August 21 marks World Mosque Day in Iranian calendar

August 21 marks the anniversary of the 1969 arson attack on al-Aqsa Mosque by a Zionist Christian and has been recognized as the global day of Mosques in the Iranian calendar.

Denis Michael Rohan, a Zionist Christian from Australia, started a fire in al-Aqsa Mosque which is one of the oldest mosques in the world, annihilating some of historical objects and provoking widespread backlash around the world.

Mosques have been among the most sacred places on earth in Islamic history, assumed to be a link between the heavens and the earth and a place for humankind’s growth and evolution.

Spanning 144,000 square meters, Al-Aqsa Mosque sits in the third rank of sanctity after Masjid al-Haram and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi among Muslims. It was occupied by the Zionist forces in 1967 war.

The international community and the United Nations have condemned the occupation as illegal in several resolutions, calling on the Zionist forces to leave the area.

However, the Zionists claim that the remnants of Solomon's Temple are beneath al-Aqsa Mosque. They have tried to destroy al-Aqsa Mosque and wipe the Islamic monuments off the face of the area through attacks, occupation, arson attempts, and excavation under the pretext of restoration of the temple.

A Christian movement has emerged in some countries, especially in the United States, that believe that the destruction of al-Aqsa Mosque and restoration of Solomon’s Temple as the condition of Messiah’s arrival. That’s the belief that motivated the Zionist Christian to set the mosque on fire 53 years ago.

Iran proposed to name the day when the mosque was set on fire as the World Day of Mosque to let Muslims remember the criminal acts of the Zionists each year so that it will never be forgotten.

The latest Zionist aggression to al-Aqsa Mosque took place on May 5, 2022 on the so-called independence day of Israel which was greeted by the Palestinian protests and clash with Israeli forces.

The Zionists have violated the mosque's holiness for countless times. In one case, near 30,000 Jewish settlers flocked the courtyard of al-Aqsa Mosque, violating Muslim sanctities.

Such attacks and aggressions against the Mosque has been a motivation for many Intifadas which has left hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries from among Palestinians.

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