Muslim Idolatry Trees – Do They Interfere With Davening Mincha on the Temple Mount?
List of Topics
- Introduction
- Animal Sacrifices to the Trees
- These Practices Are Evil but Are They Avoda Zara loosely translated as Idolatry?
- Is There a Dispute About the Definition of Islam Between Rambam and Rabbeinu Nissim, “The Ran”? Did Rambam Really Intend to Give an Eternal “Kosher Certificate” to all Sects of Islam and for All Ages Regarding the Issue of Idolatry?
- Rabbi Yosef Karo’s Position
- The Holy Ohr Hachaim’s Position
- Sometimes new information or new developments within an ethnic group can cause a change of status.
- The Actions of the Patriarchs as a Prophetic Sign to their Descendants
- Muslim Demon Worship Idolatry
- Whoever Doesn’t Want to Hide His Eyes From Reality Will Discover That Some Muslims Offer Incense to a Demon.
- Do Muslim “Holy Trees” Exist on the Temple Mount?
- Davening Mincha on Har Habayit
- Comparing the Christian Cross to the Muslim Holy Trees
Introduction
Just as Non-Jewish experts were used to determine the facts in the controversy over the status of hair for wigs coming from an Indian Idolatry Temple, I am forced to start this article with excerpts from secular and Non-Jewish experts. Once we have the facts about Muslim Trees (and later on Muslim Demons) I, with Hashem’s assistance, will present Jewish sources about the Jewish outlook on those facts[i].
Excerpts from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1820775/ by Amots Dafni
This article surveys the beliefs concerning the supernatural characteristics and powers of sacred trees in Israel; it is based on a field study as well as a survey of the literature and includes 118 interviews with Muslims and Druze.
Both the Muslims and Druze in this study attribute supernatural dimensions to sacred trees which are directly related to ancient, deep-rooted pagan traditions. The Muslims attribute similar divine powers to sacred trees as they do to the graves of their saints; the graves and the trees are both considered to be the abode of the soul of a saint which is the source of their miraculous powers. Any violation of a sacred tree would be strictly punished while leaving the opportunity for atonement and forgiveness. The Druze, who believe in the transmigration of souls, have similar traditions concerning sacred trees but with a different religious background…
Background
In many religions, sacred places [[1]:90,235,254; [2]:85; [3]: 399,171; [4]: passim; [5]:passim], objects [[6]:106;[7]:534; [8]:169,176,179], as well as saints [[9]:184; [10]:2; [11]:121,129,131; [12]:72,85] were thought to possess supernatural characters and the power to carry out miracles or as having magical powers. The same attitude is found throughout history as an outcome of tree worship/adoration/veneration [[13]: passim; [14]: 42–45; [15]: 210–211,215; [16]:40; [17]: 23; [18]: passim; [19]: passim; [20 passim; [21]:68–70; [22]:72–79; [23]: passim].
Sacred trees were sometimes described as possessing huge or unusual dimensions or miraculous physical characters [[20]: passim; [17]:8, 23; [15]:215, [24]:339; [25]:35; [26]:38]. Frequently, sacred trees were regarded as having omnipotent magic powers to punish, cure, or to carry out miracles and to confer unusual abilities [[14] 14, 42–45; [23]: passim; [13]: passim; [19]:14–17; [18]:23; [20]:32,35,41] …..
The survey excluded Christians, who hardly believed in sacred trees while, in the Jewish sector, the adoration/worshipping of trees is a new trend of the last two decades and almost all the worshipped trees are already known as old Muslim sacred ones in the vicinity of graves of supposed historical righteous Jewish personalities. In each village we carried out a preliminary survey to locate the more knowledgeable people in advance, and we also chose important religious leaders to examine their attitudes to the veneration of sacred trees….
{Comment by S.M.S. : At one point in time Rabbi Kook and Rabbi Ovadia Yosef used the argument that Muslims do not cause Jews to commit idolatry to justify the Heter Machira or in the case of Rabbi O. Yosef to justify land giveaways in Israel. I hope this sets the record straight. See also Chazon Ish, Shviit 24:3 who objects to land giveaways in Israel because of “Kefira” and not because of the narrow issue of idolatry.}
The supernatural characters of the sacred trees
The tree as the abode of the soul of a saint
The most common “function” of the sacred trees in the Middle East is to serve as the abode of the spirit/soul of a saint (Welli, [42]; passim). Curtiss [[142]:75,77,79] ), noted, regarding the status of the saints in the Muslim world, ” … orthodox Moslems insist that the saints are only mediators that a worshipper asks his Welli to intercede for him with God… These saints are really departed spirits, connected with some particular shrine, chosen because they revealed themselves there in the past, and where they were wont to reveal themselves now to those who seek for favour… The worship of saints is like that of the ancient Baalim. They are the deities whom people fear, love, serve and adore”. Canaan [[40]:151] adds, along the same lines “The present-day peasant does not venerate the trees themselves but the divine power which acts in them and which is derived from a godly person whose soul is supposed to inhabit the shrine, tomb, cave or spring with which they became associated. Often these holy men have appeared in the tree itself or nearby “. This attitude explains the source of the supernatural nature attributed to the sacred trees (see below)…
Granting a divine favour/cure/blessing
Objects near sacred graves “absorb the sanctity of the place and/or have magic powers in the Muslim world” [[116]:106] as well as in Christianity [[117]:1086] and are used later by the believers. It is not surprising to find “seepage” of the supernatural powers of sacred graves to sacred trees, so some functions of the saint’s grave such as: granting barakeh, property protection ( (Table2)2 ), swearing, and taking vows were transferred to the sacred tree (even in the absence of the grave) or granted by the saint himself associated with the tree (see below).
The manner in which clothes are tied to a sacred tree to transfer personal troubles [[118]: passim; [41]: passim, and references therein) or using objects that “absorb” the supernatural powers of the tree are typical examples of contact magic. Frazer [[119]:18] explained “things which have once been in contact with each other at a distance after the physical contact has been severed. Practically all these manners are methods of “conveying the divine effluence” [[118]:467] from the tree to the devoted people. In this way the supernatural being, which is connected with the sacred tree, has the power to grant petitions (e.g. “wishing trees”) which is common worldwide ….
In the Muslim world the worshipping of saints is very popular [[129]:456–457; [120]: 103–108]. According to Goldziher [[28]:290–201], “The primary function of the veneration of saints in Islam is to satisfy the instinct to look up to perfections within the human sphere which are worthy of veneration and admiration, the possessors of which are not only exercising the highest virtue and sanctity but have also the power – on behalf of those who trust in them – which appear impossible, things we call ‘miraculous’ “. Wilson [[126]:27], even noted (regarding the peasants of Palestine), “The Moslems stand in great awe of these saints, especially of the more famous of them, and often really fear them more than they fear God”. People sought the healing power and the blessings that the saints possess [[120]:104; [129]:457]. They are regarded as mediators between God and the people [[129]:459]. Saints have the divine powers of granting barake, a kind of blessing that Westermarck [[26:79]) defined as “a wonder-working force of predominantly beneficial character”.
Quote from another article
at https://www.answering-islam.org/Books/Zwemer/Animism/chap11.htm
In West Africa tree-worship is common among the pagans and such trees are famous haunts of spirits. Large, prominent trees are inhabited by spirits. “Many trees in the equatorial West Africa forest throw out from their trunks,” says Nassau, “at from ten to sixteen feet from the ground, solid buttresses continuous with the body of the tree itself, only a few inches in thickness, but in width at the base of the tree from four to six feet. These buttresses are projected toward several opposite points of the compass, as if to resist the force of sudden wind-storms. They are a noticeable forest feature and are commonly seen in the silk-cotton trees. The recesses between them are actually used as lairs by small wild animals. They are supposedly also a favorite home of the spirits.”
In Islam the same beliefs and practices exist and go back to Arabian paganism or were adopted by Moslems in their local or national environment and Islamized. The subject was treated by Goldziher in a brief paper translated for the Moslem World (July, 1911, p. 302). Other facts have since come to our notice and all travelers in the Near East witness to the wide prevalence of this superstition. Special veneration to holy trees is offered in Syria, Palestine, and all North Africa. The Bedouins inhabiting the tracts of land traversed by Doughty look upon certain trees and shrubs as manhals, or abodes of angels and demons. To injure such trees or shrubs, to lop their branches, is held dangerous. Misfortune overtakes him who has the foolhardiness to perpetrate such an outrage, and as may be imagined, the Arabs have many delectable stories calculated to win over the skeptic.
Animal Sacrifices to the Trees
The holy tree is hung with a variety of buntings and like ornaments. The diseased and maimed of the desert resort to it, offer it a sheep or goat, and besprinkle it with the blood of the sacrificed animal. The flesh is cooked and distributed among the friends present, a portion being left suspended from a branch of the magic tree; and the patient returns tranquil in the faith that the angel will appear in a dream and instruct him with a view to his cure. But again it is the patient only who may sleep in the shades of the sacred tree; to a healthy man the attempt would involve ruin. Professor Sachu’s attention was arrested in the rocky land Jabal-ul-Amiri, southeast of Aleppo, by a stunted desiccated thorny tree of a man’s height which he beheld hung on all sides with variegated rags. “Stones were heaped around its stem, and all manner of stones, large and small, were placed in the branches. Such a tree, called zarur, is the altar of the desert. When a woman yearns for a child, when a peasant longs for rain, or when he yearns for the restoration to health of his horse or camel he takes a stone and deposits it at the foot of the zarur, or fixes it somewhere between its two branches.”
Again, on either side of the Jordan religious veneration for sacred trees which has dominated there from times immemorial and which evoked stern Biblical enactments has still perpetuated in unaltered shape. “In no country,” says the Rev. M. Mills, “have men greater reverence for trees than in Palestine. There we encounter a considerable number of holy trees, which are hung with pieces of cloth and garments of pilgrims who have journeyed thither to do homage to the trees.
We notice on other trees rags for purposes of superstitious enchantments. Many a tree is the resort of evil spirits, but what is more weird, a place abounding in tender oaks is usually dedicated to a species of beings denominated ‘Daughters of Jacob.'”
Abbé Barges tells of a lotus-tree in the garden of an Arab in Jaffa to which special veneration was offered. From the branches of the tree depended lamps and strips of cloth of a variety of colors. The proprietor, explaining the strange worship, said that the seed of the tree had descended from heaven. That was why it was dedicated to the Prophet who visited the tree from time to time in the shades of the night. All good Mohammedans show the same awe-struck respect for a holy tree. The practice is noticeable in other countries too, where popular worship finds expression in veneration accorded to singular representatives of the vegetable kingdom. Schumacher recording his experiences in Jolan describes how the butmi tree is some times seen standing solitary in the midst of a field shading the final resting-place of a Moslem saint. It receives the distinctive appellation of “fakiri,” the indigent, and is so secured from all outside interference, being allowed unchecked to attain to a great height. No Moslem dare break a single one of its branches or even remove a dry twig, for, as the legend has it, no man can ever bend its bough but must call down upon himself the justice of divine vengeance.
Goldziher further states: “We may glance at a few more of the diverse aspects which the cult of trees assumes in Islam. Alongside of immutable heathen forms we come upon such as have been subjected to the moderating influencing of Mohammedanism. An umbrageous tree in Wadi ul-sirar, not far from Mecca, which used to be worshiped in pre-Islamic ages, is adored as the one under which seventy prophets had their umbilical cord severed. (Al-Muwatta II, p. 284; Yakut III, p. 75.)
The Abbaside Abd-ul-Samad-ibn-Ali, Governor of Mecca, built a mosque at this place. A sacred tree is either associated with the memory of Mohammed or its shadow covers a Wali’s tomb. In the desert the holy tree is adored in all its pagan aspects; in the city the veneration is transferred to a convenient saint. And without such props the heathen cult would certainly have been uprooted. In the mosque of Rabia in Kazwin there was a tree regarded sacred by the vulgar. The Caliph ul-Mutawakkil ordered its destruction ‘so that the people may no more fall into temptation.’ (Beladhuri, p. 322.) It is imperative among austere Mohammedan environment to find out a dead pious man upon whom to transpose the homage really done to the tree, and when no tomb is forthcoming nigh at hand, the tree itself becomes the recipient of the worship in the shape of the habitation of a Wali. At the corner of a street in Damascus there is an olive tree, to which pilgrimages are made, chiefly by women, among whom it is celebrated as the Holy Lady Olive (Sitti Zaytun).
A dervish collects the sacrificial gifts of the pious devotees in whose behalf he offers prayers. The olive was considered an individual with a personal name. Zeytun grew into Zaytun. Morocco actually boasts of a ‘Notre Dame d’Olive’ in a gigantic tree which is the center of crowded pilgrimages. A masculine counterpart of Lady Zaytun we meet in the Sheikh Abu Zeytun whose mausoleum is situated in Palestine. By an analogous process the Mohammedans have personified a venerable stone column into Sheikh-ul-Amud, or the Reverend Pillar. Objects previously looked up to as sacred continue to be so in Moslem times, only they are connected with some pious man whose existence the worshipers ever are at a loss to establish.” So far the investigations of Professor Goldziher.
Another Non-Jewish source where you can get facts and a picture concerning Muslim Holy trees that have sacrificial gifts tied to their branches, is Christiane Gruber’s article: Back to Nature: the Votive in Islamic and material cultures. It is currently available on the internet for those who are skeptical about the facts cited in this article. If there were sufficient Jewish sources on the facts, I would have quoted from the Jewish sources exclusively.
These Practices Are Evil but Are They Avoda Zara loosely translated as Idolatry?
In Rambam’s Mishna Torah on the Laws which discuss Idolatry Chapters 1 and 2, Rambam goes through the history of Avoda Zara (Idolatry).
In the earlier stages of Idolatry, such as, in the days of Enosh the people were monotheists, but falsely believed it was somehow G-d’s will to worship the forces of nature, such as the sun, moon, and stars. They compared honoring these forces as honoring high officials of an earthly king.
In a later stage they started to believe that G-d must be served through intermediaries and it was the intermediaries that had some power to reward or punish an individual in various areas of human concern.
The final stage deteriorated to the stage where people actually believed in multiple deities.
All stages of idolatry are absolutely forbidden both for Jews and for Gentiles according to Rambam.
Rabbi Yehuda Halevi in chapter 143 of Ner Hamaaravi (a book printed close to a century ago) which currently can be downloaded at https://hebrewbooks.org/1296 indeed concluded that the Muslim worship of sacred trees is Avoda Zara (Idolatry) of the type of the generation of Enosh or Intermediary Worship.
Rabbi Chaim Zimmerman also held this view.
Similarly, Rabbi Baruch Avraham Toledano also seems to accept what Rabbi Yehuda Halevi wrote in chapter 143 of Ner Hamaaravi. In the periodical, Seridim, volume 10 he quotes from Rabbi Halevi’s article as proof for a point made about a Sabbath Desecrator who does not intend to anger G-d.
Is There a Dispute About the Definition of Islam Between Rambam and Rabbeinu Nissim, “The Ran”? Did Rambam Really Intend to Give an Eternal “Kosher Certificate” to all Sects of Islam and for All Ages Regarding the Issue of Idolatry?
The following is an excerpt from the article: When Is It Permitted to Bow to Men and When Is Bowing Considered Forbidden Intermediary Worship , According to Rabbeinu Nissim
In the responsa of Rambam, siman 448 in a letter to R’ Ovadia the Convert, Rambam established:
“And these Yishmaelites (Muslims) today all of them, including children and women have had idolatry cut off from their lips. And their mistake and stupidity is in other things that it is impossible to express them in print because of the rebels and wicked of Israel, but in the matter of the unity of G-d, let He be exalted, they do not have any mistakes”.
It is not clear from some of the commentaries to what extent was Rambam offering approval of Muslim beliefs and service of the Creator and to what extent did he have criticism. Whatever criticism he had, it was certainly significant enough to make him fear extreme danger if he would put it in print.
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and Rabbi Yehuda Henkin have written that Rambam was offering complete approval on the issue of “foreign service” for Muslims or in Hebrew, “Avoda Zara” for all sects of Islam and for all times.
Other prominent Rabbis, such as, the Rogatchover Gaon disagreed with this interpretation of Rambam and implied that Rambam knew that Muslims were guilty of Avoda Zara despite being monotheists but was hiding it because of danger.
Rabbi Yosef Karo’s Position
Rabbi Yosef Karo author of the Shulchan Aruch seems to have initially been under the impression that Rambam was speaking the pure truth when he stated: “And these Yishmaelites (Muslims) today all of them, including children and women have had idolatry cut off from their lips”. On the basis of this understanding he decided to pay a visit to a Sufi Muslim house of worship called a Tekke. The Magid of Rabbi Yosef Karo severely castigated Rabi Karo over the visit and warned him:
“Be careful from now on and continually think about in your heart about my Torah and let the fear of Hashem, be so much attached to you that if it will occur that you see or hear an “Erva” matter, it will make no impression upon you at all and you should never again enter the house of the Baal Idols and you will return to your holiness” (Magid Meisharim, to Bechukotai, the 28th of Iyar).
The Holy Ohr Hachaim’s Position
Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh (Rabbi Chaim Ben Atar) in his book “Pri Toar”, Yoreh Deah chapter 19 comment 10 was not sure whether Rambam hid a very negative detail about the faith of the Muslims. This came up for discussion when there were Muslims who demanded from Jewish slaughterers to say in Arabic the equivalent of “El Kabir” right before slaughtering animals. Ohr Hachaim was not sure whether the intention of the Arabic expression was also to also associate the prophecy of the man they consider a prophet with the Creator of the world; but in any case Ohr Hachaim held that some Muslims in his time were blurring the lines between G-d and their prophet and were guilty of Idolatry. See also Pri Megadim, Mishbatzot Zahav, Y.D. 19:4 who seems to approve of what the Ohr Hachaim had to say on this issue.
The Certificate of Kashrut for Islam as Being Clean from the Sin of Idolatry Has Expired if it ever existed at all at Some Point in History
Conclusion: It is wrong to simply ignore the Muslim tree idolatry problem today, simply because 8 and a half centuries ago, Rambam might have wrote something nice about the Muslims of his time.
Sometimes new information or new developments within an ethnic group can cause a change of status.
Rambam himself, brings a precedent that ethnic groups can change over the course of centuries. In Rambam’s commentary to the Mishna on tractate Brachot chapter 8, he explains the Cutim (Samaritans) which is the nation that Sancheriv brought from the land of Cuta and settled them in the cities of Samaria originally according to the Bible feared Hashem but they also served their Deities. However, in the course of time they learned the Torah and interpreted it according to a simple definition; and the particular commandments that they did decide to keep, they were very meticulous to observe and preserve them; and there was an assumption that they had common religious beliefs with the Jewish people, monotheistic and not serving any Avoda Zara (foreign worship/idolatry). This continued until the sages investigated and found that they viewed Mount Gerizim as holy; and when they investigated why, they found they had on that mountain an image of a dove and it became known that they are worshipers of Avoda Zara (Idolatry).
Then they demoted them to the status of complete Gentiles for all their matters and all that you will find in the Mishna regarding the Cutim (Samaritans) that indicates they are better than the Gentiles but worse than Israel, for example, to make a zimun with a Cuti (Samaritan) and a ruling about a Cuti who blesses, etc.; all this was before they made the investigation about them; but after they had investigated them and found the results that we spoke of, behold they are much worse than the Gentiles (here ends the summary of Rambam).
The Actions of the Patriarchs as a Prophetic Sign to their Descendants
Even Avraham our forefather, of which they said about him that he had a tractate on Avoda Zara consisting of 400 chapters (See tractate Avoda Zara, 14b) did not discern that his son Yishmael worshiped Avoda Zara (Idolatry). Sarah saw the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham making sport (Genesis 21:9).
Rashi on the word for MAKING SPORT states:
מצחק MAKING SPORT — This means worshipping idols, as it is said in reference of the Golden Calf, (Exodus 32:6) “And they rose up to make merry (לצחק).” Another explanation is that it refers to immoral conduct, just as you say in reference to Potiphar’s wife, (Genesis 39:17) “To mock (לצחק) at me.” Another explanation is that it refers to murder, as (2 Samuel 2:14) “Let the young men, I pray thee, arise and make sport (וישחקו) before us” (where they fought with and killed one another) From Sarah’s reply — “for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son״ — you may infer that he (Yishmael) was quarrelling with Yitzchak about the inheritance, saying, “I am the first-born and will, therefore, take a double portion”. They went into the field and he (Yishmael) took his bow and shot arrows at him (Yitzchak), just as you say (Proverbs 26:18-19) “As a madman who casteth firebrands, [arrows and death] and says: I am only מצחק mocking” (Genesis Rabbah 53:11).
Ramban to Genesis (12:6) Avram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, at the terebinth of Moreh. The Canaanites were then in the land.
AND AVRAM PASSED THROUGH THE LAND. I will tell you a principle by which you will understand all the coming portions of Scripture concerning Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. It is indeed a great matter which our Rabbis mentioned briefly, saying: “Whatever has happened to the patriarchs is a sign to the children.” It is for this reason that the verses narrate at great length the account of the journeys of the patriarchs, the digging of the wells, and other events. Now someone may consider them unnecessary and of no useful purpose, but in truth they all serve as a lesson for the future: when an event happens to any one of the three Patriarchs that which is decreed to happen to his children can be understood.
Based on what Ramban taught, it is possible to understand Avraham’s shock at finding out that Yishmael was worshiping “Avoda Zara” as a prophetic omen for the future. That certain big scholars of the Jewish people would be shocked to discover that the Yishmaelites (Muslims) practice “Avoda Zara”.
Muslim Demon Worship Idolatry
One Who Offers Incense to a Demon – Insights of “the Ran” to Tractate Sanhedrin 61b
Introduction
A Jew should be willing to sacrifice his life rather than worship Idolatry. But what if he makes the wrong choice and does not sacrifice his life? The Talmud says the punishment for those that serve Idolatry out of love and fear is less severe than someone who does not have this excuse. Most commentaries understand that love and fear, means love of a person or fear of a person. Rambam however has a different understanding of love and fear which “the Ran” criticizes.
“And Rambam of blessed memory in chapter 3 (of the Mishna Torah) on the Laws which discuss Idolatry, defines, “out of love”, such as, he desires an image because its service is very attractive – or when one serves it out of his fear of it – i.e., he fears that it will harm him – as the [idol] worshipers imagine that it provides benefit and harm but did not accept it upon himself as a Deity, he is exempt”.
The Ran disagrees with the definition of serving “out of love and fear” offered by the Rambam and brings as proof the ruling of the Gemara, that someone who offers incense to a demon is considered to have served Idolatry.
Now the normal case of someone who offers incense to a demon is that he does not accept it as a Deity but nevertheless incense worship to demons is classified as Idolatry.
“The Ran” concludes that anyone who does an act of worship to any form {or image} in order to derive from it some benefit, behold he has in essence given it, Deity status and dominion in that matter and therefore the one that serves it is doing an act of Idolatry.
The Ruling of the Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah, Chapter 179 Halacha 19
He who offers incense to a demon to bring it and to compel it to do his will, he is liable on account of serving Idolatry (see Tur and Beit Yosef commentary for background on this ruling).
Whoever Doesn’t Want to Hide His Eyes From Reality Will Discover That Some Muslims Offer Incense to a Demon.
The following is Pew research results of what the Muslims say about themselves.
Overall, Muslims in Central Asia and across Southern and Eastern Europe (Russia and the Balkans) are least likely to say that jinn {demons} are real. In Central Asia, Turkey is the only country where a majority (63%) of Muslims believe in jinn {demons}. Elsewhere in Central Asia, about a fifth or fewer Muslims accept the existence of jinn. In Southern and Eastern Europe, fewer than four-in-ten in any country surveyed believe in these supernatural beings.
In general, Muslims who pray several times a day are more likely to believe in jinn {demons}. For example, in Russia, 62% of those who pray more than once a day say that jinn {demons} exist, compared with 24% of those who pray less often. A similar gap also appears in Lebanon (+25 percentage points), Malaysia (+24) and Afghanistan (+21).
The survey also asked if respondents had ever seen jinn {demons}. In 21 of the 23 countries where the question was asked, fewer than one-in-ten report having seen jinn {demons}, while the proportion is 12% in Bangladesh and 10% in Lebanon.
It is important to note that while belief in jinn {demons} is widespread, relatively few Muslims in the countries surveyed believe it is an acceptable part of Islamic tradition to make offerings to jinn {demons}. As discussed in Chapter 6, Bangladesh is the only country surveyed in which more than a fifth of Muslims (28%) say appeals to jinn are acceptable. In 18 of the countries, no more than one-in-ten say this is an acceptable practice.
According to reports on the internet offering incense of such things as frankincense and similar materials is part of the gift offerings they give to the demons.
And so I found on the internet a report of Muslims of offering incense to demons at the web site:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7waqNdtOF4&ab_channel=WildFilmsIndia
And so too another video complains of Muslim religious figures that are involved in mysticism that practice all types of magic with demons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PWawUcQYvQ&ab_channel=IslamicGuidance
I also found a written article on Muslims who offer a type of incense to demons and bring them other gifts and request from them, all types of requests.
https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/residence-of-jinns-where-muslims-and-hindus-come-together-to-pray-17283
Do Muslim “Holy Trees” Exist on the Temple Mount?
According to the Ultra-Secular Newspaper, “Haaretz” in an article entitled: “Jerusalem’s Oldest Guardians: Hackberry Trees on the Temple Mount”the answer is yes.
The article points out that there are at least 3 holy or blessed Hackberry trees (according to believers in Islam) on the Temple Mount.
The article seems to identify them on the south side of the Temple Mount near the steps ascending from the lower platform to the upper platform.
The article cites the Hebrew-language book “Trees, Demons and Wonders,” by Prof. Amots Dafni and Saleh Aqal Khatib who wrote, “According to believers, no evil spirit will get near a hackberry tree, and therefore, one can sit under them in safety. Amulets made from pieces of its wood are used to cure babies, heal horses and protect homes.”
According to Muslim tradition, nothing works better than a hackberry for exorcising demons. Amulets made from their wood are reputed to have great power.
Davening Mincha on Har Habayit
What are some of the major changes in the Shemona Esrei prayer if one can get away with sneaking in a quick Mincha Service on the Temple Mount?
I say sneaking, because the Israeli police do not allow Jewish Prayer Books or other Jewish Religious Books or objects on the Mount and try to prevent anything they feel will provoke Muslim sensitivities.
Rabbi Hillel Ben-Shlomo, my former Chevruta, told me that the major changes are in the repetition of the Shemona Esrei prayer by the Chazan; namely, how the Chazan seals each blessing and when hearing the blessings, the others respond to the Chazan by saying, “Baruch Shem Kvod Malchuto L’Olam Va’ed”. See Rashi, Kol Chotmei, to tractate Brachot, page 54a for details.
Comparing the Christian Cross to the Muslim Holy Trees
We learn in Darkei Teshuva, chapter 141, point 10:
“But nevertheless it is forbidden to bow during the Modim prayer (of Shmona Esrei) when a non-Jew with a cross on his neck comes from the opposing direction and similarly, it is not correct to pray opposite clothing that has a drawing of a cross on it (based on Beit Hillel, point 1)”.
I asked Rabbi Yisrael Ariel of Machon Hamikdash. If I don’t know if a particular tree on the Temple Mount is a Muslim Idolatry tree, that is to say a Muslim “Holy” Tree, do I have to refrain from Davening the Shmona Esrei or bowing, similar to what is done when a Christian cross is involved? If the ground level of the base of the tree is ten handbreadths above the ground level of where the Jew is standing is that grounds for leniency?
:Rabbi Yisrael Ariel answered me
בעניין העצים בהר הבית
לענ”ד כל עוד לא ידוע בבירור על עץ מסויים שהפכוהו לע”ז
דומה שאין מניעה להשתחוות בהר, והולכים אחרי רוב העצים
שמסתבר שניטעו לנוי בעלמא.
ויישר כוחו על ההערה.
וכבר הבאנו את דברי שו”ת הרמב”ם (רס”ט) שהישמעאלים אינם רחוקים מע”ז.
Translation: Regarding the Trees on the Temple Mount
In my humble opinion, as long as it is not clearly known that a certain tree has been turned into Idolatry, it appears there is nothing that prevents one from bowing on the Mount, and we go after the majority of the trees, where it is reasonable to assume that they were planted simply for beauty.
Yasher Co’ach on the comment!
And we have already brought the words of the response of Rambam (269) that the Muslims are not distant from Idolatry.
Article by Shlomo Moshe Scheinman
Author of the article on Argaman in Techumin #26
Footnotes
[i] See the following Hebrew sources which deal with the standards used to determine that a Gentile indeed practiced Idolatry or violated one of the other Noahide commandments
חשוקי חמד מסכת עבודה זרה דף סה עמוד א – נכי ליה אגרא דלגינתו
שו”ת משנה הלכות חלק ז סימן רנה – עורך דין כיצד יתנהג בדיניהם
פסקי דין של בתי הדין הרבניים בישראל חלק יב פס”ד המתחיל בעמוד 33
[עמוד 33] ער/תשמ”א/102בבית הדין הרבני הגדול ירושלים, בפני כב’ הדיינים: כ”ג הראשל”צ הרב הראשי לישראל עובדיה יוסף – נשיא, הרבנים אליעזר ולדנברג, יצחק קוליץ