EGYPT: Cleric calls for 'Friday of anger' against Al Aqsa violations

The head of the International Union for Muslim Scholars, Yusuf Al Qaradawi, is urging Egyptians to turn this Friday into a nationwide day of anger against the "Israeli practices at the Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem."

The Qatar-based cleric flew to Egypt from Doha on Monday to deliver a speech at the Egyptian Journalists' Syndicate in Cairo, where he condemned the Arab governments' silence towards the "violation of Al Aqsa's holiness" by Israeli settlers and occupation forces.

Tensions erupted in the area known as Al Haram Al Sharif to Muslims and the Temple Mount to Jews last week when a group of non-Muslims entered the compound, which is the third holiest venue in Islam and the most important in Judaism.

While Israeli authorities said that the group was composed of French tourists, Palestinians believed that they were Israeli extremists entering the mosque in celebration of the Jewish Sukkot festival. Further confrontations took place Sunday as tens of Palestinians entered the mosque overnight amid rumors that larger numbers of Israelis will be allowed to enter the mosque, before Israeli forces shut down the holy site.

Muslims under 50 years old were later banned from praying inside the mosque and on Monday, thousands of Jewish worshipers prayed at the Western wall below Al Aqsa for religious celebrations.

Qaradawi, who is well-known for his controversial fatwas, urged all Egyptian clerics to dedicate Friday prayer speeches to showing solidarity with Al Aqsa and asking Muslims to gather for peaceful protests afterward.

The outspoken cleric is famous for once calling Jews a profligate, cunning and arrogant band of people. He has long been in support of Palestinian suicide bombers and previously said that the Holocaust was God's punishment to Jews for their corruption.

Qaradawi wasn’t the only cleric to criticize Arab regimes for their "passiveness" against "Israeli violations." A number of religious scholars said that the Arab and Muslim world should rush to defend the sacred Aqsa from repeated "Zionist assaults."

--Amro Hassan in Cairo

Photo: Yusuf Al Qaradawi. Credit: Al Destour

Comments

[Notorious ABG]

Before talking Goldstone Report, why don't you, Felonious Punk, talk about the 8 years of more than 10,000 missile strikes from Gaza and Lebanon into Israel.

Or better yet, how about you brush up some of your Middle Eastern knowledge by discussing the Sbarro pizzeria bombing, the Dolphinarium disco bombing, the multiple of Jerusalem bus bombings, or the infamous Seder bombing?

Or, to take it down a notch, how about you read From Time Immemorial, which breaks down, quite frankly, the notion that Palestine used to include all of Jordan and Lebanon, as well as all of Israel, and parts of Syria and Iraq. This way we can at least be on the same level of historical understanding rather than try to outdo each other with hyperbolic bs.

[Diane]

In the old testament/Torah the prophet Zechariah writes- "I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling, Judah (which was ancient Israel) will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for ALL the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. Zechariah 12:3-5 NIV. While Jerusalem has been fought over for centuries, this is the one time in history when all the nations have sided with the Palestinians instead of Israel. They do this at their own peril. G-d has been merciful and patient with Israels enemies long enough.

[eyesjamesq]

Can you imagine the outrage if Catholic or Christian Denominations started acting like Muslims, killing innocent people by bombings or cutting their heads off, yet, when Muslims act violently we are told that we must understand their rage and what caused it. I can tell you what is causing it, it's called evil, evil is easy to spot if you are honest and maybe that's the problem, honesty from our leaders and honesty from the media has evaporated.

[Sam Deakins]

Another day of muslim rage? This is getting a little bit old.

[Felonious.Punk]

Good, and where is the coverage on the Goldstone (Gaza) report that has Palestine and the Arab world in a fit? Nothing anywhere on this website? It's been on others for days!

[Using sentence structure as a tool for distortion.]

Its strange, israeli assertions are given a authoritative parts of speech where as almost always, almost all american newspapers, think that what all Palestinians say are a part of their believe.

e.g. "While Israeli authorities said that the group was composed of French tourists, Palestinians believed that they were Israeli extremists entering the mosque in celebration of the Jewish Sukkot festival."