The announcement of US President Donald Trump about his intention to move the embassy of this country in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem has caused unrest among the Muslim population of the Holy Land. December 8, after the traditional Friday prayer, thousands of Muslims gathered at the Damascus Gate of Old Jerusalem, the road from which leads to the Temple Mount and located on it the third most important shrine of Islam: the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Despite the fact that the passage to the mosque by the Israeli authorities has been left open, Muslims express serious fears that due to a possible change in the status of Jerusalem, access to the shrine may be closed for them. In connection with the situation that has developed in the Holy Land in recent days, the famous preacher and missionary of the Russian Orthodox Church, Archpriest Andrei Tkachev, noted that Christians are interested in keeping the shrines of Jerusalem open to believers of all major world religions. “We want a mosque to remain in this place, so be surprised — don't be surprised. It is beneficial for us and it is good for us that Jerusalem is not only a Jewish city, otherwise we will not be there. It is beneficial and good for us that Jerusalem is not and only a Muslim city, otherwise we will not be there either. It is beneficial for us that Jews, Muslims and Christians live in Jerusalem. So that we have access pilgrims, and that the mosques stood in their place. They don't bother us. The most important thing for us is the shrines of our faith, this is the Holy Sepulcher, and it is ours, Christian. Therefore, we would like the Muslims to pray in their Al-Aqsa, and the Christians on the Holy Sepulcher, ”said the cleric of the Moscow Church of the Resurrection Slovusche at the Dormition Vrazhka, answering the questions put to him.
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