He also said the pope had not been asked to remove his shoes upon entering the mosque, as is customary.
In September this year, a court in the state divided the site between Hindus and Muslims, giving the majority share and the part upon which the mosque had stood to Hindus.India had been placed on high alert ahead of the anniversary, as it was in the days following the court ruling.
There are five archaeological projects in Silwan; of the five, the closest runs about 75m from the southern wall of the Temple Mount, as it is known to Jews and Christians, or al-Haram al-Sharif, as it is known to Muslims, upon which the mosque stands.
The city centres upon the Ḥaram Mosque, the Great Mosque, in which are situated the Kaʿbah and the sacred well of Zamzam.
The left graciously tolerates, even celebrates, our otherness, our exoticism: councillor James Williams, upon voting in favour of the mosque proposal, notes "I think it's great we celebrate other cultures".
Shawls are provided and a small contribution for the upkeep of the mosque is customary upon leaving.
They ran back to the mosque, only to realize, upon getting there, that Nabra wasn't with them.
When he finally returned, he looked upon the bloodied marble floors and declared the mosque unfit for worship.
