Having conquered Jerusalem, Omar had travelled to Bethlehem in 637 CE to issue a law that would guarantee respect for the shrine and safety of Christians and clergy.

[3][dubious – discuss] Only four years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Omar allegedly prayed at the location of the mosque.

A foreign ministry official, Majdi al-Khaldi, told reporters, At the request of the Chinese government, we have not received or dealt with him given his separatist ambitions for Tibet....

Given our friendly relations with the Chinese government, which supports the Palestinian people, we asked the local (Bethlehem) authorities as well as civil society groups not to receive him and they acquiesced with our request.

[6][7] In February 2007, Israel's Shin Bet security agency arrested 20 men who were allegedly recruited for a "Hamas-linked cell" by a Muslim cleric in the Mosque of Omar.