Middle Eastern media have reported on the seventh conference of the Al-Quds (Jerusalem) conference of the Al-Quds International Institution (aka Al Quds Foundation), headed by global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi. According to an Arabic media report, the conference was opened last Wednesday in Beirut in the UNESCO conference hall under the auspices of Lebanese President Michel Suleiman. The report states that the conference opened with the words of the institution’s Secretary General Dr. Muhammad Akram Adlouni: “They want it to be Jerusalem, but we would like it to be al-Quds, and it won’t be but al-Quds.” An Al Jazeera report provides further details:
The seventh conference of Al-Quds international institution on Friday warned of the Zionist schemes that are aimed to liquidate the Palestinian cause and target the occupied city of Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque as well as the Arab identity of the city. In a closing statement, Al-Quds institution strongly denounced Israel for its persistence in Judaizing Jerusalem through confiscating lands, demolishing homes, expanding settlements and changing the Islamic-Christian landmarks. It also deplored the excavation conducted by Israel under the Aqsa Mosque and the Old City of Jerusalem which led to serious cave-ins in the Mosque and its surrounding areas. The conferees decided in their statement to urge the Arab League and the council of Arab ministers of culture to declare Jerusalem as the permanent capital of Arab culture in order to maintain the efforts to support it in the Arab world. The statement called on the Arab and Muslim nations to activate their roles and efforts in support of Jerusalem and its people, and also demanded the Arab and Muslim governments to hold an urgent meeting to discuss the dangers and challenges which Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque face and the Judaization schemes, and to develop a strategy to protect them. The statement appealed to the UN, the organization of the Islamic conference and the Arab League to assume their responsibilities in protecting Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy places against Judaization plans. The statement also called for breaking the unjust siege imposed on Gaza people and helping the Palestinian people to restore their unity on the basis of the national constants. The seventh conference of Al-Quds international which took place in Beirut evaluated the performance of the institution during the past year, and explored the challenges it faces and the ways to address them. The conferees reviewed the new projects which are being established in some Arab countries which will promote the work of the institution and contribute to the support of the steadfastness of the Palestinian people in Jerusalem.
A Qatari newspaper reported that during the conference, Qaradawi called for the international community to support the “Pay a dollar to save a person of Al Quds” campaign and that Qaradawi was re-elected as Al Quds Foundation’s Trustee Council Chairman. The Arabic media report also identified some attendees of note including:
- Moussa Abu Marzouk, a member of the Hamas Political Bureau
- Mr. Syed Ibrahim al-Syed, President of the Hezbollah Political Council
- Dr. Mohammed Sabih, representative of the Arab League
- Ambassador Samir Baker, representative of the Organization of the Islamic Conference
- Sheikh Muhammad Hasan Akhtari, head of the Iranian Ahl-ul-Bayt (a.s.) World Assembly
Also mentioned as attending were twenty-four Egyptian MP’s from the Muslim Brotherhood and various Lebanese political and religious leaders. The report notes that the conference thanked Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad, and “heroes of the free world” including British MP George Galloway and Muhammad Sawalha, U.K Muslim Brotherhood leader and former Hamas military commander. The report also notes that the conference presented the “Shield of Jerusalem” award to:
- Rifat al-Nimr, deceased mujahid
- Fathi Yakan, deceased dai’ya-mujahid
- Sheikh Zuhair al-Shawish, mujahid
- Sheikh Eid bin Mohammad, Al-thani Charity Organisation
- Omar al-Bashir, Sudanese President
- Mr. Michelle Idda / Edda
- Shafiq al-Hut
Islam Online, closely associated with Qaradawi, describes the Al Quds International Institution (AQI) as a non-profit organization established in Lebanon in 2001 with a permanent headquarters in Jerusalem and says that the board of trustees features a “cohort of Arab and Muslim figures, who seek to keep Al-Quds cause alive and pass it on from one generation to another.” It should also be noted that the Secretary-General of AQI s is Akram Adeloni (aka Muhammad Akram Adlouni) who was the likely author of a U.S. Muslim Brotherhood document calling for the destruction of the Western civilization at the hands of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood.
A previous post discussed the Sixth Al-Quds conference held in November, 2008.