Declaration World Mosque Day – Commemorating the burning of Al Aqsa Mosque

In conjunction with the commemoration of the burning of Al Aqsa Mosque on 21 August 1969 (the 52nd anniversary), we proclaimed the following statement:

• CLAIMING * firmly that Al Aqsa As Syarif Mosque belongs to Muslims.
• UNDERSTAND* Al Aqsa As Syarif Mosque is the first qibla of Muslims.
• REALIZING* that Al Aqsa As Syarif Mosque is the second mosque built on earth after the Grand Mosque in Makkah.
• UNDERSTAND* Al Aqsa As Syarif Mosque is the site of Isra and Mi’raj of Prophet Muhammad SAW.
• BELIEVE* that the name of Al Aqsa As Syarif Mosque is mentioned in the Quran and it is the second mosque where the vicinity around it is blessed by Allah SWT.
• UNDERSTAND* Al Aqsa As Syarif Mosque is the third most glorious mosque in terms of the call to visit it and the great reward of praying in it.
• TAKE* note that the historic Al Aqsa As Syarif Mosque in the holy land is the focus of worship for the 3 religions of revelation of Muslims, Christians and Jews.
• WE HEREBY * take note in memory of the event
  of the burning of Al Aqsa As Syarif Mosque on 21 August 1969, remind all Muslims :

• The Jews claim that they are the only race who have the right to the Al Aqsa As Syarif Mosque because they pronounced that on its site is a house of worship which they call Haikal Sulaiman (Solomon temple)
• The formation of the Zionist state of Israel, among others, was encouraged to rebuild the Solomon Temple and make Jerusalem belong only to the Jews.
• Israel as a nation of Jews is determined to demolish the Al Aqsa As Syarif Mosque so that their Solomon temple can be enacted. To this day, the Israeli Zionists have dug a network of tunnels under the Al Aqsa As Syarif Mosque to demolish its walls.
• In June 1967 Israel managed to take control of Jerusalem after conquering all of Palestine in a 6-day Arab-Israeli war.
• On 21 August 1969 an Australian Jew named Michael Dennis Rohan set fire to the Al Aqsa As Syarif Mosque causing extensive damage to the mosque.
• As a result of this criminal act, the OIC was formed and the date of the arson was remembered as World Mosque Day.
• That Jews have since tried repeatedly to burn the Al Aqsa As Syarif Mosque in 1986 and 1987.
• The killing of pilgrims who were praying and performing ‘itikaf in the Al Aqsa As Syarif Mosque by the Israeli army for the first time on October 8, 1990 which resulted in 22 martyrs and hundreds more injured.
• The second massacre of pilgrims in 1996 followed by Israel committing various acts of violence against Muslims who were performing worship and control the entrance to the Al Aqsa As Syarif Mosque until today. The latest violence once again erupted leading to clashes between pilgrims with the Israeli army and the Jewish population in Jerusalem.
  
  WE HEREBY demand:
  ▪Muslims all over the world must unite to liberate Al Aqsa As Syarif Mosque from the grip of Jewish Zionists. ▪All mosques in the world become a network of Muslims to mobilize efforts to struggle for the liberation of Al Aqsa As Syarif Mosque.
  ▪The mosque institution must be the unifying of Muslims in the jihad to liberate the rights of Muslims over the Al Aqsa As Syarif Mosque.
  ▪All mosques in the world need to unite under the Tahaluf Masjid Al Alami Lil Difa ‘Al Masjid Al Aqsa As Syarif. ▪A World Wafq Mosques Fund needs to be established to defend and protect Al Aqsa As Syarif Mosque. ▪Minmbar Masjid must be utilised to spread the slogan of to liberating Al Aqsa As Syarif Mosque
  ▪OIC needs to hold a special conference to revive the struggle of liberating Al Aqsa As Syarif Mosque as the main agenda of Muslims
  
  Datuk Seri Sheikh Ahmad Awang
  Chairman of the World Mosque Alliance in Defenceof Al Aqsa Mosque (MANAR)
  Datuk Wira Sheikh Abdul Ghani Samsudin
  Chairman of the Secretariat of the Assembly of Asian Scholars (SHURA)
  Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid
  President Malaysian Consultative Council Islamic Organizations (MAPIM)