Cornerstone for Nazareth Mosque.

By Ross Dunn (VOA-Jerusalem)

Muslim leaders Tuesday unveiled the cornerstone of a controversial new mosque near a major Christian shrine in Nazareth, the town of Jesus' boyhood. The Israeli Government is determined the project will go ahead despite an outcry from the Vatican and other

A crowd of about 3,000 Muslims gathered, many of them kneeling in prayer before the unveiling of a large slab of marble, the cornerstone of the new mosque.

The ceremony marked a victory for the Muslim community in the town, which has been fighting for years for the right to build a new shrine over the tomb of Shahab-eld Din, the nephew of Saladin, who conquered the Holy Land in the name of Islam eight centuries ago.

But this has not pleased the Christian residents, who are angered that the mosque is to be constructed on a plaza facing the Basilica of the Annunciation, where tradition holds that the Angel Gabriel told Mary she would give birth to Jesus.

Christian leaders - who say the site will only lead to increased friction with Muslims -- closed churches across the Holy Land for two days in protest.

The Latin Patriarch, Michel Sabbah, the most senior Roman Catholic official, says the protest action is necessary in order to give support to Christians in Nazareth, who are outnumbered by their Muslim counterparts in the town.

But the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nazareth, Suleiman Abu Ahmed, said the protests are not necessary because the Christians in the town, like the Muslims residents, are all Arabs fighting for the same rights and freedoms. "Christians in Nazareth do not need any help from any other forces in the world. We as Muslims respect all the Christians in Nazareth because the Christian people here are our brothers, are Palestinian people. We have the same future, we have the same history, no problems between Muslims and Christians totally."

Ahmed says Sabbah should realize that mosques, churches and synagogues are, in the end, all monuments to the same God. "We say welcome for Mr. Sabbah. We are going to build a mosque to pray for the God of the Christians, to pray for the God of the Muslims, to pray for the God of the Jewish. No more (arguing about) God in the world. Only one God in the world."

Ahmed says the Israeli Government's decision to build a police station in the plaza to keep the peace between the two groups is offensive. But Israel's Internal Security Minister, Shlomo Ben-Ami, is not taking any chances. He says a police presence will be vital in order to prevent possible outbreaks of violence. And despite the unveiling of the cornerstone, Ben-Ami is planning to delay the start of construction for two years. He says this should help ease tensions during the next 12 months when Christians will be celebrating the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus.