Jakarta, Sept 6 (Antara) - A delegation of scholars and clerics from
the largest Indonesian Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), will
travel to Saudi Arabia to ask for clarification about reports that the
Prophet Muhammad's tomb is to be removed.
"The team will meet and coordinate with Muslim clerics and the
government of Saudi Arabia. The team will verify the truth of the news
on the plan to relocate the tomb of the Prophet, an issue that has
always surfaced and raised concerns of Muslims all over the world," said
Chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB) Muhaimin Iskandar in a
written statement received by Antara on Friday.
The PKB, as part of the representatives of the Ahlussunah Wal-Jamaah
Sunni Muslims in Indonesia, will also seek official statements and
assurances from the Government of Saudi Arabia that it would never
remove the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad.
The delegation of Muslim clerics and scholars will be sent by the Muslim-based political party PKB.
"The official Statement of the Government of Saudi Arabia is vital to
end debate on grave removal plans of the tomb of the Prophet. If the
Government of Saudi Arabia does not immediately issue an official
statement about the plans to remove the tomb, then it would invite
uncertainty and create seeds of conflict among Muslims all over the
world," Muhaimin said.
He made the remarks in response to a report by London-based The
Independent on Monday, September 1, 2014, on a proposal by a leading
Saudi academic, Dr Ali bin Abdulaziz al-Shabal, of Imam Muhammad ibn
Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, to remove the Prophet's grave.
The Saudi academic had made the proposal in a 61-page consultation
document, which calls for the removal of the Prophet Mohammad's remains
from Al-Nabawi Mosque to the nearby Al-Baqi cemetery, where it will be
interred anonymously.
Indonesian Minister of Religious Affairs Lukman Hakim Saifuddin said he
had asked for clarification from the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Jakarta
about the reports.
News about plans to remove the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad has
immediately provoked strong reactions from the public. Therefore, the
Minister of Religious Affairs met Saudi Ambassador Mustafa bin Ibrahim
al Mubarok in the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Jakarta to ask for
confirmation about the planned removal of the tomb.
The minister said he was told that the Saudi Arabian government has never offered a statement about the removal of the tomb.
"Through me, the Embassy of Saudi Arabia said that the Saudi government
has never issued such news and such news is not true," said Lukman
Hakim Saifuddin in Jakarta on Thursday.
"The Ambassador of Saudi Arabia, through me, says that the Indonesian
people should not be provoked, because the government of Saudi Arabia is
committed to protecting the tomb of the prophet."
"So it is
clear that the news was not true at all. I hope organizations and
scholars of Islam in Indonesia could receive this confirmation, as there
is no need to waste energy on unfounded news," Minister Lukman Hakim
Saifuddin added.
However, according to PKB Chairman Muhaimin Iskandar, a statement by
the Saudi Arabian Government that it has no plans to move the tomb of
the Prophet Muhammad could not be authorized by the Indonesian Minister
of Religious Affairs, because the minister is not the spokesperson of
the Saudi Arabian government.
"It should be the ambassador of Saudi Arabia who immediately issued an
official statement regarding this matter, because this issue is very
sensitive for the majority of Muslims in the world, especially in
Indonesia," he said.
Muhaimin said that, for Muslims, the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad is a
sacred place. Every day many pilgrims pray there, especially during the
pilgrimage season. Because of this, he added, removing the tomb of the
Prophet Muhammad is tantamount to harming Muslims.
According to Muhaimin, there is a strong basis for Muslims to visit the
tomb of the Prophet Muhammad, as the Prophet, himself, said in his
tradition that: "Man zarani bada wafaati fa ka annama zaraani fi
hayaati, which more or less means whoever visits me after my death, is
just as if he or she visits me during my lifetime."
The PKB
asked the Indonesian government to make every diplomatic effort to
prevent the removal of the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad.
It
also asked the leadership of the Indonesian House of Representatives
(DPR), which is a member of the parliamentary organization of countries
grouped in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to build
support to reject the removal of the Prophet's tomb.
According to Muhaimin, whatever is happening with the Prophet's tomb in
Saudi Arabia should be monitored. The same thing can also happen in
this country because radical Islamic movements and Wahhabism have
infiltrated Indonesia.
"If left and not anticipated, this
movement will continue to grow and could eventually take action to
destroy historical sites and Islamic culture in Indonesia," he said.
The PKB, said Muhaimin, will stand at the forefront against radicalism
and Wahhabism in Indonesia, because it is not in line with Indonesian
Islamic values, which are the basis for PKB's lines of struggle.
In the meantime, the United Development Party Faction (FPPP) of the
House of Representatives (DPR) said it rejected plans to relocate the
Prophet Muhammad's tomb.
PPP Secretary Arwani Thomafi said during a press statement on Thursday
that such plans --as contained in consultation document-- to transfer
the Tomb of the Prophet Muhammad from the Green Dome of the Prophet's
Mosque in Medina to Al-Baqi Cemetery must be responded to seriously by
the Government of the Republic of Indonesia.
"We urge President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to use his authority to
seriously respond to the planned removal of the tomb of the Prophet
Muhammad," he said.
According to Arwani, the proposal will trigger a debate among Muslims,
particularly in Indonesia, as the world's largest Muslim populated
country.
"We also asked the President to ask for clarifications from the
government of Saudi Arabia on the document said to contain the plans for
the removal of the tomb. We certainly hope that the document was not
true and the plan was not implemented, because it would be detrimental
to Muslims," he said.
The PPP also asked the leadership of the Indonesian House of
Representatives (DPR), in its capacity as a member of the Parliamentary
Union of the Member States of the Organization of the Islamic
Cooperation (OIC Parliamentary Union of the Member States/PUIC), to use
its authority and coordinate with the parliaments of Islamic countries
throughout the world to reject these plans.***3***
(T.A014/INE/B003)
(T.A014/A/BESSR/Bustanuddin) 06-09-2014 21:58 |
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