ABSTRACT
The Shihab al-Din affair that agitated Nazareth during 1997-2003 erupted from the intrusion of a group of Islamists into a government-owned square in front of the Basilica of the Annunciation with the insistent demand to build a huge mosque that would overshadow the Basilica. It extended far beyond a local conflict over a piece of land and signified the triangle of MuslimChristian, Jewish-Christian, and Jewish-Muslim relations in Israel and above all the treatment of the Arab citizens by the Israeli-Jewish government. The affair further demonstrated the significance of Nazareth, the Basilica of the Annunciation and the Christian Holy Places in general to worldwide Christianity and the ability of the international community to put pressure on the Israeli government’s decision making regarding the Holy Places. Was the Shihab Al-Din affair a passing episode? Was it a demonstration of Huntington’s “clash of civilizations” theory? To answer these questions, this essay will discuss and analyze the affair in historical perspective as based on written documentation, the media and attitudes of Muslim and Christian personalities toward it.
