Muslim, Christian and Jewish scholars, living in Britain, the United States, Palestine, and Iran took part in a webinar, which was held by Ahlulbayt Cultural and Islamic Association Lisbon, Portugal, with the participation of the Iranian ambassador to Lisbon. Another ceremony was held with the presence of Iran’s ambassador to Dublin in Ireland to commemorate International Quds Day.
Morteza Damanpak-Jami, Iranian ambassador to Portugal, addressed the event that May 15, 1948 was the symbol of one of the most painful experiences for the Islamic world and especially for Palestine, adding that the Zionist regime committed different kinds of crimes against real inhabitants of Palestine.
Damanpak-Jami went on to say that Muslims around the world show solidarity with the Palestinian people, noting that the International Quds Day is a turning point in the fight against the Zionist regime and gives hope to the Palestinian people to continue the campaign to liberate their homeland.
Condemning the Trump administration’s so-called Deal of the Century to push certain Arab and Islamic countries to normalize ties with the Zionist regime, the ambassador warned that such measures will not change the regime’s behavior with regional states and the people of Palestine.
***Quds Day symbol of awareness to the agony of Palestinians
In another virtual seminar, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Dublin Masoud Eslami pointed to the goals of holding Quds Day ceremonies, saying that the first objective is to revitalize the solidarity of Muslim nations with the oppressed Palestinian people, and the second goal is to create awareness in world public opinion when it comes to the agony of the Palestinians.
According to the ambassador, the most rational and practical solution to end the crisis in Palestine has been proposed by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Roger Cole, Chairperson of Peace and Neutrality Alliance in Ireland, referred to the long history of occupation of his country by Britain, expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people, who are under another form of occupation by a racist and fascist regime.
Seyed Alireza Razavi, the Head of the Majlis –e-Ulama-e- Shia in Europe, described al-Quds as a holy city in the eyes of followers and scholars of the three religions of Islam, Judaism and Christianity, noting that all devotees should be free to say their prayers and that all followers of the three religions should be allowed to do their rituals after the liberation of al-Quds.
Frank Gilli, an Anglican priest, emphasized the importance of al-Quds for the Christians, criticizing the decline of the Christian population in the city from 16 percent to below 2 percent during the occupation period by the Zionist regime.
***Israel an illegitimate regime
Aaron Cohen, a leader of Orthodox Judaism, named the Zionist regime an illegitimate regime, noting that an-Zionism has its roots in religious beliefs of Orthodox Judaism. He added that the problem of Palestine comes from Zionism not from Judaism, saying that Zionism has been founded by certain non-religious people.
Some other speakers such as Massoud Shadjareh, human rights activist, and Khaled Ghadami, representative of the Hamas resistance movement, addressed the participants in the virtual meetings.
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