Indonesia Condemns Shooting Of Al Aqsa Imam

JAKARTA, July 21 (Antara) - The Indonesian government has condemned and expressed concern over Israel tightening its grip on the Al Aqsa Mosque complex and the shooting of an imam of the mosque. "Indonesia is concerned and at the same time condemns the deteriorating situation in the Al Aqsa complex and the shooting of Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, imam of the Al Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem," the ministry noted in a statement here Thursday. The government has also denounced Israeli forces that have restricted access to the Al Aqsa complex and violated the rights of Muslims to worship freely. The Indonesian government demands Israel to maintain the status quo at the Al Aqsa complex, so every Muslim worshiper can have access to both Al Aqsa and the Dome of Rock. Furthermore, Indonesia has also urged Israel to restore stability and security in the complex of Al Aqsa, which is the third Islamic holiest site. Indonesia has urged every party to exercise self-restraint to prevent the situation from escalating. Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi, on Wednesday evening, had a telephonic conversation with the foreign minister of Jordan to discuss the situation in the Al Aqsa Mosque. Sabri, the spiritual leader of Al Aqsa Mosque, was injured on Tuesday by a plastic bullet after praying outside the gates of the famous site, according to Palestinian medical personnel. Al Aqsa is Islam's third-most sacred place of worship after Masjidil Haram in Mecca and Nabawi Mosque in Medina, the second mosque to be ever built on earth and the first qibla (the direction faced while praying) of Muslims. In Palestine and several other countries throughout the world, protest calls have increased as Israel tightened its grip on Al Aqsa. "As the largest Muslim-majority country in the world, Indonesia has the right to protest against Israel, because Al Aqsa not just belongs to Palestine but to every Muslim in the world," Jazuli Juwaini, chairman of the faction of Justice Prosperous Party (PKS) in the House of Representatives (DPR), said in Jakarta on July 16. He strongly denounced Israeli control of the mosque, adding that it had violated human right and threatened world peace. The legislator considered Israel's moves as very wrong and racist as it had no sovereignty over Al Quds (Jerusalem).