Muslims Angrily React to Obliterated al-Aqsa Poster

Date: 25 May 2018 - 21:29

News ID: ۵۳۳۳۵

WEST BANK (Dispatches) – U.S. Ambassador to the Israeli-occupied territories David Friedman has come under fire for posing with a doctored aerial photo of al-Quds, which replaced the al-Aqsa Mosque — Islam’s third holiest site — and the Dome of the Rock, known as al-Haram al-Sharif, with an imaginary temple.
Friedman received the poster as he was visiting Bnei Brak, a city located just east of Tel Aviv, during a tour organized by a radical Zionist organization.
The controversial image soon made the rounds on the social media, prompting widespread fury.
Egypt's Al Azhar, the Sunni Muslim world's foremost religious institution, condemned the move on Thursday, calling it "inappropriate and irresponsible."
In a statement, the organization blasted Friedman and the Zionist organization, Achiya, for continuing "the policy of the Zio-American provocation and damaging the feelings of a billion and a half Muslims around the world."
Referring to the city's status as the capital of a future Palestinian state, the statement stressed that the move "will not change history and al-Quds will remain the capital of the Palestinian people." Al Azhar said the al-Aqsa Mosque "will remain in the hearts of Muslims.”
Wary that the backlash was going to further fuel Palestinian anger over the relocation of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to al-Quds, the U.S. diplomatic mission rushed to criticize the move in a statement.
Claiming that Friedman was not aware of the alteration at the time, the U.S. embassy demanded an apology later in the day and said the U.S. supported the status quo at the holy site.
"Ambassador Friedman was not aware of the image thrust in front of him when the photo was taken,” the embassy said in a statement. "He was deeply disappointed that anyone would take advantage of his visit to Bnei Brak to create controversy."
Friedman, who oversaw the much-criticized embassy move last week, tried to contain the damage in a separate statement, saying he was "mortified more than any Palestinian" over the issue.
The Zionist organizers at Achiya also attempted to distance themselves from the matter by issuing an apology to Friedman and downplaying the incident as a "cheap political act” by an employee.

U.S. Ambassador David Friedman standing next to the controversial photo, May 22, 2018