Ramallah: Activists in occupied East Jerusalem, supported by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and Awqaf, have complained about the misconduct of visitors to Al Haram Al Sharif, claiming visitors leave food and garbage around the holy shrine and leave it dirty.
Visitors to the compound stay late at night to perform Ramadan-specific Taraweeh prayers and some then sleep at the holy shrine to perform Al Fajr prayers. “Families and visitors usually leave their rubbish behind and the Haram’s guards and cleaners have complained repeatedly,” said Mazen Abu Qalbain, an activist at the holy city and former spokesman for Al Murabiteen at Al Haram Al Sharif. “We usually put pressure on cleaners and the guards to forgive the visitors’ misconduct and wrongdoing.”
Abu Qalbain holds the Islamic Affairs and Awqaf responsible for the visitors’ wrongdoing stating that education is needed for visitors not aware of the facilities available at the site. “The vast majority of visitors to Al Haram Al Sharif are first-time visitors who need to be guided through the holy site,” Abu Qalbain told Gulf News.
He said that the untidy appearance of Al Haram Al Sharif and particularly Al Aqsa Mosque has been raised with the mosque’s management. “Signboards to guide visitors to the various facilities need to be installed as soon as possible,” he said, adding that if the signboards need Israeli occupation authorities’ approval, the management could easily set up organisational committees to guide visitors throughout their visit. Abu Qalbain said that an information desk is also needed at the mosque.
“What does not make sense and violates decency, ethics and the religious significance of Al Aqsa Mosque should not be done by visitors. It is that easy but visitors do not adhere to any kind of rules and regulation,” he said.
The activists at Al Haram Al Sharif have also complained about other inappropriate behaviour inside the holy shrine. “The majority of visitors come to pray but there have been some individual debauchery cases caught red-handed. It is sad,” Abu Qalbain said, “to find that some West Bank Palestinians have come to the site to meet their lovers.”
Abu Qalbain said that Al Haram is 144 dunums in size and some areas of the site are heavily treed and isolated.
Activists have stated that the time of fast breaking (iftar) has been a headache in Al Haram Al Sharif and that the guards, Al Murabiteen volunteers and even the Awqaf department had come to the conclusion that there is no way to regulate it. Essentially they claim that the time from Maghreb (dusk) prayers to Isha (evening) prayers is complete chaos at the shrine.
For the last ten days of the month of Ramadan, the Israelis have suspended their visits to Al Haram Al Sharif and Al Magharibah Gate has been closed off. Abu Qalbain said that the Israelis decided to suspend Jewish visits to prevent clashes between Muslims and Jews.
