American Muslim removed from Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque for wearing Israeli hostage pin

An American Muslim born in Pakistan has relayed his experience of being expelled from the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem for wearing a yellow pin on his lapel in support of the hostages. 

Mansoor Hussain Laghari describes himself as a Muslim Zionist, a U.S. Army veteran, and a human rights and peace activist, and had been visiting Israel as part of a delegation organized by Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) for Muslim leaders.

He shared a post about what happened when they entered the mosque.

“Against the advice of the organizers, I refused to remove my hostage pin. I wore it deliberately. Because hostages are not politics. They are human beings,” he said.

He described “visible tension” and hostile looks following his decision, but was shocked when he was stopped, mid-prayer, by a security guard.  

“I was about to begin my salat [Muslim prayer]. I had positioned myself,” he said, “when a man abruptly interrupted me and introduced himself as the security chief. His first question was sharp and accusatory: 'How did you get in?' I replied calmly: Through the door.'"

Laghari said he was asked to show his passport and verify that he was a Muslim. The guard then pointed at his lapel and asked, “Why are you wearing that yellow pin? You are supporting Jews. If you want to stay here, you must remove it.”

🇺🇸 🇵🇰 Mansoor Laghari, a courageous Pakistani and US Army veteran, visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque wearing a yellow pin to show solidarity with Israeli hostages.

As he was praying, a Palestinian security guard came over, requested to see his passport, and asked him to take off the… pic.twitter.com/Ae86fOmppI

— Noor Dahri - نور ڈاہری ‎ 🇬🇧 (@dahrinoor2) December 17, 2025

Internal affairs on the Temple Mount are being administered by an Islamic trust, called a waqf, that is controlled and staffed by the Jordanian Kingdom.

The veteran said that he felt shock at what his faith was reduced to in that moment, and outrage that, though the Jewish state is often accused of apartheid, he was experiencing discrimination at the hands of the Muslim authorities at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Laghari clarified that he was removed not for violence or disruption, but for “refusing to erase Jewish suffering.”

“I explained that I am part of a peace mission, that the pin represents innocent hostages, not politics,” Laghari relayed, adding, “It did not matter. I was briefly detained, escorted out, and he yelled at the guard who had allowed me in – accusing me of 'provoking Muslims.' All of this just because of a pin.”

“Here is the bitter irony: I can move freely everywhere in Israel. The only place I was restricted and detained was an area under Muslim-controlled, Jordan-supervised authority at Al-Aqsa,” he wrote in the post. 

“A sacred space became a place of ideological policing. Empathy became conditional. Prayer became permission-based. If acknowledging innocent Jewish hostages is considered 'provocation,' then we must ask ourselves: What have we done to our faith?” he demanded.

Muslim author and counter terrorist expert from the UK, Noor Dahri, described Laghari’s decision to wear the pin as “courageous.”

Dahri added his support and posted on 𝕏, “Thank you, Brother Mansoor for standing and supporting the truth. May Allah protect you from Palestinian extremists. Ameen.”

Based in Norwich, Connecticut, Laghari says he has survived multiple assassination attempts but has dedicated his life to standing against extremism. He founded Nabisar Films as a way of fighting for truth, justice, and human dignity, explaining “My mission is clear: use cinema as a weapon of peace.”

Despite his experience at the hands of the waqf, he has remained unshaken in his resolve. “I remain a Muslim. I remain committed to peace,” Laghari stated.

“But peace built on intimidation, denial, and selective humanity is not peace at all. Human dignity matters and no one should be stripped of either at the door of a mosque.”