Makkah: In a bizarre move that landed him in jail, a Yemeni man performed Umrah for the deceased Queen of the United Kingdom (UK) Elizabeth II.
The incident came to light after the Yemeni himself posted a video of him in Ihram and carrying a banner that read:
“Umrah for the soul of Queen Elizabeth II, we ask God to accept her in heaven and among the righteous."
Queen Elizabeth II of UK died last Thursday after a prolonged illness. She was 96.
Queen Elizabeth II was a Protestant. Beyond her official role as the head of Church of England, she shows her religious faith on many occasions, including in messages in her annual Christmas speech.
Umrah is for Muslims, and there is no precedent or religious sanctions to perform Umrah for non-Muslims. It is hence not clear why the Yemeni man performed Umrah for her.
After the video of the Yemeni carrying the banner went viral on social media, Saudi authorities came into action and took him in their custody. The authorities however cited a different reason for his arrest.
“The Special Force for the Security of the Grand Mosque arrested a person who appeared in a video clip carrying a sign inside the Grand Mosque”, Makkah Security wrote on Twitter.
Saudi Arabia prohibits raising any banner or slogan during the Hajj and Umrah rituals.
Elizabeth was extraordinarily popular among her people and therefore widely accepted and respected by them. This rendered the British monarchy conceptually popular as well as opposed to republicanism.
Nonetheless, some people are also reminding the world about the crimes UK committed against the humanity in various parts of the world when the British Royal was head of the state.
“If anyone expects me to express anything but disdain for the monarch who supervised a government that sponsored the genocide that massacred and displaced half my family and the consequences of which those alive today are still trying to overcome, you can keep wishing upon a star”, said Uju Anya, Associate Professor in the United States, calling Elizabeth II “Chief Monarch of a thieving raping genocidal empire”.
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