The Religious Authority Must Continue Its Work

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

What is required is that the religious authority continue its work of defending Jerusalem and the Islamic and Christian holy sites. This authority must not stop, because the aggression is continuous and brazen, and the Zionists will not stop their violations of Jerusalem and its holy sites. The authority’s work must not be seasonal or temporary — it must continue as long as the holy sites remain, and the holy sites will remain, God willing, despite the Zionists. If the religious authority continues its work, it is to be expected that some will attack it, claiming it constitutes an alternative leadership. But an alternative to whom? There is no leadership of the Palestinian people. Neither the PLO nor the Authority constitutes a leadership, and the leadership of both institutions is fundamentally illegitimate, and both are a burden on the Palestinian people and on Jerusalem and its holy sites. Whoever wants to establish himself as a leader must act according to the title. If Jerusalem is spared the pretenders, that is a good thing. Moreover, the religious authority is not concerned with acting as a ruling authority or a leadership — it is concerned with preserving the holy sites.

And where does the authority’s legitimacy come from? Its legitimacy comes from the people, from the masses who listened to it and heeded it, and blessed its steps. Yesterday, a flagrant violation of the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque occurred, and someone tore down the Palestinian flag and threw it away. The Zionists try to spoil Palestinians’ feelings of joy and strength, and it is the religious authority’s responsibility to see what is appropriate and ask the people to carry it out. Al-Aqsa must not be allowed to remain violated, its courtyards a playground for settlers.

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “استمرار المرجعية الدينية في عملها” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.