Worshippers gather in front of the White House for Friday prayers in Washington, DC.
Washington - Worshippers laid out their prayer mats at a park in front of the president's residence.
Published: Sat 9 Dec 2017, 9:17 PM
Updated: Sat 9 Dec 2017, 11:21 PM
Hundreds of Muslims attended on Friday prayers in front of the White House to protest President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Responding to the call of American Muslim organisations, worshippers laid out their prayer mats at a park in front of the president's residence.
Wearing traditional Palestinian keffiyeh scarves or the colours of the Palestinian flag, protesters also held placards denouncing Israeli occupation of Jerusalem and the West Bank.
"Trump does not own a piece of soil of Jerusalem and Palestine. He owns the Trump Tower. He can give it away to the Israelis," Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said.
The president is "empowering Christian religious extremism in the US", he added.
Speaking alongside other prominent figures from the American Muslim community during the protest, Awad called upon Trump to "put the American interests first, not those of a foreign power and its lobbies in the US". Another protester, Zaid Al Harasheh, said that Trump's decision is "not for peace" and will "create more chaos". Trump's declaration sparked anger across the Muslim world.
On Friday, clashes between thousands of Palestinians and Israeli security forces in the West Bank and on the Gaza Strip left two people dead and dozens more injured.
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