{"id":1533,"date":"2014-09-07T14:43:52","date_gmt":"2014-09-07T14:43:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=1533"},"modified":"2014-09-07T14:43:52","modified_gmt":"2014-09-07T14:43:52","slug":"no-plan-to-relocate-prophet-muhammads-tomb-saudi-govt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=1533","title":{"rendered":"No plan to relocate Prophet Muhammad\u2019s tomb \u2013 Saudi govt"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Holy<\/a>
Holy Prophet’s Mosque In Al-Madinah Saudi Arabia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The government of Saudi Arabia has dismissed reports that it will destroy one of Islam\u2019s most revered holy sites \u2013 the tomb of the Prophet Mohammed \u2013 and relocate it to an anonymous grave.<\/p>\n

The proposal, which has sparked criticism globally, is part of a consultation document by a leading Saudi academic, Dr. Ali bin Abdulaziz al-Shabal, of Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh.<\/p>\n

The document was reported to have been circulated among the supervisors of the al-Masjid al-Nabawi Mosque in Medina, The Independent <\/em>of the United Kingdom reported had on Monday.<\/p>\n

However, the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques, in Saudi Arabia on Friday, described it as an opinion of a researcher, an Arabian newspaper, Saudi Gazette <\/em>reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is being circulated in the media about the chamber where the Prophet\u2019s grave is situated at the Prophet\u2019s Mosque is related to a special study carried out by a researcher.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does not represent either the opinion of the presidency or the directive of the state, which has utmost keenness in serving the two holy mosques and maintaining their sanctity,\u201d the spokesman for the Presidency, Ahmad al-Mansouri, said.<\/p>\n

Similarly, another newspaper, Arab News<\/em>, quoted al-Mansouri as saying, \u201cThis is the personal opinion of a researcher, who had expressed his views in a study, and it does not reflect the views of the Presidency or the Kingdom.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Presidency was reported to have threatened to take legal action on the report.<\/p>\n

The mosque, where the tomb of the Prophet are housed under the Green Dome, is visited by millions of pilgrims and venerated as Islam\u2019s second-holiest site.<\/p>\n

The Independent<\/em> UK <\/em>had quoted the Director, Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, Dr. Alawi, as saying the document had been circulated to the Committee of the Presidency of the Two Mosques.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeveral pages of the consultation document had been published in the Presidency\u2019s journal. They call for the destruction of the rooms surrounding the tomb, which were used by the Prophet\u2019s wives and daughters, and venerated by the Shia because of their association with his youngest daughter, Fatima.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe document also calls for the Green Dome, which covers the tomb and these living quarters, to be removed,\u201d the journal added.<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia\u2019s monarch, King Abdullah, is the official custodian of the tomb.<\/p>\n

The UK-based journal reported that the plan to relocate the tomb was made public by another Saudi academic who had exposed and criticised the destruction of holy places and artefacts in Mecca \u2013 the holiest site in the Muslim world.<\/p>\n

The plan also includes the destruction of chambers around the Prophet\u2019s grave, which are particularly venerated by Muslims of the Shia sect.<\/p>\n

The Independent<\/em> UK<\/em> reported that the 61-page document also called for the relocation of Prophet Mohammed\u2019s tomb to the nearby al-Baqi cemetery, where they would be interred anonymously.<\/p>\n

Dr. Alawi was further quoted as saying, \u201cThe al-Baqi cemetery already contains the graves of many of the Prophet\u2019s family, including his father, who was removed there in the 1970s.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 1924, all the grave markers were removed so pilgrims would not know who was buried there, and so be unable to pray to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Prophet would be anonymous. Everything around the Prophet\u2019s mosque has already been destroyed. It is surrounded by bulldozers. Once they\u2019ve removed everything, they can move towards the mosque. The imam is likely to say there is a need to expand the mosque and do it that way, while the world\u2019s eyes are on Iraq and Syria.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Prophet Mohamed\u2019s grave is venerated by the mainstream Sunni, who would never do it. It is just as important for the Shia too, who venerate the Prophet\u2019s daughter, Fatima.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure there will be shock across the Muslim world at these revelations. It will cause outrage.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The government of Saudi Arabia has dismissed reports that it will destroy one of Islam\u2019s most revered holy sites \u2013 the tomb of the Prophet Mohammed \u2013 and relocate it to an anonymous grave. The proposal, which has sparked criticism globally, is part of a consultation document by a leading Saudi academic, Dr. Ali bin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Holy-Prophets-Mosque-In-Al-Madinah-Saudi-Arabia-360x420.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4oswh-oJ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1533"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1535,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1533\/revisions\/1535"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}