{"id":3314,"date":"2015-01-06T12:00:27","date_gmt":"2015-01-06T12:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=3314"},"modified":"2015-01-06T12:00:49","modified_gmt":"2015-01-06T12:00:49","slug":"visiting-al-aqsa-every-muslims-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/visiting-al-aqsa-every-muslims-right\/","title":{"rendered":"Visiting Al-Aqsa \u2018every Muslim\u2019s right\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Iyad<\/a>The head of the world\u2019s largest Islamic organization on Monday paid a rare visit to Jerusalem\u2019s Al-Aqsa Mosque, urging Muslims to follow suit and come to the city in a bid to strengthen Palestinian claims to the holy site.
\nThe visit by Iyad Madani, secretary-general of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, came at a sensitive time following months of tensions and violence surrounding the holy site in Jerusalem\u2019s Old City. The hilltop compound is revered by Muslims.
\nAl-Aqsa is Islam\u2019s third-holiest site after Makkah and Madinah.
\n\u201cComing to the mosque is a right for me as well as every Muslim,\u201d Madani said. \u201cIt is our right to come here and to pray here. No occupation authority should take this right from us.\u201d
\nIsrael usurped East Jerusalem, including the Old City, in 1967, in a move that has not been internationally recognized. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
\nThe hilltop compound housing Al-Aqsa lies at the heart of the dispute over Jerusalem.
\nWhile Madani\u2019s predecessor, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, a Turk, also visited Jerusalem, visits by Saudi dignitaries are rare and need to be coordinated with Israel.<\/p>\n

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