World Mosque Day

Fifty years ago, on this day, August 21, 1969, at seven in the morning, the al-Aqsa Mosque, the first Qiblah or direction of prayer of Muslims was set on fire by an Australian Zionist named Michael Dennis Rohan.

The fire burned an area of nearly 1500 square meters of the mosque, including an ancient pulpit dating back eight centuries. Also burned were the altar of Prophet Zachariah, and place of worship of forty other prophets. The arches and the main foundations on which the dome rests also caught fire making the roof of the mosque collapse.

The day is commemorated as World Mosque Day.

The al-Aqsa Mosque arson attack was a conspiracy planned by the Zionist regime. Water cuts, delays in pumping water engines and preventing firefighters of other Palestinian cities from entering confirm this. The day after the incident, Michael Dennis Rohan was found guilty and responsible for the fire and arrested on August 23. The Zionist regime, however, ruled in the sham trial that the arsonist was insane and thus set free to return to his homeland, Australia.

The fire at the al-Aqsa Mosque was a painful event not only for the Palestinian people but for every Muslim. The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, regarding this by the Zionist regime has said: "The arson attack on the al-Aqsa Mosque is yet another proof of the hostility of global arrogance against Islam and Muslims." It was on the proposal of the Islamic Republic of Iran that in 2003 at the thirtieth meeting of foreign ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that August 21 was designated as "World Mosque Day", in order to awaken the conscience of Muslims worldwide to the importance of protecting their places of worship.

The word mosque means the place of prostration. Islam regards the act of prostration as the peak of worship of God. The mosque is a gathering place for Muslims and a glorious manifestation of solidarity and unity of the Ummah. The mosque reinforces the spirit of Islamic solidarity and gives each person of the community the sense of "togetherness” in contrast to a "disassociated individual". It was on this basis that the foundations of the Islamic state were laid in the mosque by Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). From the mosque the Prophet promulgated the principles of religion in addition to carrying out of affairs of the state, in accordance with the commandments of God Almighty.

As a matter of fact, the Prophet on his migration from Mecca to Medina, called for building of the first mosque at Qoba on the outskirts of the city which would become his capital. And when he entered the city, he instructed the building of the Masjid an-Nabi or the Prophet’s Mosque which served as his headquarters for both religious, and socio-political matters.

This means, the mosque plays several roles in the life of Muslims. All of these functions revolve around the Revealed Word of Allah for guiding societies towards lofty humanitarian values and perfection.

In the early days of Islam, all religious teachings and injunctions imparted from the mosques, including the study of science and basic education, such as reading and writing. Until the beginning of the fourth century of the Islamic calendar, mosques were often used as schools except in prayer times, before educational centers took on a special identity. Many of the great Islamic scholars are actually the products of mosques.

It was in the mosque that many Islamic reformist movements were born, and Muslims mobilised their resources to confront the oppressors and exploiters. Even in the recent history of Muslim countries, such as Egypt and Iran, movements against the ruling despotic regimes, started from the mosque. During this period, the mosques were the bastion against the dictator Pahlavi regime. The mosques became a factor for solidarity of the society for all classes of people against the Pahlavi regime. The same was the story during the 8-year war imposed by the US on Iran through Saddam of the repressive Ba’th minority regime of Baghdad.

During the holy defence, the mosques in Iran played a vital role for mobilizing the faithful and for recruiting and training Basij fighters for service at the warfronts.

Therefore, the mosques play a vital role in Islamic culture for not just firming up the fundamental belief in the Oneness of God and worship of the Almighty Creator Alone, but for solidifying the ranks of Muslims. In Islamic architecture, one of the chambers of mosques is the Shabestan which is mainly used for night worship in an atmosphere of peace and solace. Indeed the mosque is the beating heart and unifying mind of the Ummah.

FK/AS/ME