Elham Asaad Buaras
The UK’s fourth-largest supermarket chain has withdrawn a Ramadan calendar from its stores that list the Al-Aqsa Mosque as located in Israel.
The calendar, which lists world-famous mosques, was being sold on Morrisons’ website ahead of Ramadan, which begins in April.
It states that Jerusalem, Israel, is the location of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The mosque is considered to be in Palestine. Morrisons confirmed on March 2 that they had removed the item from sale after it was brought to their attention.
The issue was raised by campaign group Friends of Al-Aqsa (FOA), a UK based non-profit NGO ‘concerned with defending the human rights of Palestinians and protecting the sacred al-Aqsa Sanctuary in Jerusalem’.
The group had called for the calendar to be removed, stating: “Morrisons are selling a Ramadan calendar which says Al-Aqsa Mosque is in Israel. Al-Aqsa Mosque is in illegally occupied Palestine, NOT Israel. Demand Morrisons immediately remove the calendar.”
In a letter to Morrisons, FOA said: ‘By allowing this item to be sold in your stores and online, Morrisons is complicit in Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine, which Amnesty International has now described as apartheid. Your sale of this item is an attack on Palestinian rights’.
Shamiul Joarder, Head of Public Affairs at FOA, remarked, “Today’s victory shows that the British public is increasingly aware of Israeli apartheid and will increasingly hold companies to account for their complicity in the illegal occupation of Palestine”.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque is located in the Old City of Jerusalem and is the third holiest site in Islam. The mosque has become highly symbolic for Muslims across the world and Palestinians. According to UN resolutions, East Jerusalem is considered occupied Palestinian land.
