Mufti of Quds Warns against Planned Incursions by Zionist Settlers into Al-Aqsa Mosque
Sheikh Mohammad Hussein said in a statement Monday that the calls by extremist Jewish groups on their followers to show up in large numbers at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the third holiest site in Islam, in the coming weeks is a dangerous escalation that aims to change the status quo of the holy place as a Muslim-only worship area.
“These calls come in the context of the frantic campaign led by the Israeli occupation government to Judaize the holy city as planned,” said Sheikh Hussein, Wafa news agency reported.
“What the city of al-Quds is facing aims at Judaizing it completely, dividing the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque temporally and spatially, changing the features of the Arab and Islamic city, and creating a new fait accompli that prevents Arabs and Muslims from reaching it,” said the Mufti.
He called on Muslims in the holy land to be present all the time at the Mosque to block attempts by the Jewish fanatics to desecrate it and change its status, and on Muslims around the world to do what they can to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque and al-Quds from attempts to change their status.
Jewish extremist organizations that seek to see Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, which together form the walled Al-Haram Al-Sharif, or holy sanctuary, destroyed and replaced by a Jewish temple take advantage of Jewish holidays to urge their followers to be present at the Muslim holy compound in an effort to change its current status and eventually take it over.
Israeli police regularly provide protection as they escort the fanatics on their tour of the holy compound. Palestinians, including Mosque employees and guards, who object to the behavior of the fanatics if they break the rules of the visit, are either detained or ordered to remain away from the compound for several weeks and months.
