Ahle Sunnat threatens to lay siege to Saudi embassy

The golden gate of al-Masjid al-Nabawi mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia, where the remains of the Prophet Mohamed are housed

Islamist group Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat today threatened to lay siege to Saudi Arabia (KSA) embassy in Dhaka Sunday if the kingdom does not clarify its stance regarding a plan to demolish the shrine of Prophet Muhammad in Medina.

The announcement came a day after international media reported on the plan to destroy Muhammad’s shrine and move the remains to an undisclosed location, reports our Chittagong correspondent.

Speaking at a press conference at Chittagong Press Club around 12:30pm, Mosaheb Uddin Bakhtiar, member-secretary of Ahle Sunnat, said they would lay siege to the embassy if the Saudi Arabia does not clarify its stance within 48 hours.

Later, the members of Ahle Sunnat held a rally in front of the press club.

Earlier on September 1, UK-based daily The Independent published a news article saying Prophet Muhammad’s tomb, one of Islam’s most revered holy sites, could be destroyed and his body removed to an anonymous grave.

The Independent news article titled ‘Saudis risk new Muslim division with proposal to move Muhammad’s tomb’ said the controversial proposals are part of a consultation document by a leading Saudi academic.

The report said that the proposals 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.