Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound (Haram al-Sharif)

Jerusalem (al-Quds), Palestine / Israel (disputed sovereignty)

Islam's third holiest site, encompassing the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. Revered as the destination of the Prophet's ﷺ Night Journey (Isra' and Mi'raj). Under Israeli military occupation since 1967.

Historical Context

When Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab accepted Jerusalem's surrender in 637 CE, he reportedly cleaned the Temple Mount area himself and established a place of prayer. The Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan later built the Dome of the Rock (completed 691 CE) — a masterpiece of early Islamic architecture featuring Byzantine-influenced mosaics with Quranic inscriptions that constitute the earliest extant monumental use of Arabic calligraphy. The nearby al-Aqsa Mosque was completed under al-Walid I. The compound was lost to the Crusaders in 1099 (who converted the al-Aqsa Mosque into a royal palace and the Dome of the Rock into a church), recaptured by Salah ad-Din in 1187, and has remained under…