Hawzah News Agency (Qom, Iran) -Text of the statement issued by head of Iranian seminaries Ayatollah Alireza Arafi is as follows:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

“One who hears Muslims’ call for help and does not answer it, is not a Muslim.” Prophet Muhammad (sawa).

 It’s been 70 years since the Zionist regime occupied Palestinian territories; up to this date, the Israelis are seeking to Judaize Islamic sanctities in Palestine including the holy al-Aqsa mosque. In the same vein, they have tried to change the culture and conscience of Palestinian youth with all their financial and cultural capacities.

The recent developments in Jerusalem al-Quds clearly proved that the Zionist regime has failed in reaching its two aforementioned objectives; the heroic operation of brave Palestinian youth in the occupied Al-Aqsa mosque also showed that Israel’s evil plots in Israelizing the conscience and culture of these people have failed.

In addition, the popular resistance under the leadership of Muslim scholars in Palestine which fought against the Zionists’ attack on al-Aqsa mosque demonstrated the fact that Judaizing this holy mosque is impossible and that the Palestinians are prepared to defend their Islamic sanctities including the first Kiblah in Islam.

 The issue of Palestine and liberation of al-Aqsa has always been a major priority for Islamic Republic of Iran since the victory of 1979 Islamic Revolution under the leadership of late Imam Khomeini (ra) as it is now considered a priority for Muslim scholars and Shia seminaries in Iran.

 The Islamic seminaries of Iran strongly condemn the inhumane crimes of Zionists in attacking the holy al-Aqsa mosque and warn the Israeli regime that desecration of al-Aqsa is the same as hurting the whole Muslim community.

We also ask the international community to live up to their responsibilities and condemn such brutalities; we call on the OIC members (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) and all Muslim countries to stand up to these crimes.

We also express our readiness to cooperate with Muslim scholars worldwide and invite them to join their efforts to come up with a fundamental solution for the issue of Palestine. We believe this is the best time to cooperate and reach such a final solution.

The Islamic Seminaries of Iran