Sunnis outraged over Prophet Muhammad’s grave desecration – by Ali Naqvi
The grotesque secret is out: Islamic Prophet Mohammad’s grave will be demolished, dug out, and his remains removed – all under the guise of a building expansion plan developed by the Saudi government. Saudi government, which is notorious for violating human rights and curbing political freedoms, considers visiting graves as idolatry. Since Wahabism, the state religion of Saudi Arabia, places no importance to historical landmarks or sacred sites, Saudis frequently and unabashedly destroy Islamic heritage sites. The real purpose is destroy Islam’s historical and cultural context and distort it to justify Saudi-inspired fascism.
When Andrew Johnson reported the news of the planned desecration of Prophet Mohammad’s grave (The Independent on Sept. 1, 2014) – the news was expected to create a shockwave throughout the entire Muslim world. After all, Muslims are widely perceived to offer fanatical responses to Quran burning stunts – and insulting Prophet Mohammad is considered a capital punishment in many countries – hence, one would imagine that the news of such gravity would draw masses out on the streets, riots would ensue, and officials would raise the issue at an international level. To the surprise of many, the news drew a muted response from the Muslim world – perhaps attributable the fact that Saudi Arabia is (mistakenly) viewed as the incontestable leader of the Sunni world.
While some refuse to believe the news, many Sunnis are shocked by the disclosure. Some view this as a pattern of Saudi sponsored Wahabi onslaught on traditional Sunni values. “Destroy the symbols of respect for a nation and you can destroy the nation. Sunnis don’t even realize that Saudis are destroying the traditional Sunni Islam. Today, the traumatizing terror unleashed by ISIS terrorists is really Wahabism on display. Don’t call them Muslim or Sunni terrorists – call them the Wahabi terrorists.” Says Ms. Yaqub, a Washington DC based activist who is trying to preserve the traditional Sunni values by creating awareness about the distinction between the traditional Sunnism and Wahabism.
Known as iconoclasm, the destruction of cherished and esteemed symbols is a time tested tool for abolishing an institution. In the past Saudis have destroyed many historical Islamic sites and desecrated graves of family members and companions of Prophet Mohammad.
Same goes for various terrorist organizations (e.g. ISIS, Al-Qaeda) operating in the Middle East and North Africa – most directly or indirectly supported by Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-style tomb-destruction has become a distinct trademark of these terrorist organizations and experts agree that in intensity and impact, iconoclasm is just as atrocious as other crimes being conducted by terrorist organizations such as raping and enslaving women, beheading Americans and British civilians, and killing thousands of innocent children, men and women (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconoclasm). A recent example of such a horrific act includes the destruction of thousands of years old site of Prophet Jonah’s (Yonus) tomb in Iraq.
The Wahabism’s meddling with traditional Sunnism and making inroads has alarmed many Sunnis. “The traditional Sunni values were replaced by the 18th century Wahabi movement. Billions of petrodollars invested into madrassas resulted in the mass conversions of traditional Sunnis into Wahabis. Sunnism has been hijacked by Wahabism” Ms. Yaqub said.
The silent onslaught of Wahabism on traditional Sunnism has become a source of confusion for many Sunnis. Activists like Ms. Yaqub claim that the broad Sunnis view of Saudi Arabia as the standard setter for the Sunni world is driven out of ignorance. They insist that Wahabism is not really Sunnism.
As a consequence of this movement, there is a growing trend among the traditional Sunnis to distance themselves from the Saudi and Wahabi style of Sunnism. This separation also allows Sunnis to detach themselves ideologically from the Wahabi and Takfiri terrorists and their brutal crimes. The differences are becoming so profound that in Northern Virginia a group of traditional Sunnis have established a separate mosque that caters to Sunnis who are turned off by the Saudi funded Islamic centers. Similar trends are now prevalent in other cities. This is a positive trend and our Sunni brothers must be supported for standing up to Wahabi fascism.
Prophet Mohammad’s tomb destruction would probably make no impact on the Wahabi inspired world but for the traditional Sunnis it will have a huge impact. It will force the broader Sunni population to draw a line in the sand and permanently disassociate themselves from the violence and terror that is now being unfairly viewed as a distinct feature of the Sunni Islam.
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