A message by Ambassador Rouzbahani on Quds Day 2024

Although the agony of Palestinians has been ongoing for the past seven decades and Palestinian people continue to be deprived of their very basic rights however the months leading to this Ramdan have been a tipping point. The international community and the Islamic countries in particular have a duty to act to stop this savagery against the Palestinian people.

Ramadan is the time of reflection, self-cultivation, and faith. As Muslims, we are endowed with the blessings of Ramdan to improve our ethics, to enhance our positive personal traits, and to become a better human-being. This is the month in which we are called upon to re-commit ourselves to the novel values of Islam. This is a time for the rich to be more mindful of the poor and their difficulties, for the stronger to lend a helping hand to the weaker, and for the Muslim Umma to reunite against tyranny, cruelty, and injustice.

And, in our times, the ordeal that our Palestinian sisters and brothers are enduring has become the symbol of utmost brutality of an oppressor against the oppressed. That is why, more than four decades ago, Imam Khomeini (PBUH), with his far-sighted vision, declared the last Friday of Ramdan as the Day of Quds, saying that Muslim nations should unite and express their support for the righteous struggle of Palestinians against occupation. Far from being just a symbolic occasion, Quds Day has been an opportunity for Muslims all around the world to show their sympathy with the Palestinians and their right to their land and destiny.

Although, the agony of Palestinians has been ongoing for the past seven decades and Palestinian people continue to be deprived of their very basic rights, however the months leading to this Ramdan have been a tipping point. More than 30,000 people, mostly children and women, were martyred, and hundreds of thousands are injured, displaced, and starved under the unabated inhuman and cruel bombardment of Gaza. And these figures continue to grow with the onslaught still ongoing. The Islamic Republic of Iran insists on the need for an immediate ceasefire, withdrawal of the occupiers from Gaza and delivery of much-needed aid and food to the residents of Gaza. The international community, and the Islamic countries in particular, have a duty to act to stop this savagery against the Palestinian people.

Let’s keep our Palestinian sisters and brothers in our prayers. Let’s pray for this crisis to end as soon as possible, and let’s ask Allah the Almighty to grant Palestinians strength, patience, and victory.