The opening session of the 9th PJD Congress was fraught with controversy, despite the absence of Hamas and the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood. A Mauritanian cleric, a member of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (Sunni), with close ties to Qatar, took the floor on Saturday. In his speech, Mohamed El Hassan Ould Deddou praised «the Moroccan people for their support of Al-Quds, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Palestinian people's resistance». However, this cleric, who lauded the PJD, had previously opposed Donald Trump's recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, announced on December 10, 2020. During an appearance on Al Jazeera, where he is a regular contributor, Ould Deddou stated that «the Americans do not own Western Sahara to give it to Morocco». He described the act signed by Trump and published in the U.S. Federal Register as «illegal and contrary to Islamic law». He compared this decision «to the American recognition of the Zionist occupation of the Golan Heights and other Arab territories». His remarks were widely shared on social media by Polisario supporters. This is happening at the PJD Congress. The deputy from the Turkish Political Party RAFAH, during his speech at the PJD conference this morning, criticized ⭕️the «normalization» of Islamic regimes ⭕️called for their overthrow by the people. pic.twitter.com/nnN8wLTHc9 — Nahelee (@nachelee) April 26, 2025 Meanwhile, Turkish deputy Doughan Bikin, vice president of the Islamist Rafah (Prosperity) party in its new iteration, also spoke at the 9th PJD Congress. He called on «the people to overthrow regimes that have normalized their relations with Israel». The new Rafah supports President Erdogan, who has not severed Turkey's diplomatic ties with Israel, in protest against the genocide of Palestinians.
