India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 7— “We will achieve the freedom of Al Quds and Masjid Al-Aqsa in our lifetime,” said a Palestinian scholar in late 50s while referring to some white-bearded people among a select gathering at the headquarters of the All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat here Saturday evening.
Mr. Samir Said, Vice President, Minber Al Aqsa Association, Turkey, was speaking on “Reality of Al Quds”. Native of Palestine, Mr. Said has been living in Istanbul for some years.
After opening remarks by Mushawarat president Navaid Hamid and introduction of the guest by general secretary Mujtaba Farooq, the Palestinian scholar, with the help of blackboard and chalk, sketched a detailed historic picture of Al Quds and the history of ups and downs around it.
Early in his speech, however, he talked about his association with India. He said he was visiting the country for the first time but has always appreciated the love and support of Indian Muslims for the cause of Palestine.
“The biggest support for Palestine from the global Muslims comes from the Indian Muslims. Palestine is not for Palestinians or Arabs, it is for all Muslims of the world,” he said.
Mr. Said started his talk on Al Quds by giving references to the mention of Banu Israel, Al Aqsa and Jews in the Holy Quran. He said there are 835 Ayats related to the subject and there are 53 Surats that about the topic.
Al Aqsa is the third holiest mosque for world Muslims but, he wondered, not many Muslims visit the Al Aqsa compared to Masjid-e Haram in Mecca and Masjid-e Nabwi in Madinah.
In about one-hour speech, he presented a very informative picture of the history of Al Quds – from 1917 to 2019 – and how the Israeli government has usurped the areas of Al Quds over the time.
“Between 1967 and 1993, the Jewish government used politics, fatwa and parliamentary law to prevent Jews from Al Aqsa but in 1993 the highest court of the land allowed Jewish people to entre the area, leading to Intifada” said Mr. Said.
“In 2006, the Israeli government started working on 16 projects surrounding Al Aqsa, that included tunnels, administrative buildings and museum. In 1967, they had destroyed 135 heritage sites including four mosques in the vicinity of Al Quds,” he said.
“In 2013, they came with a plan to stop entry of Muslims in Al Aqsa for 187 days of year, but Palestinians have not allowed them to succeed in their plan. Today the premises of Al Quds has three mosques, each with a separate Imam,” said Mr. Said.
