Why does so much interesting news come from India?
Things are happening in many parts of the world, and it is important to pay attention. A trend in one place can spread and affect us all.
There is a legal dispute, in India, and it could have serious consequences in other places. One of those other places is Jerusalem, in Israel.
The story is, that a mosque, a place of worship for Muslims, is being challenged legally. Apparently, a few centuries ago, a Hindu temple was located where the mosque is now.
Before the British domination of India, many local rulers were Muslims, while the majority population was mostly Hindu, with some other minority religions.
Apparently, some local rulers, who were Muslim, demolished Hindu temples and built Mosques on the temple sites. A survey of the site was started and then halted. The experts were trying to determine if the rumors about a demolished Hindu temple were true.
That is history, but it is easy to understand how this is now an explosive issue, in modern India. Apparently, some Hindus want their temple back, and some Muslims are offended that their worship place is threatened.
The lawyers are busy.
I sincerely hope that everyone involved can find a peaceful solution to this problem.
There are some lessons for us all, in this story:
1) History has given us many landmines.
The school that I went to, as a boy, was named after a famous man. I don’t know all the reasons why he was famous, but now there is some disapproval of things he said or did. Again, I don’t know the details.
In our woke times, the name of the school was erased, and I am now a graduate of a no-name academy. Someone also set fire to an old, historical church, close to where I live. The building is gone now, and yes, there was a historical argument.
Those are small local stories, but there are other arguments from history. A dispute between Hindus and Muslims could involve more than three billion people. The numbers are approximate, but the estimate is that there are about 1.2 billion Hindus, and 2 billion Muslims, in the world.
I really hope they can find a solution.
2) Religion is something we ignore, in our modern, secular times.
Religious people are everywhere, and many are devout believers. Devout Muslims will be deeply offended if they see a wrecking ball coming down on an old Mosque. It is also easy to know that the other side is already offended, by a historical injustice, if the rumors are true.
The secular press may ignore the issues, but the old arguments can come back at any time.
3) There are some spin-off arguments, outside of South Asia.
In Jerusalem, there is a Temple Mount site, the location of the original Jewish Temple. This is the holiest site in Judaism, and Jews mostly have access to one side area, known as the “Wailing Wall.”
The Temple Mount is dominated by the Muslim al-Aqsa Mosque. This mosque is: “Among Muslims, the whole plaza is revered as “the Noble Sanctuary” or as the al-Aqsa Mosque, the second-oldest mosque in Islam, and one of the three Sacred Mosques, the holiest sites in Islam.”
- READ: Temple Mount: Wikipedia
This is another potential explosion. The Jewish and Christian Bibles mention the Temple in Jerusalem, and the promise is that it will be restored. Most Christians that I know, believe that.
With approximately 16 million Jews, 2.6 billion who identify as Christian, and again, 2 billion Muslims, and let’s not forget the 1.2 billion Hindus with a similar grievance. World War Three could be a religious war.
The promise in the Bible is that the Temple in Jerusalem will be “profaned”. Obviously, that cannot happen now; the Roman army demolished the building almost two thousand years ago, and the Muslims arrived centuries later to build their mosque.
Today, there is no temple.
We have promises about the end of our history, and the Temple in Jerusalem is important for the story:
… shall arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given. He shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. (Daniel 11: 21)
and
Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate. (Daniel 11: 31)
OpentheWord.org 
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