Hundreds of worshippers at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque responded with cries of “Allah Akbar” (God is Great) to Imam Ismat Al-Hammouri’s calls for the destruction of America, France, Britain, and Rome, during a prayer gathering marking the start of Ramadan on Friday.
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A video that was posted on the Internet on July 12, and translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), shows Al-Hammouri inciting the crowd in the Old City with calls to conquer and destroy the enemies of the “Nation of Islam.”
“We warn you, oh America: Take your hands off the Muslims. You have wreaked havoc in Syria, and before that, in Afghanistan and in Iraq, and now in Egypt,” shouted the cleric to the enthusiastic replies of the crowd. “Who do you think we are, America? We are the nation of Islam — a giant and mighty nation, which extends from east to west. Soon, we will teach you a political and military lesson, Allah willing. Allah Akbar. All glory to Allah.”
Al-Hammouri, who belongs to the Jerusalem-based Pan-Islamic Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation) organization, went on to warn US president Barak Obama of the rise of the Islamic caliphate, a united Muslim empire that will impose religious law on all of its subjects.
The four-minute video also shows demonstrators chanting “Oh Obama, listen up. The Caliphate shall return. Our nation will never be humiliated. We want to cleanse it of the impure.”
The gathering was touted as a demonstration of support for former Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, who was ousted from office by the military on July 3 after massive opposition demonstrations across Egypt. Participants held up posters of the Muslim Brotherhood-backed leader amid cries of “Down with peaceful solutions,” and assertions that “Whoever negotiates with America… is a collaborator and a coward.”
Hizb ut-Tahrir was founded in 1953 and has an estimated million members across 40 countries.