Casablanca — HM King Mohammed VI, Commander of the Faithful, flanked by HRH Prince Moulay Rachid and HH Prince Moulay Ismail presided, on Monday at the royal palace in Casablanca, over a new religious lecture in a series of such lectures held during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
The lecture was delivered by advisor to Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs, Mohamed Jamal Hassan Essayyed Abou El Honoud, on “Moroccans and the holy city of Al Quds”, drawing on the following Quranic verse: “Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless,- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things).”
After discussing the special place of Al-Quds in the history of mankind and Muslims, the speaker stressed that the history of the Holy City is related to the prophetic mission of the monotheistic religions since the prophets Ibrahim, Daoud, Suleiman and Jesus Christ until Prophet Mohamed.
He highlighted the symbolism of the story, in the Qur’an, of the journey by night of Prophet Mohamed to Al-Aqsa Mosque and his ascension into heaven, which symbolically refers to the continuity of the prophetic messages since Prophet Ibrahim.
The prominent place of the Al-Aqsa mosque stems from being the first Muslims’ qibla (the direction faced in prayer) until the second year of the Hegira, he argued.
The particular interest that Moroccans have attached to Al-Quds, he said, went back to the first centuries of Islam, the city is an important step in the route of the pilgrims and scholars coming from the Maghreb.
He cites as evidence the military assistance that Moroccans provided to their brothers in the Middle East to counter the Crusades’ invasion during the middle age.
Turning to modern times, the speaker referred to the beginning of the implementation of the Zionist plan to despoil Palestine, more particularly the sites with high spiritual symbolism in Al Quds, including the Wakf property of Moroccans.
The vast majority of houses in Hay Al Maghariba (Moroccans’ Quarter) in the old city of Al Quds have been demolished and turned into a Jewish quarter following the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
In 1969, the arson of the Al Aqsa Mosque by Zionist extremists was the trigger for the creation, at the initiative of late King Hassan II, the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), which held its first summit in Morocco, and whose role was crucial in the defense of the city thanks to Al-Quds Committee, presided over by the King of Morocco, said Hassan Abu Essayyed Al-Honoud.
Following the lecture, HM the King Mohammed VI was greeted by several Muslim figures and scholars coming from all over the world.
On the same occasion, the Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs presented to HM King Mohammed VI lot of the Department’s publications during the current year.
These are the books: “The movement of the Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and its scholars in western Sudan from the 8th to 13th centuries of the Hegira,” by Professor Abderahman Mohamed Migha, “The book of Khalil and its impact on modern studies,” by Professor Mohamed Al-Aji, “Addor Annatir and Al-Adb annamir” of Malki, studied and annotated by Mohamed Boutarbouch as well as the issues 397, 398, 399 and 400 of the magazine “Daouatou Al Hak”.
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