By Mucahit Turetken

ISTANBUL

Three-fourths of Jerusalem’s historic Al-Aqsa Mosque was built by the Ottoman Empire, said a Palestinian scholar on Saturday.

"Al-Aqsa is an issue which concerns the whole Muslim community. Today we see Turkey leading this community," Nawaf Takruri, head of the Council of Palestinian Scholars Abroad, told a meeting in Istanbul with scholars and academics from Turkey, Palestine, and some other countries.

Mentioning Al-Aqsa’s Ottoman roots, Takruri said Turkey is treating the issue of Al-Aqsa with more care than other countries.

Myanmar’s Rakhine state, Turkestan in Central Asia and Palestine “are the common cause of the [Muslim] ummah -- nation,” he said.

“The fronts might be different, but we must all come together. None of these causes are disconnected from the other. The enemy wants us to split up and separate."

The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third-holiest site for the world’s Muslims.

Efforts by Israel to restrict access to Al-Aqsa have been a flashpoint in Palestinians’ fight for their rights under Israeli occupation.

Turkey has called on the Israeli government to respect Al-Aqsa’s holiness and historic stature.