OIC TO ISSUE FATWA ON VISITING AL-AQSA
Jeddah, 19 Jumadil Awwal 1436/ 10 March 2015 (MINA) – The International Islamic Fiqh Academy, an affiliate of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), will hold its 22nd session in Kuwait on March 22-25, to debate issuance of an Islamic ruling (fatwa) on Muslims’ visiting of al-Quds and Al-Aqsa Mosque while remaining under Israeli occupation.
Dr. Hale Abdul Hafeez Dawud, Jordan’s minister of endowment and Islamic holy sites affairs, said his country has re equested that the issue of visiting al-Quds and Al-Aqsa Mosque to be referred to the Islamic Fiqh Academy, following thcalls made by a group of scholars and Islamic bodies for banning the visit, and describing those who will visit the Holy City while it is under occupation as proponents of normalization with Israel.
Dawud said he will carry a message to the forthcoming Fiqh Academy meeting that “the visit is recommended and can be subsumed under the concept of Sharia-oriented policy”, according to International Islamic Newas Agency (IINA) press release received by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA), Tuesday.
He went on to say that the visit will focus on the pros and gains to be obtained, which are far more than the expected cons.
He affirmed that his country supports and adopts the trend of visiting al-Quds and Al-Aqsa Mosque as long as the Islamic ruling on this issue remains as it is – the recommendation of the visit and permissibility of traveling. He pointed out that “this issue is framed in terms of the political expediency.”
Despite referring the issue to the Academy to seek the views of the scholars, Dawud requested for not discussing the visit from the viewpoints of lawful (halal) and unlawful (haram), but rather to be discussed from the viewpoint of “whether the visit has any major benefits for Muslims of not.”
He also called on the opponents of the visit to accept the opinion that favored the visit in order to realize the interest of the travel ruling despite the fact that the “opinion is not based on a consensus of scholars”.
The Jordanian Minister wondered “whether the visit is preferable for the Palestinians, the Western Muslims and the Arab Muslims living in the West, and unlawful for Muslims from Arab countries.”
Dawud acknowledged the fact that Al-Aqsa has been usurped by the Israeli occupation authorities, wondering at the same time “whether we should refrain from visiting our usurped holy mosque because we need permission from its usurpers”. He stressed that his country is willing to make every effort to facilitate the visit to Al-Aqsa for those who are wishing to visit the Holy City and support the Jerusalemites.
Early last January, OIC Secretary General Iyad Ameen Madani, during his visit to the holy city, renewed invitations for Muslims from all over the world to visit Jerusalem, which he named the Capital of Islamic Culture for 2015.
He also called for connecting the Umrah season with the pilgrimage to Al-Aqsa Mosque. (T/P4/R03).
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
