Christian churches in Israel and the Palestinian self-rule areas have closed their doors for two days to protest at the decision by the Israeli government to grant a permit for the building of a mosque.
The mosque would be built next to the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth where tradition holds that the Archangel Gabriel told the Virgin Mary she was pregnant with Jesus.
Churches observing the closure include the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, at the sites of Christ's crucifixion, burial and resurrection.
One angry believer asked: "Why do the churches close their doors? Are churches not God's houses? Is God dead?"
Ecumenical groups appealed to church leaders not to go ahead with the lock-out while the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, and the Supreme Muslim Council in East Jerusalem have asked the municipality in Nazareth to drop the plan to build the mosque. The laying of the foundation stone, due to take place today, has been cancelled.
The Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem, the Right Rev Riah Abu al-Assal, who is from Nazareth, said the council should "rescind" the plan and "reconcile" Christians and Muslims to reunite the Palestinian community. He told The Irish Times that the pledge to build a large mosque on the square in front of the basilica was a political ploy by local municipal officers seeking re-election.
The decision to allow the controversial project was taken last month by the Israeli government to "divide and rule" the Palestinians, the bishop asserted.
Israel is also motivated by the desire to "distract world and Palestinian attention from the central issue of Jerusalem" at the time the fate of the Holy City is being decided in permanent settlement negotiations, Bishop Riah said.
He said the Churches would adopt other unspecified measures if the mosque project went forward. Sources in Jerusalem say the churches could lock their doors at Christmas, at the height of the pilgrimage season.
Dr Mehdi Abdul Hadi, a Muslim layman, castigated the religious leaders of both communities for "falling into the Israeli trap". He sharply criticised local Christian prelates and Muslim figures who appealed to outsiders - the Vatican and external Muslim organisations - for support in the dispute. Church leaders have called on the Pope to cancel his visit next March to protest against the mosque project.
Part of the site designated for the mosque is public land, while part is owned by the Islamic religious trust. This corner contains the grave of Shehab el-Din, the nephew of Salaheddin, the Muslim hero who drove the Crusaders from Palestine eight centuries ago.
A Muslim scholar observed: "So little is known about Shehabuddin that he has gone down in folklore as a nothing . . . When someone is called a `Shehab el-Din' in Arabic it means he cannot be more of a nothing".
For Muslims the mosque is a means to assert their national identity at a time of political peril, but for the Christians of Nazareth it poses a challenge to the character of the town where Jesus was raised and to the religious equilibrium achieved 1,400 years ago.
