Al-Murabita Sahar al-Natsheh was arrested by the Israeli occupation more than once on the charges of “ribat” in Masjid al-Aqsa and inducing others to follow her lead. In recent years, her permanent presence in the courtyards of the Masjid and her confrontations with the army and the fanatic settlers whenever they try to carry out their frequent incursions have frustrated the occupation to its final straw. They have been waiting for the opportunity to arrest and prosecute her and found it quite recently. Her serious crime was “exclaiming the Takbir”; as apparently her chants of “Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest)” have prevented the Knesset member of the Jewish Home Party, Shomalit Maalam from reaching the Masjid.
Quran teacher …
A housewife from Al-Quds, Sahar al-Natsheh (48 years old) is married and a mother of 6 daughters and a son. She has thoroughly learned the recitation of the Holy Quran at Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and was the second best student in the halaqa there. She has then continued with learning the Prophet’s Hadiths and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah.
She used to camp in Masjid Al-Aqsa on a daily basis where she would help elderly people to memorize the Quran. She was also responsible for a group of women that were in the squares of Masjid Al-Aqsa. She would make and serve hot drinks for them to encourage them to camp and defend the Masjid.
Repeated detention …
Sahar was arrested three times and every time she was brutally assaulted. She was charged with three counts; first: incitement on Facebook through posts that expose the crimes of the Israeli occupation. The second: attacking a Knesset member and expelling her from the Masjid after preventing her from performing Talmudic prayers. And the third: affiliating with the prohibited organization “Al-Murabitat”.
Sahar says that the goal of the occupation is to empty Masjid Al-Aqsa from Muslim worshipers and to assume control over it; in order to divide it temporally and spatially as has been done to Masjid Al-Ibrahimi. She added “different charges were pressed against the most active people in Al-Aqsa. I myself was arrested and held for 11 days, after that I was under house arrest for 8 months, and then I had to pay a bail fine of 5000 shekels. Now I am waiting for another sentence. I have been banished from Al-Aqsa because I am active in exposing the occupation systematic violations and crimes against Masjid Al-Aqsa and the Murabitin in there.”
No life without it …
Al-Natsheh was eventually placed on the blacklist of the Israeli occupation (a list with the names of Murabitin and Murabitat who are forbidden from entering Al-Aqsa, but which Palestinians describe as the “golden list”). She added that she tirelessly goes to pray at Al-Aqsa but she’s being withheld from entering by the occupation forces every time, which makes her feel oppressed and constrained. It is also because no one knows what is happening to the Jerusalemites that they are suffering from expulsion and prosecution.
Al-Natsheh believes that her role towards her family will not distract her from her commitments and obligations towards Masjid Al-Aqsa; because she puts the Masjid before her soul and family, and she thinks there would be no taste or meaning of life if something bad happens to Al-Aqsa; since “Al-Aqsa is a source of blessing for the spirit and the family,” therefore she encourages her family to pray and defend the Masjid; as she believes in the significance of “ribat,” even though it’s non-violent and none of them are carrying any weapons.
Their injustice will dispel…
An Israeli judge issued a ruling on the detention of Al-Natsheh. The decision includes unpaid working hours serving the Jews. She commented on this saying “This is an unjust policy and a state built on injustice, which will disappear, Allah willing.”
She added that her patience will never wear thin and that she won’t stop praying to Allah to preserve Al-Quds from the occupation’s swindle and to keep Masjid Al-Aqsa safe from their plans.
Sahar considers the duties of the Arab and Islamic nations are to stand behind the Murabitat, to support them both on incorporeal levels and through the media, to stand with the Jerusalemites in confronting the occupation and thwarting its plans of dividing Masjid Al-Aqsa in time and place, and to expose the crimes of the Israeli government and extremists against Palestinian holy places and people. She concluded that it is the duty of every Muslim to work for Al-Aqsa’s liberation and to save it from the grips of the occupiers by taking a serious stance on preserving Al-Quds and Masjid al-Aqsa.
