Whenever the occupation’s soldiers and settlers attempt to assault Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, the women and men of Al-Quds stand up to them. Each and every one of them believes that Al-Masjid is much more precious than their souls, families and money; so they do not care about the beating nor the arrests. What truly hurts them, however, is the banishment orders. This report introduces some of the murabitat and their roles in defending the Masjid.

Al-Aqsa: Her First Family

Hanadi Al-Hilwani lives in Wadi Al-Joz in Al-Quds. She has her bachelor’s degree in Social Services from Al-Quds Open University. She has the accredited certificate in the Quran (ijazah) from the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf. Although she loves her family, she sees in Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa her closer family as it is a priority to her; and her husband, her children and herself are all willing to sacrifice everything to ensure its safety.

Hanadi’s journey with Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa began when she started teaching the Holy Quran in Dar Al-Quran in Al-Aqsa in 2008. In 2010, she taught the Holy Quran as part of Masatib Al-‘ilm project (in which students group together in circles and take religious lessons).

Hanadi chose Al-Silsila Gate as its location for ribat because the settlers and tourists leave from it after breaking into Al-Aqsa. She wanted them to understand that the Palestinian people will never give up on their holy sites. The occupation was enraged by her persistence and steadfastness. The soldiers arrested her more than 16 times, and threatened her with banishment and withdrawal of her identity. She received multiple notices of banishment orders away from Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa.

Al-Takbir As a Weapon

Samiha Shahin received Sharia education from the Masatib circles. She memorized by heart every angle and alley of the Masjid. Shahin says that the occupation’s main goal for banishing the murabitat is to empty the Masjid from its people so that they would perform their Talmudic rituals as the Muslims are unaware. However, the women succeeded in standing up to such incursions several times. Their weapon has been ‘Allah Akbar’ until all soldiers and settlers leave the holy arenas defeated.

Shahin was arrested 12 times, one of them was inside Al-Masjid. She was heavily beaten to the extent that her bones broke. She was also banished one month away from Al-Aqsa.

The Golden List:

Sahar Al-Nitsha, a housewife, learned the recitation rules of the Quran at Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa where she also learned the hadith and Sunnah of the Prophet peace be upon him. She is currently responsible for a memorization circle of the elderly.

The Israeli occupation arrested Al-Nitsha several times and charged her with incitement against the occupation, and assault of a female Knesset member preventing her from performing Talmudic rituals in the Masjid. Because of her activities, she was placed on the occupation’s black list, which is called ‘the Golden List’ by the Palestinians. Al-Nitsha says when she goes to pray at Al-Masjid and is prevented from entry, she feels helpless and heart-broken.

Priority to Every Muslim

Khadija Khwais, born on 27/8/1977, studied at the schools of Al-Aqsa, and received her secondary certificate from Al-Aqsa Sharia High School. In 2014, she became a teacher of the Quran and Tafsir in the circles of the Masjid.

The banishment orders against her started that year. Her name was enlisted in the Golden List of the banned from entry.

Khwais was banished from the old town for 8 months, from the west of Al-Quds for 2 months, and from the West Bank for 6 months. She was banned from travelling more than 6 times and arrested more than 10.

Khwais says to the Islamic nation, “Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa is not the Masjid of the people of Al-Quds and Palestine alone. It is the Masjid of the entire Ummah. It is the first Qibla and the place from where the Prophet ascended. This is the holiest place after Makkah and Medina. It is the center of conflict and the destination of hearts. It is everyone’s duty to work for its victory and liberation”.

All of the murabitat stressed that they would never stop defending Al-Aqsa. They find no taste in life without it, and they will not allow the assaulters to perform their superstitions there – even if at the expense of their lives.