Quds Day – A reminder for the liberation of Jerusalem

Friday September 26th 2008 is the Day of Quds.

by Saybhan Samat

(September 23, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) As soon as the Islamic Revolution in Iran succeeded in 1979 one of the first priorities that Imam Khomeni (RA) implemented was the declaration of the last Friday of Ramadhan as Quds Day. The Liberation of Quds where stands the Al-Aqsa mosque is one of the three holiest sites of Islam, along with the Ka'aba in Mecca and the Prophet's mosque in Medina. It was the first Qibla of Islam. Muslims use to pray in the direction of Quds (Jerusalem) after which they change their direction to the Ka'aba in Mecca as ordered by revelation in the Quran. The Haram-al-Sharif or the Al-Aqsa mosque was also the site of the Prophet's ascension to the Heavens al-Mihraj after the night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem al- Isra.

Imam Khomeni (RA) was aware that liberating Jerusalem would be an astounding task and that Arab nationalism nor Palestinian secularism would not be capable of achieving this gigantic task as the whole world will not permit the liberation of Jerusalem. Hence Imam Khomeni declared the last Friday of every month of Ramadhan as Quds Day for all 1.4 billion Muslims of the world to remind them of their sacred duty to liberate Jerusalem and take over the Al- Aqsa and to prepare for such a task. Every year on this last Friday of Ramadhan there are demonstrations world-wide in most Islamic countries where speakers exhort Muslims to prepare for the liberation of Jerusalem..

It is noteworthy that even in Western countries like Britain, the US and Canada such demonstrations have occurred and continue to occur every year.

Since the occupation of Jerusalem in 1967, there have been several attempts to destroy the sanctuary and rebuild the "Temple Mount" saying it was the site of a temple built by King Solomon which was the centre of the Jewish faith. These attempts to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque include burning the mosque, killing worshippers in the mosque, trying to occupy the mosque, attempting to undermine it physically by excavating tunnels underneath, trying to introduce explosives and conducting archaeological excavation as a pretext to bring down the sacred mosque.

On the last occasion in September 2000 Ariel Sharon, the then leader of the opposition of the Knesset invaded the Haram-al-sharif with a retinue of 1000 body guards. Its stated objective to re-assert Zionist sovereignty over the site. It was widely taken by Zionists as commitment to their hopes of demolishing the Haram and replacing it with a temple. Ariel Sharon now lies in a state of coma neither living nor dead for so many years.

The visit prompted the out-break of the second Palestinian intifada among a Palestinian population that had become disillusioned with both Israel's duplicity and dishonesty in their dealings with the Palestinians since the Oslo Accords, and the secular Palestinian leadership. Besides the sanctuary of Al-Aqsa mosque and Jerusalem, the Zionist are starving. the Palestinians in Ghazzah, bull-dozing their homes, denying them power and water, killing their children, imposing a siege on the whole area and arresting even members who were ministers of the Hamas party. In the West Bank they are cutting the trees, putting up walls of separation and enforcing an apartheid policy degrading the Arabs living there.

The Zionist together with the Western powers will continue to occupy Quds and plot more conspiracies to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque and persecute and torture the Palestinians. The world Muslims must realize that these plots should be defeated. Such a mighty task calls for
Muslim unity to liberate

Al-Quds and Palestine. The Day of Quds is for contemplating the ways and means of achieving this sacred goal.

Finally let us remind ourselves that we should observe the Day of Quds at this historic juncture, at a time when the myth of the Zionist enemy's invincibility has been shattered by the valiant Lebanese Hisbullah who inflicted on the Zionist army it's first ever military defeat in July 2006 . - Sri Lanka Guardian