Sports
PLAYERS from Saudi Arabia’s national football team travelled to Jerusalem’s Old City on Monday to pray at one of Islam’s holiest sites.
The players visited the Noble Sanctuary, a compound that houses the Golden Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest shrine in Islam.
“This is the most beautiful day in my life,” said Yasser Al-Mishal, president of the Saudi Football Federation.
“Really, it’s hard to express my feelings. I thank God that I could visit al-Aqsa mosque and pray inside the mosque.”
The Dome of the Rock is built where Prophet Mohammad is said to have ascended to heaven, and it encompasses the Foundation Stone, a rock holy to Muslims, Jews and Christians.
Jordan has custodianship of the holy sites.
The area is one of the most sensitive sites in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
It is revered by Jews as Temple Mount, the site of two biblical Jewish temples.
The site is situated in a part of Jerusalem captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move that has not been recognised internationally.
The Saudi players are due to face the Palestinian national team in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying match.
NAN
-Oct 14, 2019 @18:45 GMT |
Tags: Saudi football players visit Jerusalem Muslim holy site
