Is this where everything began? - Beliefnet.com

Is this where everything began?

21 Things you may not know about this rock

A boulder, called "The Foundation Stone," al-Shakrah and "The Moriah Stone," atop the highest spot in Jerusalem could not be more holy to four major religions.
 
Today it is enshrined by Jerusalem's most recognizable building - the golden Dome of the Rock - which sits atop what the Jews revere as the Temple Mount.
 
This is the site of Solomon’s Temple. This hilltop was home to the Knights Templar for a century. From the site, they took their name.
 
This is said to be the very spot from which Islam was birthed.
 
In some traditions, it is believed to be the first rock created when the Earth was formed. In one legend, it is the spot where life was first breathed. In another, it caps a mysterious well where the souls of everyone yet not born await.
 
Thus, this is a place of beginnings.
 
For the last 1,000 years, it has been faithfully tended by a mysterious Muslim fraternity called the Waqf. Although Israel soldiers took control of the spot in 1967, within hours, the rock was returned to the Waqf's guardianship.
 
It has been said that tearing down the mosque over this site could easily provoke the start of World War III - and the Battle of Armaggedon.
 
So, why is a boulder on a small hill in a Mediterranean country the size of Delaware so vital to Christians, Jews, Muslims and Bahai?

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