MPAC, Partners Hold Press Conference on Recent Assault on Worshipers in Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli Police

Today, MPAC hosted a press conference on the troubling events occurring at Al-Aqsa Mosque. Alongside partners from the

Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, the INKERIJ Foundation, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), we called on our government to stand up for our ideals and lead with action on international human rights by holding the Israeli government accountable for its treatment of Palestinians. What has happened to the Palestinian people is another installment in an ongoing pattern of behavior that is an unacceptable violation of human rights, U.S. maritime/international law, and religious freedom.

During the conference, leaders from each organization further emphasized the need for the international community to address and condemn the actions of the Israeli government. A unanimous call for accountability and justice – each speaker spoke on the brutal, disrespectful acts of violence taking place against Palestinians for practicing their faith openly and proudly and the unwillingness of the U.S. to condemn these attacks.

“We cannot have double standards when it comes to human rights violations. We cannot turn our faces or shut our eyes when we see human rights, religious freedoms are being attacked in Palestine. Humans in Palestine, in Al-Aqsa mosque, in these blessed days of Ramadan have been attacked, provoked, beaten, and had their faces down on the floor, all while we're hearing and listening to their mothers, wives, and daughters screaming and crying. We cannot have double standards when it comes to human rights violations."

"In this place, sanctuaries, mosques, temples, churches, synagogues – they are the places where people should feel safe and secure. Not a place where they get beaten, attacked and humiliated...”

Dr. Ahmed Soboh
Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, Board Chair

“When your strongest ally is beating up worshipers – in the most holy of days for Muslims – in the holy mosque of Al-Aqsa, that's a problem. And the United States government is not confronting that problem. Then they ask why they hate [the U.S.] – because you're hating them, because you're beating up their people in the mosque, because you're abusing them. You're bombing them. That is why we have anti-American sentiment and it starts with U.S. allies.”

Salam Al-Marayati
Muslim Public Affairs Council, President

The consensus – religious freedom is a right for all and this issue should be the business of everyone, not just those experiencing these acts of hatred. No one person should be able to control or condemn our faith.

“This is the third year in a row that the Muslims are being attacked during the month of Ramadan. Is this the way we would like to treat the followers of Abraham, may peace and blessings be upon him? So I asked for a call to action. Every organization, Jewish, Christian, Muslim to speak out. Against oppression, if this is what your organization is about. Speak out against oppression.”

Umar Hakim-Dey
INKERIJ Foundation, Executive Director

“Decades of indifference to Palestinian struggle and human rights have emboldened Israel’s violation of Palestinian rights, and it is time for our nation and the international community to take concrete actions to oppose these violations.“

Amr Shabaik
CAIR-LA, Civil Rights Attorney

Ramadan is meant to be a month of reflection, spirituality, and community for Muslim across the world. Facing repeated oppression during a time of prayer and supplication-- in a house of worship-- is something that everyone who believes in freedom, liberty, and human rights should stand united against.