Cleric calls Muslims to prioritize aiding war-stricken Gazans to performing Hajj

Sheikh Ali Muhyeddin Qaradaghi, said in a televised interview, that certainly to perform minor Hajj is not prioritized to aiding the people in Gaza, reported Taqrib News Agency (TNA).

The announcement by the senior Muslim scholar comes as the besieged territory has been under Israeli air and artillery strikes for nearly seven months leaving more than 100,000 Palestinians dead and injured and nearly 2.3 million civilians internally displaced.

He added,” From a religious point of view, to help the needy Muslims, particularly Gazans, is a higher necessity (than performing minor Hajj pilgrimage).”

The Secretary General of the International Union of Muslim Scholars has recently issued pictures of the pro-Palestine protests across US and European universities and condemned the western governments for their financial and military supports for the Israeli regime.

Students at the US University of Columbia began a peaceful pro-Palestine protest two weeks earlier. They demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and divestment of the universities from companies supporting Israeli regime.

The protest turned violent at the intervention of the police who detained more than 100 students and triggered more protests in support of both Gazans under Israeli onslaughts and the detained students.

The protests have gained momentum as other universities across the United States and other countries have joined to call for an end to Israeli atrocities against the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.