: Israelis bars construction of Nazareth mosque

A long-running controversy hit another milestone when Israel banned the construction of a mosque by Arab Israelis in Nazareth. The mosque has split Palestinians in Israel along religious lines because it is located very close to the Basilica of the Annunciation, built on the site where Jesus spent his childhood. Why might this be a good thing? Intra-Palestinian squabbling delays any resolution in Israeli/Palestinian issues, and Muslim insistence on building the mosque provoked a strong Christian backlash going all the way up to the pope. That’s too high a price to pay for one more mosque.

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.