The Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, strongly condemned Israel for robbing stones of Al Aqsa Mosque dating back to the Umayyad dynasty. Israel pulled off two stones from the Umayyad palaces located within Al-Haram Al-Sharif [noble sanctuary] before moving and installing them opposite the Israeli Knesset. The Secretary General stated that looting Arab and Islamic monuments represents an act of larceny which Israel, the occupying power, blatantly conducts in broad daylight before the eyes of the whole world. He added that this act carries grave implications for every Muslim as to what the future may hold in store, as Israel might intensify its vicious aggressiveness, entailing thus serious action to preempt it from carrying out its aggression and protect Al-Aqsa Mosque. Ihsanoglu stressed that Al-Quds is home to universal human heritage, that its monuments are protected by international law. Israel, he hammered out, has no right to use or abuse these monuments under any pretext. He pointed out that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) should enact its role in protecting archaeological sites and historic buildings in Al Quds City. He also affirmed that the aggression against the holy sites and historical monuments in Al-Quds would figure high on the agenda of the forthcoming meeting of Al-Quds Committee in early May 2009, which King Mohammed VI of Morocco called for.
