Each year, on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims mark al-Quds —or Jerusalem Day — bringing millions of people on to the streets for rallies.
Its overarching theme is solidarity with the Palestinian people and denounce Israeli atrocities in the occupied territories as well as the besieged Gaza Strip.
This year will be no exception as the rallies are planned for most major cities in the Muslim world as well as in Africa, Europe and North America.
The rallies have become a global phenomenon. Since Imam Khomeini first declared the last Friday of Ramadan as the Day of Quds in 1980, millions of people, Muslims and non-Muslims have participated in such rallies each year to draw attention to the continued occupation of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, as well as the Zionist occupation of Palestine and the unending oppression of Palestinians.
One of the most unresolved crises in the Middle East, at the moment, is the issue of Palestine, Holy Quds and the constant war of the Zionist regime against the Palestinian people.
The Palestinians are being executed mercilessly in broad daylight; innocent kids are being treated as if they were bloody terrorists and harassments against houses of worship are on the rise.
Hardly a day passes by without an incursion by illegal Zionist squatters into the holy precinct in al-Quds (Jerusalem).
The ongoing injustices against the Palestinian people have aroused the concern of many people worldwide.
The issue of Palestine and al-Quds has also transcended the religious divide. Many anti-Zionist Jews and Christians participate in Quds Day rallies, especially in North America, Europe and South Africa.
It must be emphasised that Quds Day rallies are not against the Jewish people, their presence in such rallies is proof of this fact, but against the injustices being perpetrated by the Zionists.
Quds Day rallies, therefore, assume great significance in mobilising global public opinion for this ongoing tragedy borne of a gross travesty of justice.
The rallies are important because they remind Muslims and non-Muslims on the need to liberate the Palestinians who have remained under an alien occupation for decades.