Imam Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Republic once said in a historic message regarding the International Quds Day as following:
Quds Day is an Islamic day and an Islamic general mobilization day. I hope that this theme is a precursor to the formation of the “Party of the Oppressed” throughout the world.
And I hope that a party named “Party of the Oppressed” comes into being throughout the world and all the oppressed have a say in this party; and the problems that are present in the path of the oppressed are removed; and they rise up against the oppressors and the plunderers of both the East and the West; and no longer permit the oppressors to oppress the downtrodden of the world; and the call of Islam and the promise of Islam which is the rule of the oppressed over the oppressors and “inheritance of the earth” that is for the oppressed, be realized.
Until now, the oppressed were disunited and with disunity, nothing can be achieved. Now that a specimen of the bond of the oppressed has been realized in a Muslim homeland, this specimen must be realized at a more extensive level throughout the strata of human beings in history; and by the name of “Party of the Oppressed” which is the same as Hizbullah [Party of God], and which is in agreement with the will of God, the Blessed and Exalted, the oppressed must become the inheritors of the earth.
(Sahifeh- ye Imam, Vol 9, page 255)
Every year on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, worldwide rallies are held to commemorate the Palestinian people’s resistance against Israel and their struggles to liberate their territories which have been occupied by Israel for decades. Millions of pro-Palestinian demonstrators, including Muslims and non-Muslims, take to the streets to denounce Israel’s atrocities against the people of Palestine. This year’s Quds Day rallies will be held across the world on Friday, July 10.
Back in 1979, shortly after leading an Islamic revolution which toppled the US-backed Shah of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini named the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan as Quds Day.
The annual event is seen as an opportunity for freedom-seeking people across the world, regardless of faith, to voice their support for the cause of Palestine and vent their anger against the Apartheid regime of Israel.
Millions of people in Iran and other Muslim and non-Muslim countries worldwide hold rallies in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Quds Day is a far cry from a casual Islamic religious event. It is, indeed, a human rights event open to both Muslim and non-Muslims alike.
Anti-Israeli sentiments have been gaining ground on a regular basis following Tel Aviv's onslaughts on the besieged Gaza Strip which have killed thousands of people, many of them women and children, since 2009. The attacks were launched amid a muted response from the so-called international community which is spearheaded by the US - Israel's staunch ally. However, they raised global awareness of Israeli atrocities against the people of Palestine. Tel Aviv is now facing charges of war crimes over its military strikes against the impoverished enclave which has been under a crippling Israeli siege since 2007.