One of the biggest misconceptions about the near cyclical tumult on the Temple Mount is that the shrine called the Dome of the Rock, built in 691 by the Umayaad Caliphate is a Mosque. Nothing can be further from the truth. Until the later Islamic period the Dome of the Rock was never treated as a Mosque. Mosques point to Mecca, the Dome of the Rock does not.
Extensive research shows the Dome of the Rock folds in on itself in veneration of the Foundation Stone below. Not only that, the building shares four pillars in a similar placement to the pillars shown on coins minted by the Jewish leader Bar Kochba.
The connection is more than a mere coincidence. Muslims at the time, were ordered by Abd el-Malik, the Umayyad ruler of Damascus and an ally of the Jews to build the Dome of the Rock as a House of Prayer for Jews. One can clearly see the attempt by Malik to mimic the Jewish Temples by using blue stone for the building and adorning the Dome with pure gold as King Solomon did. The blue gives of a wave appearance similar to the Temple.
The Umayyads were very friendly to the Jews and historical evidence shows that the dynasty invited Jews to pray on the site.
Lost Islamic History says the following about Jewish access to the Temple Mount:
“One of Umar’s guides in Jerusalem was a Jew named Kaab al-Ahbar. Umar further allowed Jews to worship on the Temple Mount and the Wailing Wall…”
With these facts in mind, one can already arrive at a solution to the tension involving the Temple Mount. Using Islamic history as a guide it would seem appropriate that the House that Malik built serve not as an affront to Jews and a place that is politicized by the Arabs, but rather a meeting point and placeholder for Jews and their cousins to pray to the Almighty.
In a world where history is honest there would be no need for metal detectors or police. The children of Yitzhak and Yishmael coul once again come together. As the sages said: Yishmael will return to proper path at the end. The time for a real solution to the Temple Mount is now. Understanding that the Dome of the Rock was meant to be a shared space for prayer by the children of Abraham until the arrival of the Messiah is an important step forward to a lasting peace and true coexistence.