Arabs-including Mo–
hammed himse lf-withdrew
from ido! worship. They longed
for the faith of their father Abra–
ham and tried to discover what
had been its teaching. These indi–
viduals within the Arab commu–
nity became known as
Hunafa ,
meaning "those who turn away
(from idolatry)."
Exemplary of these mono–
theists was the old man Zaid ibn
Amr ibn Tufail, who sat in the
courtyard of the Kaaba and was
heard to pray, "O God, if 1 knew
how you wished to be worshiped,
I would so worship you; but
1
do
not know."
lt was Mohammed who carne
forward with an answer. He
declared that the religion of
Abraham was the only true reli–
gion. That faith, Mohammed
said, had been revealed through a
succession of prophets through
the ages-including Adam,
Noah, Moses and Jesus-and
lastly, he announced, through
himself.
Mohammed succeeded in abol–
(Continued on page 42)
The
PLAIN TAUTH