The Temple Mount, site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, where Jordanian Sheikh Muhammad Salim made inciting remarks. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Israeli police officers from the Jerusalem District last Friday briefly detained Jordanian Sheikh Muhammad Salim for questioning after the Muslim preacher made inciting remarks during a sermon he delivered at the Al-Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount.

A crowd of worshipers gathered at the scene to protest Salim’s arrest, chanting “Allahu akbar” (“God is greater” in Arabic). Salim was released from custody after he was questioned by the police.

Jordanian Religious Trusts Minister Hail Daoud harshly condemned Salim’s arrest, telling Jordan’s Petra News Agency, “This is an unacceptable action by the Israeli authorities, who arrested a religious official fulfilling his duties at Friday prayers.” Daoud denied Israel’s claim that Salim was arrested for delivering a sermon that contained incitement to violence.

Israel gained control of the Temple Mount during the 1967 Six-Day War. But the holy site is administered as part of the Jordanian-run Islamic Waqf, which does not allow Jewish prayer at the site and limits non-Muslim visits.