Leader of World’s Largest Islamic Group to Visit Temple Mount

The secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, an umbrella group representing 57 Muslim countries based in Saudi Arabia, plans to visit the Temple Mount Monday.

Iyad bin Amin Madani is scheduled to make the visit as part of a trip that also includes a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, OnIslam.net reported.

Madani’s first Temple Mount visit comes as Muslim-Jewish tension simmers over control of the holy site, contributing to an uptick in Palestinian terrorism in and around Jerusalem.

Last May, Madani urged Muslims from around the world to visit the Temple Mount in order to “confirm that this mosque is a part of their faith,” in reference to the Al-Aqsa Mosque located there. Many Muslims maintain an informal boycott of visiting Al-Aqsa in protest of Israel’s control of the Temple Mount. Israel, however, bans Jewish prayer at the site.