SHURA and MANAR Condemn Israel’s Escalation Attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque

Kuala Lumpur, MINA – The Chairman of the Secretariat of the Asian Overseas Ulema Association (SHURA), Datuk Wira Sheikh Abdul Ghani Samsuddin and Chairman of the Al-Aqsa World Defense Mosque Alliance (MANAR), Datuk Seri Sheikh Ahmad Awang condemned the increasingly widespread attacks by Israeli occupation forces at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

“We condemn the increasing attacks and siege of the Israeli force at the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” said the SHURA and MANAR statement received by MINA on Saturday.

The statement said that according to the Jewish year in 2018 alone as 28,800 Jewish settlers stormed Al Aqsa Mosque. Palestinian ministry also documented as 101 Israeli offenses against holy sites in the occupied Palestinian territories during December 2018, the Quds Press reported.

Meanwhile, Israeli settlers also carried out more than 30 attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque and banned the call to prayer 51 times at the Ibrahim Mosque in Hebron. In addition, provocative attacks and marches in the Old City of Jerusalem and arrests orders for deportation of Al-Aqsa guards and immigration officers.

Meanwhile, the recent siege on the Dome of the Rock by the Israeli army was another attempt to change the status of the holy mosque. According to the director of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Omar Al-Kiswani said Israeli Force must take full responsibility for the attacks that took place in the compound (the Sakkrah Dome). He also added that the Israeli Forces have been trying to impose a new reality with reasons that were truly unacceptable.

For Muslims, Al-Aqsa Mosque does not only have a strong attachment because the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had traveled Isra (night trips from Al-Haram Mosque to Al-Aqsa Mosque) and Mi’raj (sky trip), but also because the Mosque Al-Aqsa is the first qibla of Muslims.

Israeli forces target Al-Aqsa Mosque because they claim there is a temple site under the mosque. They dug tunnels under the mosque until make damage the foundation. While in reality there were no signs of the site. Although there is, it will not legitimize the claim that a building was there 2,000 years ago.

“We strongly condemn the act of Zionist Israel to carry out persistent barbaric practices supported by the US,” the statement explained.

They also deplored the cowardice of the Arab rulers. They only concerned to their power. Everything can be done, including sacrificing the Palestinians.

“We remind that Al-Aqsa Mosque is not only a matter of Palestine but also the responsibility for every Muslim in the world, especially Muslim rulers because they have power,” the statement added.

It is unfortunate that Arab leaders did not take any action. They did not dare to speak out against Zionist crime because fear of losing the throne.

“We call on the world Islamic movement to take on the role as achievement of Salahudin Al-Ayyubi who liberated Jerusalem in 1187,” the statement said. (T/Sj/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)