Why is Israel important to Muslims?

Answer 1

In terms of religious significance, the key Muslim holy site in Israel/Palestine is the Dome of the Rock Shrine and the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. The holiness of this place is due to being the spot where Mohammed ascended to the sky and talked to God and the previous Prophets.

However, there are also minor Muslim holy sites scattered throughout the area such as the Cave of the Patriarchs (where Abraham is buried), the Tomb of Jethro (which is more a Druze holy site now than a Muslim holy site, but still important), and several other minor places. However, Israel as a contiguous plot of land has no Muslim religious significance that parallels the Jewish idea that Israel as a contiguous plot of land was their assignment. In fact, the Qur'an actually argues in 5:20-5:21 that the Jewish claim to Israel is the correct one.

However, for Palestinians, most of whom are Muslims, there is a strong attachment to the land due a personal and ancestral connection to the land. In many cases, their ancestors had lived in that territory for centuries as Levantine or Shamite Arabs under Turkish Occupation. Israel is important to them because it was where they, their parents, or their grandparents used to live and now no longer do. In solidarity with the Palestinians, Muslims around the world argue on behalf of the Palestinians and concern themselves with finding a solution acceptable to Palestinian sensibilities. This protesting and advocacy is condoned by the governments of almost all Muslim-majority countries since it prevents those people from focusing that same spirit of advocacy towards the myriad of domestic problems that those governments have no intent of solving.