Pakistan has been mobilising widespread protests and calling on the Arab world to pressurise the United States to revert President Donald Trump's decision of recognising Jerusalem as capital of Israel.
The Middle East Media Research Institute has published an article titled, "Pakistani religious, political leaders react to President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel", which cited statements made by the Pakistani religious and political leaders that appeared in Roznama Islam, a pro-Islamism Urdu daily, from December 7-10, 2017 against the US President's move.
"U.S. President Donald Trump announced the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and also that the U.S. Embassy would be moved there from Tel Aviv. The announcement sparked protests in the Islamic world, since Muslims consider Jerusalem to be the First Qibla, or direction of prayer, before it was superseded by Mecca. Leaders of political and religious parties in Pakistan also condemned the U.S. announcement in speeches and press statements and at protest rallies in towns across the country," the article read.
"According to a media report, protests were held by different religious and political groups in Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Multan, Karachi, Quetta, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Bahawalpur, Muzaffargarh, and other towns across Pakistan on December 8, and also on previous days. The lead organizations holding the protest rallies included Jamaatud Dawa (the charity arm of the Pakistani jihadi organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)), Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, Jamiat Ahle Hadith, Difa-e-Pakistan Council (Defense of Pakistan Council, a network of militant religious groups that includes Jamaatud Dawa), Jamiat Ahle Hadith, Jamaat Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, Milli Muslim League (a political party in the making and established by Jamaatud Dawa leaders), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, and Pakistan Ulema Council, among others," it added.
The article further went on to quote the statements made by the Pakistani religious and political leaders, in which they condemned the United States Jerusalem recognition and harshly criticised the President Trump of the decision.
Global terrorist and Jihadi Commander Hafiz Muhammad Saeed said, "The oppressed Palestinian Muslims are calling for help; they are today awaiting a Salahuddin Ayyubi; for the defense of Jerusalem, every child of Muslims is ready to sacrifice his life."
Militant leader Allama Aurangzeb Farooqi said, "The current Islam-enemy President [Trump] is pursuing the dangerous plan of stoking a war between the crescent and the cross."
While, Jamaat-e-Islami Leader Naeemur Rehman called for a million man march, Islamic Scholar Mufti Muhammad Naeem termed the US President Trump's decision to recognise the Jerusalem as the capital of Israel as declaration of war against the world of Islam.
"The Trump decision is against the entire Muslim Ummah and an attack on the first Qibla"; we stand by the resistance movement of Hamas"; Jamaat-e-Islami calls for million man march on December 17," said Rehman.
"To recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital Is Trump's declaration of war against the world of Islam"; America, by becoming the agent of the Jewish lobby, is pursuing a policy of destroying all Muslim countries," said Naeem.
Pakistan's National Assembly also passed a resolution calling the US Jerusalem move an attack on the Muslim Ummah.
"This assembly considers the shifting of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to the occupied Jerusalem as an attack on the Muslim Ummah."
Former Pakistan president Gen. Pervez Musharraf said, "Trump's policies are pushing the world toward destruction.
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