Muslim Groups Condemn Trump’s Move on Al-Quds

WORLD CAPITALS – Leaders of Islamic organizations and groups worldwide condemned US President Donald Trump’s unilateral decision Wednesday to move the US Embassy to Al-Quds, Occupied Jerusalem, warning that the decision will further destabilize the Middle East.

In the US, Nihad Awad, national executive director for the Council for American-Islamic Relations, blasted Trump’s action as “offending the religious sensibilities of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims, and empowering political and religious extremists of all stripes at home and abroad.”

Pakistan’s Ulema Council also announced they will observe December 8 as “Youm-e-Al-Quds” (Al-Quds Day) to express solidarity with people of Palestine.

The declaration followed the meeting of Pakistan’s Ulema Council delegation with Palestinian ambassador, which demanded world leadership and the Muslim worldwide community to restrain the US administration from shifting the US consulate from Tel Aviv to Al-Quds.

In Rabat, the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) warned against the disastrous implications of the US recognition of Al-Quds as the Israeli capital.

Meanwhile, the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) issued a statement to lament Trump’s “catastrophic” decision on Al-Quds.

“We remind you that Jerusalem always has been, and will always be, a Muslim, an Arab, and a Palestinian land. The announcement by the American President will only contribute to and intensify the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” ANIC said in a statement published on Thursday.

The group called for action to address this urgent issue, asking imams to include “the importance and the status of the holy city of Jerusalem in Islam” in Friday sermon.

Moreover, it urged members of the Muslim community to “exercise their civil and democratic rights in objecting and conveying this message to their local MPs and politicians.

The Doha-based International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) called for an “Arab-Muslim uprising” after Trump’s announcement.

“We call upon the Muslim nation’s scholars and preachers to convey the seriousness of the US decision to Muslims worldwide,” the IUMS said in a statement cited by Anadolu Agency.

The union went on to call for demonstrations across the region in upcoming days to show solidarity with Jerusalem and the Palestinian cause.

“Protests should be held within the framework of a popular uprising for the sake of the Al-Aqsa Mosque [in Jerusalem],” the statement read.