In a scene that horrified Jews, the funeral procession of Sheikh Naji al-Qazzaz, the muezzin of Al-Aqsa Mosque, who passed away on Saturday at the age of 66, passed through the courtyard of the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site.
The muezzin of Al-Aqsa Mosque is responsible for delivering the adhan (call to prayer) five times daily from the minarets of the Noble Sanctuary in Jerusalem. They ensure precise prayer timing, often using a “velvet voice” to lead the community, frequently maintaining a centuries-old family tradition of service at the third holiest site in Islam. The Al-Qazzaz family has held this duty for over 500 years.
Josh Wander, a resident of the Mount of Olives, is the Zaka commander in charge of the Temple Mount. Wander has been extensively trained by Zaka, an acronym for Identification, Extraction, and Rescue) is a prominent Israeli volunteer organization and UN-recognized humanitarian agency dedicated to emergency rescue, crisis response, and the dignified handling of human remains following terror attacks, in dealing with dead bodies at the holy site. This training came into practice in July 2017 when three Palestinians left the Temple Mount and opened fire on Israeli border police officers stationed near the Gate of the Tribes. Two Israeli border police officers were killed, and two more were injured in the attack. All three attackers were shot and killed by Israeli police after fleeing back into the complex. Wander was tasked with removing the bodies.
“I was shocked and horrified by seeing this,” Wander said. “It was a total desecration of the sanctity of the Temple Mount. But, unfortunately, this happens all the time.”
Wander explained that in front of the Aqsa Mosque is a stone ledge that has been used for the wake of prominent people.
“They lay their body on this stone and say some prayers before the burial,” Wander explained.
It should be emphasized that the Aqsa Mosque is the black-domed structure on the southern end of the Temple Mount Compound. In the video, the body is seen being carried up the steps leading to the gold Dome of the Rock, known in Arabic as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf. The Dome of the Rock is revered by Muslims as a shrine and is not, in fact, a mosque.
“If the person is being buried on the far side of the Temple Mount in the Yeusefiya Cemetery, instead of going around, they go up into the area of the Dome of the Rock, and they continue straight across and exit through the Lion’s Gate for burial,” Wander explained. “I’ve never seen that happen before, but I’m told by police who work there that it is a regular occurrence.”
Wander, who regularly ascends to the Temple Mount, had never personally witnessed a body being carried across the holy site and, in his words, was “completely blown away by seeing this.”
Wander said that Jewish sources described incidents in which people died suddenly on the Temple Mount. This included incidents involving Kohanim inside the Temple and even High Priests inside the Holy of Holies.
“The Talmud describes that great efforts were made to preserve the sanctity of the site,” Wander said. “N Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) entered the Holy of Holies with a rope tied around their waist in case they died suddenly inside, in which case their body would be pulled out.”
“There were also special tunnels used for sudden cases of death or other cases of impurity.”
