Saudis risk new Muslim rift with proposal to move Mohamed’s tomb

Saudis risk new Muslim rift with proposal to move Mohamed’s tomb. (Independent).

One of Islam’s most revered holy sites – the tomb of the Prophet Mohamed – could be destroyed and his body removed to an anonymous grave under plans which threaten to spark discord across the Muslim world.

The controversial proposals are part of a consultation document by a leading Saudi academic which has been circulated among the supervisors of al-Masjid al-Nabawi mosque in Medina, where the remains of the Prophet are housed under the Green Dome, visited by millions of pilgrims and venerated as Islam’s second-holiest site. The formal custodian of the mosque is Saudi Arabia’s ageing monarch King Abdullah.

The plans, brought to light by another Saudi academic who has exposed and criticised the destruction of holy places and artefacts in Mecca – the holiest site in the Muslim world – call for the destruction of chambers around the Prophet’s grave which are particularly venerated by Shia Muslims.

The 61-page document also calls for the removal of Mohamed’s remains to the nearby al-Baqi cemetery, where they would be interred anonymously.

Dr Alawi, director of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, told The Independent: “People visit the chambers, which are the rooms where the Prophet’s family lived, and turn towards the burial chamber to pray.

“Now they want to prevent pilgrims from attending and venerating the tomb because they believe this is shirq, or idolatry. But the only way they can stop people visiting the Prophet is to get him out and into the cemetery.”Read the full story here.

Muslim World Stunned by S. Arabia's Plan to Destroy Prophet's Mosque.

Muslim World Stunned by S. Arabia's Plan to Destroy Prophet's Mosque.(Fars). TEHRAN (FNA)- The Saudi government plans to demolish Islamic sites, including Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)'s Mosque, taking a bulldozer to Islam's history and divine values. Saudi Arabia plans to destroy three of the world's oldest mosques in a multi-billion-pound expansion of Islam's second holiest site, a plan which has shocked the Muslim community worldwide, Independent said.
Work on the Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina, where the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is buried, will start once the annual Hajj pilgrimage ends next month. When complete, the development will turn the mosque into the world's largest building, with the capacity for 1.6 million people.
But the Saudi plan to raze Islam's historical and most revered sites has stunned the Muslim world. Saudi King Abdullah's apparent disdain for preserving historical and archeological heritage of Mecca, the holiest city in the country and the world of Islam, has already fueled outrage. 
Most of the expansion of Masjid an-Nabawi will take place to the West of the existing mosque, which holds the tombs of Islam's founder and the first two Caliphs of Sunni Islam, Abu Bakr and Omar. Also Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs published a pamphlet in 2007 prepared by the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz al Sheikh who called for destruction of the mosque's dome and flattening the graves of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), Abu Bakr and Omar.
Dr. Irfan al-Alawi of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation who has spent much of his past 10 years activities on highlighting the destruction of early Islamic sites said, "Muslim silence over the destruction of Mecca and Medina is both disastrous and hypocritical." "The recent movie about the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) caused worldwide protests... and yet the destruction of the Prophet's birthplace, where he prayed and founded Islam has been allowed to continue without any criticism," he added. Read the full story here.