Hawzah News Agency (Cairo, Egypt) -  Youssef Ziedan, a writer, novelist, journalist and university professor, has recently asserted that the al-Aqsa Mosque that has been mentioned in the Quran is not the al-Aqsa Mosque in Quds (Jerusalem).

He claimed the al-Aqsa mentioned in the Quran is located near Taif in Hijaz, Saudi Arabia.

Ziedan has also said that the al-Aqsa Mosque in Quds did not exist at the time of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) but was later built during the reign of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (646- 705 AD).

Sheikh Tayeb censured Ziedan’s remark, saying those who make such comments are ignorant, seek to spread superstition and play in the hands of the Zionists.

There is no proof to corroborate such claims, he added.  

Ziedan’s comments coincided with US President Donald Trump’s move to officially declare the holy city of Quds Israel's capital, despite warnings from around the world that the measure risks triggering a fresh wave of violence in the Middle East.

In a speech at the White House on December 6, Trump said his administration would also begin a years-long process of moving the American embassy in Tel Aviv to Quds.

The move has drawn criticism and condemnation from around the world.

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