Video Claims to Show Imam on Jerusalem's Temple Mount Calling for Caliphate and Destruction of the U.S., France, Britain, Rome

TheBlaze reported last week that prayer services at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on the first Friday of Ramadan took on a political tone when worshipers marched with posters showing support for ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and raised a huge banner celebrating his leadership.

Now, video has emerged of the events on the Temple Mount where the mosque is situated where it appears a Muslim religious leader also took the opportunity to virulently slam the U.S., Europe and Israel.

“What happened at the al-Aqsa Mosque during last week's Friday prayers should be sounding alarm bells in the U.S., Britain and France,” writes journalist Khaled Abu Toameh who for years has been covering the Palestinian beat for the Jerusalem Post.

The Clarion Project translated a video taken at the July 12 gathering atop the holiest site in Judaism in which an imam from the group Hizb ut-Tahrir reportedly “incited a crowd of hundreds of Muslims calling for the destruction of America, France, Britain and Rome.”

Hizb ut-Tahrir is a pan-Islamic organization that supports merging Muslim countries into a united Sharia-ruled Islamic caliphate. According to the Clarion Project translation of the rally Imam Ismat Al-Hammouri led the crowd in chanting these slogans:

“Allah is Greater! [Allahu Akbar] Let America be destroyed!”

“Allah is Greater! [Allahu Akbar] Let France be destroyed!”

“Allah is Greater! [Allahu Akbar] Let Rome be destroyed!” […]

“Allah is Greater! [Allahu Akbar] Let Britain be destroyed!” […]

“We warn you America, leave Muslims alone. Leave Muslims alone because you messed around a lot in Syria and before that in Afghanistan and Iraq and now in Egypt,” the imam said.

“America, what do you think we are? We are the Umma of Islam, a strong nation, a great nation, a nation from the farthest East to the farthest West that will soon teach you a lesson in politics and in war, Allah-willing,” he said.

“Allah is greater and the outcome belongs to the devout…Listen, Obama, the Caliphate will return…the Caliphate is the answer,” he said.

“Listen, Obama, we are a nation that does not bow down, and the Caliphate will return!” the imam added.

TheBlaze cannot independently verify the contents of the video or the date or location where it was reported to have been recorded; however, veteran Palestinian affairs reporter Abu Toameh supports those details in a report he posted on the Gatestone Institute’s website Monday. He writes:

After the prayers, during a demonstration in support of Egypt's deposed President Mohamed Morsi, thousands of Muslims began shouting slogans against the U.S., Britain, France and Israel.

"Allahu Akbar, destroy the U.S., Britain and France!" the demonstrators chanted in scenes that appeared as if they were taking place in a remote Taliban-controlled village in Afghanistan.

But the protest did not take place in Afghanistan or Pakistan. It took place at the Aqsa Mosque during the holy month of Ramadan, during which Israel allows hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank to enter Jerusalem for Friday prayers.

Abu Toameh writes, “Why did the Muslim worshipers chant slogans against the US, Britain and France? Because they believe that these countries are the enemies of Islam and were involved in the ‘conspiracy’ to remove the Muslim Brotherhood from power in Egypt.”

“But of course such demonstrations cannot occur without also shouting threats and slogans against Jews. Why Jews? Because the declared goal of these extremists is to destroy Israel and establish an Islamic Caliphate,” Abu Toameh adds.

He also points out that it is concerning that some of those who participated in the protest are Arab citizens of Israel who are affiliated with the Islamic Movement in Israel, a group that demonstrated in northern Israel last week in support of the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi.

“The anti-Jewish demonstration in Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque is a sign of the growing power of Muslim extremists in the city [Jerusalem] and the West Bank,” Abu Toameh writes and adds that the Islamists pose a threat not only to Israel and the U.S. but also to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

The Clarion Project is a non-profit organization that describes itself as being “dedicated to exposing the dangers of Islamic extremism while providing a platform for the voices of moderation and promoting grassroots activism.”

Here is the video translated by the Clarion Project:

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