J&K: Thousands of Muslims take to the streets to mark Quds day, raise slogans against US, Israel

Thousands of demonstrators carried placards and raised vociferous anti-Israel and anti-America slogans in a show of solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine amid heightened tensions and renewed violence in the occupied Palestinian territory. Muslims across Kashmir marched through the streets after Friday prayers to express solidarity with the struggling Palestinians and for freedom of Al Aqsa Mosque, the first Qibla of Islam. 

Raising ‘Free Palestine slogans, thousands joined rallies in parts of Kashmir. A large procession was taken out in Magam town of Kashmir. People carrying yellow flags of Hezbollah and portraits of resistance leaders shouted slogans against US and Israel. 

Like in other parts of the world, people in Kashmir also hold rallies every year to reaffirm their support for the people of Palestine and to protest the apartheid regime’s atrocities in Palestine.

What is Quds day?

Quds Day, also known as Al-Quds Day, is an annual event observed on the last Friday of the Islamic month of Ramadan. It was initiated by the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979 to express solidarity with the Palestinian people and their struggle against Israeli occupation.

The day is marked by rallies and demonstrations in many Muslim countries and other parts of the world, where people show their support for the Palestinian cause and their opposition to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. Quds Day is an occasion for Muslims to renew their commitment to the liberation of Jerusalem and to express their opposition to Israeli policies in the occupied territories.

The observance of Quds Day is controversial, with some people arguing that it promotes anti-Semitic sentiment and others arguing that it is an important expression of solidarity with an oppressed people.