Ali Gomaa visits Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque

Egypt's grand mufti, Ali Gomaa, visited Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Wednesday along with Jordanian Prince Ghazi, a senior Muslim official in the Holy City said. Azzam al-Khatib said "Prince Ghazi bin Mohammed, the personal representative of His Highness King Abdullah (II of Jordan) on religious matters, and the mufti of Egypt, Ali Gomaa, came for a religious visit to Al-Aqsa mosque." The two men also visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Greek Orthodox patriarchate, said Khatib. In Amman, Jordan's ministry of Awqaf and Islamic affairs said the visit was in accordance with a command from the Prophet Mohammed to visit only three mosques on pilgrimage -- Al-Aqsa and the mosques in Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia. It added that Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas had "called on Muslims everywhere to visit Al-Aqsa and revitalise it by filling it with worshippers and pilgrims."