Muslim scholars call for ‘day of support’ for Al-Aqsa

By Ahmed Asmar
ANKARA (AA) – The International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS) has called for dedicating Friday, March 12, a day of support for Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque.

In a statement, the Doha-based grouping said “support of Al-Aqsa and the liberation of occupied Jerusalem is a religious duty and necessity”.

The IUMS said the Israeli practices of home demolitions and displacement of Palestinians in Jerusalem amount to crimes against humanity.

“It is our duty towards our people in Palestine to expose these crimes and condemn them,” it said.

“The practices of the [Israeli] occupier in Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem require from the [Muslim] nation to stand up against the occupation and its projects and boycott it economically, not normalizing with it,” the scholar union said.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the Temple Mount, claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Last month, the IUMS called for marking the Jerusalem International Week on 6-12, to show support to the Palestinian struggle against the decades-long Israeli occupation.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Middle East conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- occupied by Israel since 1967 -- might eventually serve as the capital of an independent Palestinian state.