Occupied Jerusalem -
Days after an Israeli court issued a decision ruling the right of Jews to the so-called "silent prayer" in Al-Aqsa Mosque, the occupation began targeting some personalities in Jerusalem by summoning them for interrogation and removing some of them from the blessed mosque.
At the head of these figures is the preacher of Al-Aqsa, the head of the Supreme Islamic Council, Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, who received a decision to expel him from the Noble Mosque for a week, and to return to receive another decision in which the period of deportation ranges between 4 and 6 months.
Sheikh Sabri, who is nicknamed "Amin al-Minbar", confirmed - through an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera Net - that his firm position on the issue of Al-Aqsa is a divine duty that must be adhered to, and that he is ready for any aggression and unjust decision directed at him by the Israeli occupation.
Following is the text of the dialogue with the blessed preacher of Al-Aqsa, who touched on the latest violations in Al-Aqsa Mosque and its surroundings, and what awaits this Islamic sanctuary after the public prayers of the extremists in its precincts?
Let's start with your last summons. How long did the investigation last and what did it focus on?
This summons is not the first and it will not be the last as long as the occupation is on our chests, and the goal is to silence the mouths and clear the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque of Muslims so that the Jewish intruders can carry out their attacks on the mosque.
The focus during the investigation was on the issue of Al-Aqsa Mosque in general and the Bab Al-Rahma prayer hall in particular, which I emphasized is an inseparable part of the mosque, and this is what the occupation does not like because it plans to control it and turn it into a synagogue for Jews, and consequently it bothers them to frequent the prayer hall to pray in it, which they do not want by it so as not to encourage others to pray in it.
They charged me, as usual, with incitement, in addition to the fact that my presence in Al-Aqsa leads to disturbing public order, and they fabricated these charges to give themselves a justification for deporting me from the mosque for a week that can be extended based on the orders of the Inspector General of Police.
How is Sheikh Ikrima Sabri treated during interrogation due to age and health conditions?
The occupation does not give any respect or dignity to the old or the young, to a woman or to a child, but I was answering in the light of the question that was put to me and according to my convictions only.
This summons to you and other personalities known for their firm stance on the Al-Aqsa issue comes days after an Israeli court decided to allow Jews to pray silently in the mosque. Why?
This is a very important matter. They want to know whether there are reactions to the decision to allow the Jews to pray silently at Al-Aqsa or not, and in light of the reactions they move to another advanced stage of aggression or retreat.
Consequently, the occupation wants to anticipate events with arrests, summonses, and deportations so that things do not develop into another direction, and so that an effective opposition to the occupation does not occur, and this is a programmed and planned matter because they expect angry reactions. So that they do not object to the last decision by targeting some personalities.
Do we expect in the coming days what is worse for Al-Aqsa Mosque?
What after the public prayers of the settlers in Rahabah?
This depends on the reactions. If they are at the required level, as in the two gifts of Bab al-Asbat in the summer of 2017 and Bab al-Rahma in the winter of 2019, the occupation will retract its aggressions and its aggressive racist plans. Others are advanced, and this depends on the position of the Jerusalemites on the one hand, and the Arab and Islamic countries on the other.
Accordingly, we warn of the deterioration of the situation in terms of aggression against Al-Aqsa, and we hold the Israeli government responsible because it is hardening to prove that it is able to meet the demands of the extremists and that it is stronger than the government that preceded it, and all at the expense of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. This racist policy is rejected and the current extremist right-wing government bears its responsibility.
Not far from Al-Aqsa Mosque, the attacks are renewed these days on the Yusufiya cemetery, adjacent to the historic wall of Jerusalem. How can they be stopped?
The occupation attacks the dead as it attacks the living. The graves have not been spared the attacks because they are covetous at the site of the Yusufiya cemetery and they have exhumed several graves of our martyrs.
Unfortunately, if a single grave of the Jews is attacked, the world will rise and not sit, but they detest the graves of Muslims in Yusufiya and the graves of abandoned villages, and more than 500 cemeteries have violated their sanctities.
What happened two days ago is that the occupation municipality, and what is known as the Israeli Nature and Parks Protection Authority, claim that this area is a green area, and they considered that the presence of these graves constitutes an attack on the green area, even though these graves are old and some of the dead were buried there 15 centuries ago.
It must be emphasized that their allegations are false, and through them they want to control the important and sensitive site adjacent to Al-Aqsa Mosque.
What are the prices that Sheikh Ikrima Sabri pays for the stability of his position towards Al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy sites?
The stability of the situation is not our wish, but it is a divine duty that we have to abide by, and whoever adheres to God’s decision should expect any possible damage to him, and this is expected, and I am ready for any aggression and unjust decision directed at me by the Israeli occupation.
The prices I paid in return for sticking to my stance were many, and the most prominent of them were: arrest, continuous summons, orders to keep away from the mosque, and a travel ban.
Currently, there are 3 decisions in effect against me: preventing me from entering Al-Aqsa, preventing me from traveling outside the country, and preventing me from contacting Palestinian figures inside the Palestinian territories.
Sheikh Ikrima Sabri: There are currently 3 valid Israeli decisions against me (Al Jazeera Net)
From an emotional point of view, what does it mean for a preacher to be removed from the pulpit that he was used to climbing and delivering sermons from decades ago?
One of the blessings of God upon me is that I was associated with Al-Aqsa and Al-Aqsa was associated with me, and my first sermon was on his pulpit on May 4, 1973, and therefore I have been addressing people from this place for 48 years.
It hurts when I am away from Al-Aqsa, with which I lived since my childhood before I became a preacher, and I am affected psychologically, but I have to bear that in order to preserve Al-Aqsa, and to maintain my position.
It is noteworthy that the focus in the last investigation was also on the content of the sermons that the occupation claims serve to “irritate” people and disturb public order, and I was repeatedly summoned because of the Friday sermons I gave because I called on the public to resort to reform men, and not to go to the Israeli courts, and the occupation considered this a kind of incitement .