Religious and political figures criticise al-Aqsa pro-Morsi protest

Poster of ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi outside al-Aqsa Mosque Religious and political leaders have criticised the use of al-Aqsa Mosque by supporters of Muslim Brotherhood to show support for ousted Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi.
Supporters of Morsi unveiled a giant poster of Morsi outside the Jerusalem mosque as thousands of worshippers gathered for Friday prayers.
Muslim and Christian religious clerics, along with Palestinian officials have claimed that using the mosque to fuel a political agenda undermines the sacred importance of the institution.
They emphasised the importance of Jerusalem as part of a cause that unites the Arab and Islamic nations, and not cause internal strife.
Community leaders advocated a protest against the \"Israeli occupation, and settlers who desecrate al-Aqsa every day.\"
Palestinian Minister of Endowments Mahmoud al-Habbash told Arab Today that Jerusalem and al-Aqsa should remain symbols of Muslim unity, and not be use to make political statements. \"We have one basic plight, which is the Palestinian cause and so all platforms should focus only on confronting occupation,\" he said
He accused some Hamas members of trying to drag the Palestinian people into the Egyptian political scene, a stance which he said was rejected by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Habbash reiterated that sanctity of al-Aqsa Mosque and warned against using it as a political tool.
Fatah Central committee member General Tawfiq Tirawi said: \"It would have been more appropriate if the Brotherhood protested for Jerusalem and al-Aqsa, not to use the sacred site for a deported president of Egypt, whose people are free to choose their president.
\"Jerusalem is bigger than all the parties and presidents who have never mentioned its name and want to use it for small aims.\"
Governor of Jerusalem Adnan al-Husseini said: \"The Palestinian worshippers who came from everywhere refused to hold the picture of  the ousted Egyptian President in the yards of al-Aqsa. These crowds came with one and only one message - that the Palestinian people resist the Israeli occupation and nothing else.
Similarly, Fatah spokesman Ahmad Assaf criticised the pro-Morsi demonstration inside the mosque and described it as intervention in Egyptian affairs as well as siding with one party at the expense of another.
\"A photo of Yasser Arafat should have been raised in the mosque instead because he died defending al-Aqsa Mosque,\" Assaf said.
He also criticised the Hamas-affiliated al-Aqsa satellite TV and Islamic Jihad-affiliated al-Quds station for broadcasting special Ramadan evening prayers from the Rabia al-Adawiyya Mosque in Cairo where supporters of Morsi usually hold their protests.
\"Why didn’t they broadcast prayers from al-Aqsa Mosque?
\"Has Rabia al-Adawiyya mosque become as important to Muslims as al-Aqsa Mosque? Muslims were asked at the beginning to face the direction of al-Aqsa Mosque during prayer, and the mosque is considered the third holiest place in the world for Muslims.\"