Morrisons removes Ramadan calendar which lists ‘Al-Aqsa mosque in Israel’

Under the listing Al-Aqsa Mosque, it states ‘Jerusalem, Israel’. Muslims across the world state that the mosque is located in Palestine. Muslims across the world can say that the earth is flat, or the sky is green but that doesn’t make it so. 

Morrisons have confirmed this morning to Asian Image that when the issue was brought to their attention they had removed it from sale.

The issue was raised by campaign group Friends of Al-Aqsa (FOA), a UK based non-profit NGO ‘concerned with defending the human rights of Palestinians and protecting the sacred al-Aqsa Sanctuary in Jerusalem’.

The group had this week called for the calendar to be removed stating: “Morrisons are selling a Ramadan calendar which says Al-Aqsa Mosque is in Israel. Al-Aqsa mosque is in illegally occupied Palestine, NOT Israel. Demand Morrisons immediately remove the calendar. . . By allowing this item to be sold in your stores and online, Morrisons is complicit in Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine, which Amnesty International has now described as apartheid. Your sale of this item is an attack on Palestinian rights”.

Shamiul Joarder, Head of Public Affairs at FOA remarked “Today’s victory shows that the British public is increasingly aware of Israeli apartheid and will increasingly hold companies to account for their complicity in the illegal occupation of Palestine”.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque is located in the Old City of Jerusalem and is the third holiest site in Islam.

Jerusalem is in Israel. It is the capital city of Israel, although many administrative facilities are also in Tel Aviv. The Al-Aqsa Mosque was in Israel when I visited it in 1992; it hasn’t flown away. Morrisons are capitulating to their Islamic customer base, who they obviously value highly, hence the emphasis on the minority festival of  Ramadan in their stores these days.

But I will praise where praise is due. Morrisons are donating 100,000 Easter eggs to UK foodbanks for our Holiest festival next month, and gave books to schools up and down the country this very week for World Book Day. I just wish they had stood up for fact on this calendar issue.