Friends of Al-Aqsa

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Friends of Al-Aqsa
About Us




Friends of Al-Aqsa is a UK based non-profit making NGO concerned with defending the human rights of Palestinians and protecting the sacred al-Aqsa Sanctuary in Jerusalem. This vision is supported by various international groups and organisations. Friends of Al-Aqsa was first established in 1997 and now has an international support base.

Aims & Objectives
The following aims and objectives are being pursued using all the available peaceful, legal and democratic means:

(a) Highlighting Human Rights abuses suffered by the Palestinians
(b) Putting pressure on the British government to make Israel respect International Law and human rights
(c) Bringing the Palestinian issue to the attention of those concerned with International Law, human rights and UN Resolutions
(d) Mobilising international condemnation for Israel’s apartheid policies to be manifested through the boycott of Israel
(e) Educating people on the issue of Palestine through conferences, lectures and publications
(f) Emphasising the significance and the centrality of the al-Aqsa Mosque to the Islamic faith and the Muslim identity and re-affirming the Muslim historic and religious rights to the area
(h) Working in conjunction with international heritage, cultural and humanitarian organisations in joint ventures to advance these aims

Background

All the land of historic Palestine is now occupied by Israel. In 1948, the state of Israel was established on 78% of Palestinian land. In 1967, Israel occupied the remaining 22% of Palestinian land (the West Bank and Gaza Strip). This occupation has persisted to this day, in defiance of international law and public opinion.

The creation of Israel resulted in a catastrophe (Nakba) for the Palestinians, and over 700,000 became refugees. Only a few thousand were able to return to their homes. There are now almost 6 million Palestinian refugees living in refugee camps in the occupied territories and in other countries around the world. They live in squalid conditions with little hope for a prosperous future without the right to return home to their historic lands.

Those Palestinians who were able to return to their homes and live in what is now Israel shoulder the harsh burden of apartheid laws. Their movement within their own country is restricted and they face all manner of discrimination from the state. If they choose to marry a spouse from the occupied territories, they are denied the right to family unification in Israel; they are denied employment and educational opportunities and many live in Arab only towns and villages which do not receive the same public services as Jewish towns. While they suffer social denigration, they are still required to pay heavy taxes to the Israeli state. They are in every sense second class citizens denied basic rights by the state of Israel.

The al-Aqsa Sanctuary

The sacred al-Aqsa Sanctuary in Jerusalem is one of three most Holy Mosques in the Islamic faith. The Sanctuary is referred to in the Holy Qur'an and Ahadiths (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him). Fundamentalist Israelis have threatened the Sanctuary and the mosque buildings within it since the creation of the state of Israel. After the 1967 war, these threats became more pronounced. In 1969, the Mihrab dating back to the time of Salaheddin Ayubi within one of the mosque buildings was set ablaze by a Zionist who spent weeks infiltrating the compound and gaining trust. The extensive damage took 20 years to repair.

Several excavations underneath the Sanctuary carried out by the Israeli state have weakened the foundations of the compound. As a result, cracks have started to appear on some parts of the Mosque walls. Recently Zionist organisations, seventeen in all, including ‘The Temple Mount Fund' ‘The Temple Institute' and ‘The Research Institute for the Temple' have openly declared their aim of demolishing the mosques within the Al-Aqsa Sanctuary and replacing them with a Jewish Temple. Such an objective is contrary to Jewish scriptures as stated in the Halacha. These groups are working without any restrictions from the state and are confident that a Jewish Temple will be built on the site of the Holy al-Aqsa Sanctuary.

International Law

The UN Security Council has passed more than 20 Resolutions condemning Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem and its military occupation of the West Bank. The UN has re-affirmed the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland over 100 times, in accordance with international law. Repeated violations of human rights; disregard for International Law, especially the Fourth Geneva Convention; restriction of access into the al-Aqsa Sanctuary and its physical desecration are all being committed routinely.

Join us in opposing this brutal occupation.