Current:Home > NewsMuslims gather at mosques for first Friday prayers since Israel-Hamas war started-LoTradeCoin
Muslims gather at mosques for first Friday prayers since Israel-Hamas war started
View Date:2024-12-24 08:59:25
In Muslim communities across the world, worshippers gathered at mosques for their first Friday prayers since Hamas militants attacked Israel, igniting the latest Israel-Palestinian war.
CLERICS IN PAKISTAN GIVE EMOTIONAL SERMONS IN SUPPORT OF THE PALESTINIANS
In the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, a cleric at the pro-Taliban Red Mosque pleaded with God to send special help to the Palestinians.
“Oh Allah destroy Israel! Break it apart into pieces,” urged Abdul Aziz in an emotionally charged sermon in a packed mosque, where around 900 worshippers had congregated for Friday prayers.
The mosque has links to the Pakistani Taliban and is known for backing calls to help the Afghan Taliban across the border. In July 2007, government forces laid siege to the mosque in a deadly military crackdown that killed at least 100 people.
In his special prayers and sermon, the Aziz asked God to help all those who wanted to join the jihad, or holy war, in the Palestinian territories.
“Oh Allah make it easy for them to reach there, and bless us with the death of a martyr,” he declaimed, his voice reverberating through the mosque’s loudspeakers.
Similar sermons were held at mosques throughout the country, including the major urban centres of Karachi and Lahore. Radical Islamist parties held anti-Israel rallies after Friday prayers.
People prayed for a Palestinian victory and clerics used their sermons to motivate worshippers to keep Palestinians in their prayers even if they couldn’t join the fight against Israel.
Pakistan has no diplomatic relations with Israel because of the issue of Palestinian statehood.
— Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan
MALAYSIANS RALLY IN KUALA LUMPUR IN SOLIDARITY
Some 1,000 Muslims rallied in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, after Friday prayers to show solidarity with the Palestinians. Chanting “Free Palestine” and “Crush the Zionists,” they burned two effigies draped with Israeli flags.
“This Israeli-Palestinian issue is more than a religious issue, it’s a humanitarian issue,” said Yasmin Hadi Abdul Halim, a student.
Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 98, was among those attending the event.
“Seventy-five years ago, they took away Palestinian land to establish Israel. Not satisfied, they continued to take more land,” Mahatjir said.
“It’s not just about seizing land. The people of Palestine are subjected to torture, murder, imprisonment, and long detentions. Hamas did what they did due to decades of oppression (by Israel).”
Dozens more people attended a smaller rally outside the U.S. Embassy that shut its doors to visitors as a security precaution. The rallies ended peacefully.
— Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
IN INDONESIA, PRAYERS FOR GOD’S PROTECTION AND FOR THE ABSENT
Islamic leaders in Indonesia appealed to all mosques in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation to pray for peace and safety for the Palestinian people.
The chairperson of the Indonesian Mosque Council had urged all mosques to perform the Qunut Nazilahto prayer, one made for protection, to ask for God’s help so that “the conflict in the Gaza Strip would end quickly.”
The appeal from the nation’s former Vice President Jusuf Kalla is in line with most Indonesian Muslims, who stand with Palestinians. The prayer was held along with the Salat Al-Ghaib, or prayer for the absent.
In a sermon at Abu Bakar Al Shidiq, one of the most conservative mosques in Jakarta, a cleric called for mobilizing “our power and efforts to help the Muslims in Palestine.”
“Prayer is a weapon for devout Muslims,” he added, “For those of us who have not been given the opportunity by God to take up arms to defend the honor and religion of our Muslims brothers, then we can take up our weapons by raising our hands asking God for His blessings.”
More than 200 people also rallied in front of the National Monument in Indonesia’s capital on Friday, waving banners expressing solidarity with the Palestinians.
— Niniek Karmini and Edna Tarigan, Jakarta, Indonesia
___
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
veryGood! (25794)
Related
- The results are in: Peanut the Squirrel did not have rabies, county official says
- Hornets’ Miles Bridges denied access to Canada for NBA game due to legal problems, AP source says
- Somber, joyful, magical: Some of the most compelling AP religion photos of 2023
- Five-star quarterback recruit Dylan Raiola flips commitment from Georgia to Nebraska
- Kim Kardashian Says She's Raising Her and Kanye West's 4 Kids By Herself
- Mariah Carey's final Christmas tour show dazzles with holiday hits, family festivities, Busta Rhymes
- Long-delayed Minnesota copper-nickel mining project wins a round in court after several setbacks
- Mining company agrees with court decision ordering Guatemala to grant property rights to community
- Former NFL coach Jack Del Rio charged with operating vehicle while intoxicated
- Appeals court says Mark Meadows can’t move Georgia election case charges to federal court
Ranking
- 3 Iraqis tortured at Abu Ghraib win $42M judgement against defense contractor
- Mexico’s president calls for state prosecutor’s ouster after 12 were killed leaving holiday party
- Greek consulate in New York removes pink flag artwork against domestic violence, sparking dispute
- More than 300,000 air fryers sold at popular retail stores recalled for burn hazard
- Mega Millions winning numbers for November 12 drawing: Jackpot rises to $361 million
- A Rwandan doctor in France faces 30 years in prison for alleged role in his country’s 1994 genocide
- U.S. passport application wait times back to normal, State Department says
- First cardinal prosecuted in Vatican's criminal court convicted of embezzlement
Recommendation
-
California voters reject measure that would have banned forced prison labor
-
San Francisco prosecutors begin charging 80 protesters who blocked bridge while demanding cease-fire
-
Rachel Bilson Reflects on Feud With Whoopi Goldberg Over Men’s Sex Lives
-
Japan’s central bank keeps its negative interest rate unchanged, says it’s watching wage trends
-
College Football Playoff ranking release: Army, Georgia lead winners and losers
-
Jordan Davis nearly turned down his viral moment on Eagles' Christmas album
-
Car linked to person missing since 2013 found in Missouri pond: Major break
-
Eric Montross, national basketball champion with North Carolina, dies at 52