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Saturday, July 9, 2022
From the Liveblog of
Saturday, July 9, 2022
Saudi cleric known as ‘Zionist imam’ to deliver Mount Arafat hajj sermon
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Muslim World League head Mohammed al-Issa speaks to an interfaith group at Auschwitz, January 23, 2020. (Yaakov Schwartz/Times of Israel)
In a gesture seen as conciliatory toward Israel, Saudi Arabia has decided that the main sermon during the annual hajj pilgrimage on Mount Arafat this year will be delivered by the cleric known as “the Zionist imam” — Mohammed al-Issa — the head of the Muslim World League, Channel 12 news reports.
Saudi media reports say the highest authorities in the kingdom issued the approval.
Channel 12 news analyst Ehud Yaari says the move is “a significant signal” regarding normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Al-Issa visited Auschwitz in 2020, has invited rabbis to Saudi Arabia, and supports interfaith dialogue.
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