Beyond Fundamentalism: Confronting Religious Extremism in the Age of Globalization

by Reza Aslan

In 1921, Rabbi Kook established an institute in Jerusalem dedicated to rebuilding the Temple. “Our faith is firm,” he said, “that days are coming when all the nations shall recognize that this place, which the Lord has chosen for all eternity as the site of our Temple, must return to its true owners, and the great and holy House [the Temple] must be built thereon.” Of course, rebuilding the Temple would mean razing the Dome of the Rock. A story is told about Rabbi Goren: After blowing the ram’s horn, the rabbi ran up to General Uzi Narkiss, the commander of the Israel Defense Forces, and urged him to blow up the Dome of the Rock—now, before things settled, before the politicians and the peacemakers appeared. General Narkiss brushed Goren off, and control over the Temple Mount was returned to Jerusalem’s Muslim authorities.