As contributions pour in to restore Islam’s third holiest site, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI seeks to salvage Jerusalem’s civilizational and religious significance for the Muslim world.
Rabat – King Mohammed VI has pledged a “substantial financial subvention” as Morocco’s contribution towards restoring the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, a statement from the Moroccan cooperation and foreign affairs ministry has indicated.
As the chairman of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s al-Quds Committee, the body pushing for more Palestine-friendly peace terms in the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Moroccan King’s contribution comes as a further demonstration of his commitment to preserving the historical significance of Jerusalem, according to the ministry’s statement.
In addition to its financial contribution to the restoration project, Morocco will also dispatch a team of architects and engineers to participate in the reconstruction work.
The intervention of the prospective Moroccan delegation, the statement stressed, is set to “preserve the architectural authenticity” of one of Islam’s greatest monuments.
The Al-Aqsa mosque is considered Islam’s third holiest site, coming after the Mecca and Medina grand mosques in Saudi Arabia.
While this week has seen all major newspapers mourn the tragedy of France’s losing almost one third of its illustrious Notre Dame cathedral to a devastating fire, the historic Parisian monument was not the only iconic building to undergo an unforeseen tragedy.
On Monday, a fire also broke out in the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, and the loss would have been just as devastating as in Paris had it not been for the quick intervention of the fire brigade of the Islamic Waqf, local outlets reported.
“The fire broke out in the guard’s room outside the roof of the Marwani Prayer Room,” according to Palestinian WAFA news outlet.
The newspaper noted that the tragedy was only contained because the “fire brigade of the Islamic Waqf handled the matter successfully.”
Palestine’s Mahmoud Abass subsequently called for collective efforts to salvage the iconic mosque, saying that there was a need to preserve the site’s “religious and humanitarian value.”
King Mohammed VI’s gesture comes as Morocco multiplies efforts to assert itself as an anchor of solidarity and union in the Muslim world.
More than a country’s contribution to the needed restoration project, the King’s gesture was a further consolidation of his unflinching commitment to the preservation of the Islamic heritage of the city of Jerusalem.
Just two weeks ago on March 30, King Mohammed VI and Pope Francis signed “al-Quds call” to protect the multi-religious and trans-cultural character of Jerusalem.
