Egypt\'s grand mufti, Jordanian prince visit Al-Aqsa mosque

Egypt\'s mufti visits Jerusalem for the first time Egypt\'s grand mufti visited Jerusalem\'s Al-Aqsa mosque on Wednesday, a senior Muslim official said, despite claims by an internationally prominent cleric that such visits are a sop to Israel.

The prince and mufti were received by the head of the Jerusalem Endowments Council Sheikh Abdul-Azim Salhab, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, and director of the Jerusalem Administration Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib.
Al-Khatib said Ali Gomaa, Egypt\'s highest religious authority, \"came for a religious visit to Al-Aqsa mosque\" along with Jordan\'s Prince Ghazi bin Mohammed, King Abdullah II\'s cousin and advisor on religious issues.
Before visiting the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, Prince Ghazi and Grand Mufti Ali Goma visited the Tomb of the Prophet Moses near Jericho. They also visited the Holy City of Jerusalem.
The Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem, is Beatitude Theophilos III, also invited them for lunch.
Prince Ghazi also chose the location where the King Abdullah II Endowment for the Integral Chair for the Study of Imam al-Ghazali’s Work - established in association with the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought (RABIIT) - will be set up. He selected the Golden Gate (Bab Sitna Maryam) due to its history as the setting of Arab poet Ghazali\'s famed retreat, and wrote his magnum opus \"Ihya Ulum al-Din\" (Restoring the Religion\'s Studies) almost 900 years ago.
The dignitaries also met with some members of the Jerusalem Endowments Administration, (which is historically a part of the Jordanian Ministry of Endowments) and heard a brief about their requirements, achievements and challenges related to Hashemite restorations at al-Haram Al-Sharif.
Al-Khatib praised the visit, considering it as \"relief for the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Arab population of Jerusalem\". Hwoever, the visit was slammed by several Egyptian fronts, who considered it a step to normalising relations with Israel.
The prince and Grand Mufti reportedly prayed in the main building of Al-Aqsa, in the Dome of the Rock, the Buraq Mosque, the Marwani Mosque, the underground Aqsa (also called the Old Aqsa) and in the outdoor compound.
The two men also visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Greek Orthodox patriarchate, said Khatib.Prince Ghazi is Jordanian King Abdullah II\'s chief advisor for religious and cultural affairs and his personal envoy.
All three sites are located in Jerusalem\'s Old City, which is controlled by Israel, which considers the city its eternal and indivisible capital.
In Amman, Jordan\'s ministry of awqaf and Islamic affairs said the visit was in accordance with a command from the Prophet Mohammed to visit only three mosques on pilgrimage -- Al-Aqsa and the mosques in Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia.
It added that Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas had \"called on Muslims everywhere to visit Al-Aqsa and revitalise it by filling it with worshippers and pilgrims.\"
\"This trip ... is seen as an effort to encourage Muslims who are able to visit Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam\'s three holiest sites, and Islam\'s first Qiblah (direction of prayer),\" it said.
It comes after Qatar-based Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an Egyptian, said in a religious edict (fatwa) last month that Muslims should not visit Jerusalem \"because it requires dealing with Zionist embassies to obtain visas.\"
\"Such visits might also give legitimacy to the occupation and could be seen as normalisation,\" Qaradawi said in March.
His fatwa has drawn the ire of Palestinian awqaf minister Mahmud al-Habbash, saying it was \"weird and contradicts the Koran and the Prophet\'s teachings.\"
\"The fatwa serves Israeli policies that seek to isolate Jerusalem and Palestinians, who should be supported,\" Habbash said.Egypt\'s Muslim Brotherhood on Thursday denounced the rare visit, with a senior official of its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) saying Gomaa \"must be held to account\".
\"What he did cannot be justified and cannot be endorsed,\" said Osama Yassin in comments posted on the website of the Brotherhood, Egypt\'s largest political group. He did not elaborate.
A number of of Al-Azhar students and political activists called for a protest Friday in front of Al-Azhar\'s administrative office after Gomaa\'s visit where he also inaugurated the Imam Ghazali chair of Islamic studies under the auspices of the Jordanian Al-Bayt Foundation.
Al-Azhar students protested Wednesday in front of the Al-Azhar student residence building for the same reason.
Gomaa repeated his refusal of normalisation between Muslims and the Israeli occupation while highlighting the importance of supporting Jerusalem and reawakening the Palestinian cause for Muslims.
He added that any person visiting Jersualem naturally feels a reawakening of the importance of the issue in his heart.Gomaa was appointed by to his post in 2003 by ousted leader Hosni Mubarak. He heads Dar al-Ifta, which advises Muslims on spiritual and life issues ranging from marriage rituals to commercial dealings.
Public opinion in Egypt is generally hostile to warmer relations with Israel, and many had criticised Mubarak for closely coordinating policies with Israel. In September a mob of protesters attacked the Israeli embassy in Cairo after Israeli forces killed five Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula during a pursuit of militants. Israel said the killings were accidental.
Gomaa\'s spokesman, Ibrahim Negm, said the visit was organised by the Jordanian royal family to inaugurate an Islamic research centre. Gomaa is a member of the board of trustees of the centre.
Earlier this month, the Jordanian king\'s half-brother, Prince Hashim, paid a similar visit to Jerusalem. Also, Jordan\'s Interior Minister Mohammad Raud went to the Holy City this week.
The kingdom\'s powerful opposition Islamists have denounced such visits.
\"In line with Islamic edicts issued by respected clerics and consultations with Christian religious leaders, we consider these trips as acts of normalisation that serves the schemes of the enemy,\" said Hamzeh Mansur, chief of the Islamic Action Front, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, on the party\'s website.
\"Mosque preachers, thinkers, intellectuals and journalists should intensify their efforts to warn the public against the dangerous risks behind such visits, which must not continue,\" added Mansur, who also heads an anti-normalisation committee.
And the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, also frowned on the visit, saying it was \"inappropriate.\"
\"This visit is a sign of normalisation with Israel,\" said spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri. \"Israel will exploit this visit to legalise the occupation\" of the Palestinian territories.
Jordan, which has a 1994 peace treaty with Israel, is the custodian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem.
One of the most sensitive places in the Middle East, the mosque is referred to by Muslims as Al-Haram Al-Sharif and is the third most sacred site in Islam. The mosque compound is known to Jews as the Temple Mount and is revered as Judaism\'s most sacred site.
Extremist Jews have allegedly made frequent visits to the Al-Aqsa Mosque recently, trying to perform Jewish worship there. Extremist groups have reportedly called for the reconstruction of Solomon\'s Temple on the ruins of the holy mosque.