“Quds Day” is a profound reading of historical and social developments.
The issue of the liberation of Jerusalem was one of the priorities of Imam Khomeini’s (RA) foreign policy. The Imam had been concerned about the Holy Jerusalem since the beginning of the Islamic Revolution in 1962 and always took a clear stance on it. The late Imam’s stance on Jerusalem was taken in a situation where the Zionist regime was trying to limit the issue of Palestine and Jerusalem to the Arab world.
In 1962, with the beginning of the Islamic Revolution, the founders of the Islamic Revolution called on the Iranian government to sever its ties with the Zionist regime and the Baha’is. The Imam also emphasized that Jerusalem must return to the fold of Islam.
After the victory of the Islamic Revolution, on 18 February 1978, the Imam spoke of the liberation of Jerusalem in a meeting with the Palestinian delegation and Yasser Arafat and asked them to rely on God for victory over the enemy and the liberation of Jerusalem, as God’s power is above all powers. Also, in the early days of the Islamic Revolution, the Palestinian embassy replaced the embassy of the Zionist regime. Yasser Arafat, Seyyed Ahmad Khomeini, and Ebrahim Yazdi, Deputy Prime Minister for Revolutionary Affairs, were present at the ceremony.
To demonstrate the solidarity of Muslims around the world in supporting the Palestinian people and the liberation of Jerusalem, Imam Khomeini declared the last Friday of Ramadan as “Quds Day” in a message to Muslims in Iran and around the world on August 6, 1979, corresponding to Ramadan 13, 1399. His initiative in declaring Quds Day encouraged the Palestinian people to receive support from Muslims around the world and gave them hope for the liberation of Jerusalem. International Quds Day transformed the Palestinian issue from an ethnic issue to an Islamic issue.
The late Imam called on the general public and Islamic governments to join together to cut off the hand of the usurper regime and to declare their solidarity in supporting the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people on the last Friday of Ramadan, which was a day of destiny and could determine the fate of the Palestinian people.
In a speech to various segments of the people, the founder of the Islamic Revolution of Iran called Quds Day the day of the revival of Islam, the day of the Islamic government, the day of the mobilization and confrontation of the oppressed with the arrogant powers and the superpowers, the day of determining the fate of the oppressed nations and the victory of the oppressed over the arrogant powers, the day of the effort of Muslims to save Quds, the day of raising the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran throughout the countries, and the day of recognizing the hypocrites from the committed ones. He reminded that the committed ones meant people who believed in Quds Day and the hypocrites who blocked the way for people to participate in Quds Day ceremonies.