Muslim endowment may take over site of historic Hebron Russian church

After over 100 years, the land upon which sits the historic Russian church in Hebron may
fall under the custodianship of the Tamim al-Dari Endowment. This week, the Palestinian
Authority High Court of Justice ruled the endowment had legal rights to the land. In
2016, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to allow the Russian Orthodox
Church to renew a 99-year-lease. The move caused great furor and even rioting with the
al-Tamimi clan who claim legal rights based on the 6th century Muslim feudal lord
Tamim al-Dari.

 

THE FAMOUS OAK OF ABRAHAM



The site of the famous Oak of Abraham, also known as the Eshel Avraham or Oak of
Mamre, was acquired in 1868 by Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin) for the Church of
Russia. The Monastery of the Holy Trinity was founded nearby where to this day it
is manned by several Russian monks. It is known in Arabic as Al-Moscobiyeh (also spelled
Al-Moscovia).

 

For generations, Christians have believed it to be the tree that the Biblical
patriarch sat under when he was visited by the three angels as described in Genesis. The
venerated tree once attracted countless pilgrims of various faiths. Medieval
travelers, both Christian and Jewish have mentioned visiting the tree during their
travels to Hebron. A different site, the Elonei Mamre archaeological
park, also in Hebron, is thought to be an older traditional site of where the
tree was located. 

 

The church was held by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia from the time of the
Russian Revolution until Hebron was divided in
1997 and that side of the city fell under the jurisdiction of
the Palestinian Authority.  In July of 1997 PA police seized it and turned it
over to the more sympathetic Moscow Patriarchate. PA forces were accused of
attacking the monks and nuns and forcibly
removing them, turning the property over to the custodians of their
choosing, based on PA leader Yasser Arafat’s past
affiliation with the Soviet Union.

In 2016 former PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah took possession of the site for the
benefit of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem in exchange for financial
compensation to the al-Tamimi clan, the alleged legal heirs of Tamim al-Dari. They
refused to receive the compensation according to a report in Glavnoe
News. This prompted the Tamim al-Dari Endowment to file a lawsuit in the PA
Supreme Court of Justice. They told Maan News Agency last
week they plan to construct buildings on the land.

The endowment stated that in 628, Tamim al-Dari, a Christian convert to Islam and a
friend of the Prophet Mohammed, was granted a fiefdom that included Hebron and the
surrounding areas. The PA Supreme Court ruled that any land that once belonged to
Muslims must be returned, TAAS
News reported.

 

Quds News Network posits that Russian Christians purchased the plot of
land in Hebron, but the land was registered in the name of Jerusalem resident Yaqoub
Al-Halabi because the Ottoman government did not allow the sale of land to
foreigners.

 

FIEFS AND FEUDALISM IN ARAB COMMUNITIES

 

Tamim al-Dari was from the Banu al-Dar, a clan of the Lakhm tribe based in what is today
Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq before the Islamic conquest. He met Muhammad, founder of
Islam, in 628 BCE when he led a delegation of Banu al-Dar members. Previously
Muhammad granted the Banu al-Dar a part of the revenues of conquered land after the
Muslim victory at the Battle of Khaybar. This battle was fought in the year 628 between
Muslims and the Jews living in the oasis of Khaybar, in today’s Saudi Arabia. For almost
a thousand years it was home to one of the largest
ancient Jewish communities in the history of the Jewish people. The Jews were
defeated and forced from their homes, their property and belongings being
confiscated by Muhammad’s army.

 

Al-Dari confronted Muhammad to receive a portion of the looted revenue.
He converted to Islam after meeting him. He was granted a large qita’a (akin to a
fief) for control of Hebron, Beit Einun (the Biblical Beth Anoth) and the
surrounding Hebron Hills area. This took place when the Land of Israel was still
under Byzantine control. When the Muslims conquered the Land of Israel in 634, al-Dari
acquired the territory. He was originally a tax collector. For generations after,
Arab communities in the Land of Israel were ruled by feudal land owners, often from
foreign Muslim lands as the case with the 1834 Peasants’
revolt. 

 

According to tradition, al-Dari is buried in Bayt Jibrin, the site of the
Biblical cities of Beit Gubrin and Maresha, northwest of Hebron. An old stone tomb
located there is referred to as the Maqam of Sheikh Tamim, traditionally taken to be
Tamim al-Dari.

 

When the Ottoman Empire conquered the Land of Israel, they challenged their fellow
Muslims as to the legality of Tamim al-Dari’s fiefdom asserting that he had no male
heirs and doubting his descendants’ claims. 

 

Today, the story of Tamim al-Dari is used by some Muslims to lay claim to Hebron,
including plots of land that Muslim residents openly sold to
non-Muslims.

 

For a full article on the history of the Oak of Mamre and Russian church click here.

For a full article on the Elonei Mamre archeological park click here.

 

 

* Palestinian court
overturns decision to transfer land in Hebron to the Russian Orthodox
Church

* Palestinian
Supreme Court overturns Mahmoud Abbas on transfer of land to the Russian Orthodox
Church

* Palestine
changed its mind to give the Russian Orthodox Church land with
monastery

* Palestinian
court repeals Abbas decree on transfer of land in Hebron

* Supreme
Court overturns president’s decision to grant land to Russian
mission

* Video: High Court of Justice
overturns the president’s decision

* Holy Trinity Monastery in
Hebron isolated from Palestinians and Christians

* Palestinian
Supreme Court repeals decree on transferring ROC site in
Hebron

* Boundaries
of Tamim ad-Dari’s Endowment based on Records of Shari’a Court of
Jerusalem

* The
Supreme Court’s Decision Came After Years of Defending the Waqf
Land

* Palestine
court stops Abbas giving private land to Russia church in
Hebron

* Hebron’s
only Orthodox church quiet on Christmas

* Furor
as Abbas hands over Islamic property to Russian missionaries

* Blood
libel: The myth of ‘private Palestinian land’

 

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