World Quds Day
World Quds Day was named by Imam Khomeini (blessings of God be upon him) as an official day to reaffirm support for the Palestinian people.
On Ramadan 13, 1399 AH, August 7, 1979, in a message referring to the Muslims of Iran and of the world, he named the last Friday of Ramadan as Quds Day and appealed all Muslims of the world and Islamic governments to unite in order to cut off the hand of the Israeli government and its supporters.
The message was issued in response to an attack by Israeli forces on Al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as the bombing of southern Lebanon.
After the first Quds Day rally in 1979 in Tehran, the Palestinian ambassador to Iran read Yasser Arafat’s message. Mehdi Bazargan, the Prime Minister of the Provisional Government of Iran, Abdul Halim Khodam, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Syria, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei (Long may he live) and Mohammad Mojtahed Shabestari delivered speeches.
Introducing Quds Day as a prelude to the general Islamic mobilization and the formation of the party of the oppressed in all over the world, Imam Khomeini (blessings of God be upon him) considered this day not only the day of Palestine but also the day of Islam and Islamic rule.
Ayatollah Khamenei (Long may he live) also believes that the commemoration of World Quds Day will make the Palestinians attacked by the Israeli government not feel alone but be able to resist.
