An annual
anti-Zionist day of protest was first suggested by
Ebrahim Yazdi, the first
foreign minister of the
Islamic Republic of Iran, to
Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the
Iranian Revolution. At the time, its predominant context was related to
deepening tensions between Israel and Lebanon. Khomeini adopted Yazdi's idea, and on August 7, 1979, he declared the
last Friday of every
Ramadan as "Quds Day", in which
Muslims worldwide would unite in solidarity against
Israel and in support of the
Palestinians. Khomeini stated that the "liberation" of
Jerusalem was a religious duty to all Muslims: Senior clerics, including Ayatollah
Naser Makarem Shirazi, have described participation in Quds Day as a form of religious worship (
ebādat), intended to unite Muslims around the world. There have been recorded incidents of violence on Quds Day, including 28 people killed and 326 wounded by bombs in 1985 during the
Iran–Iraq War. The day is also marked throughout Muslim and
Arab countries. In January 1988, during the
First Intifada, the Jerusalem Committee of the
Organization of the Islamic Conference decided that Quds Day should be commemorated in public events throughout the Arab world. In countries with significant
Shia Muslim populations, particularly Lebanon, where Hezbollah organizes Quds Day observances, there is significant attendance at the day's events. Events are also held in
Iraq, the
Palestinian Gaza Strip, and
Syria. Both
Hamas and
Palestinian Islamic Jihad endorse Quds Day and hold ceremonies. Outside of the
Middle East and the wider Arab world, Quds Day protests have taken place in the
United Kingdom,
Germany,
Canada,
Sweden,
France, the
United States, as well as some
Muslim countries in Southeast Asia. According to the
BBC, while the original idea behind Quds Day was to gather all Muslims in opposition to the existence of Israel, the event has not developed beyond an Iranian experience. Apart from rallies, usually funded and organized by Iran itself in various capital cities, the ritual never took root among Muslims at large. In a Quds Day sermon in 2007, he declared that Hitler's primary aim was to "free Europe from the evils of Zionism," blaming Zionists for political unrest and media control in Europe. He suggested that Nazi policies were a response to Zionist influence, portraying the Holocaust as a consequence of Jewish behavior. Quds Day 2026 took place amid the
2026 Iran war and less than two weeks after
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei was killed in joint United States–Israeli military strikes. ==Quds Day events==