A wide wave of anger and denunciation in Syria and abroad: The exhumation of the tomb of Caliph Omar bin Abdul Aziz

Activists on social media circulated video recordings showing the exhumation of a tomb believed to be of the Umayyad Caliph Omar bin Abdul Aziz by militias loyal to Iran and the Syrian regime in the village of Deir Sharqi near Maarat al-Numan in Idlib countryside (northwest Syria).

The graves of the saints and the righteous in Syria are being attacked by the takfiri Wahhabi movement represented by ISIS on the one hand because it believes that visiting them and seeking blessings from them is polytheism -Allah forbid – and their saying is false. On the other hand, they poured their hatred on Ahal Al Sunna and not least Caliph Omar bin Abdul Aziz.

The circulating recordings showed the exhumation of three graves in the mausoleum, believed to be of the Caliph Omar bin Abdul Aziz, his wife Fatima bint Abdul Malik, and the mausoleum’s servant Abu Zakaria bin Yahya Al-Mansour. The place was also in ruins, and the mausoleum seemed empty, and it was not clear where its contents had been moved.

The regime forces set fire to parts of the shrine after taking control of Deir Sharqi village last February, which caused material damage to it.

The exhumation of the shrine sparked a wide wave of anger and denunciation on social media among Syrian activists and from various Arab and Islamic countries.

Fifth Rightly-Guided Caliphs

Omar bin Abdul Aziz is the eighth of the Umayyad caliphs, and he was called the fifth of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs for his justice, asceticism, and piety.

Many historians have considered Omar bin Abdul-Aziz the fifth of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs because, during his reign, which lasted two years and five months, he followed the path of his grandfather, the second adult caliph, Omar bin Al-Khattab, injustice, equality, and redressing grievances. Some also say: “The majority of historians assert that the tomb of Omar bin Aziz is located in the town of Deir Sharqi near Maarat al-Numan, in a place that he bought from a monk named Samaan. In the Mamluk era, a building with a dome was built over the tomb, which was restored years ago by the Syrian Ministry of Antiquities and Museums. For years, the mausoleum has not been subjected to exhumation and tampering, as the militias loyal to Iran have done to it.”

Guru didn’t do it..

When the French General Henri Gouraud entered Damascus as an occupier, he went to the tomb of Salah al-Din, the conqueror of Jerusalem, kicked the grave and addressed him, saying, “Here we are back, Salah al-Din,” but he did not burn it or exhume it. ” Dr. Al-Khalil, a researcher in Islamic affairs, wonders, and adds: “This is due to hidden sectarian and historical hatred”.

Gravedigging army

In addition to the Wahhabi terror that desecrates and blows up the graves of the saints and the righteous, it is also not the first time that groups loyal to the regime and Iran have exhumed graves in Syria. Video recordings showed members of the regime forces exhuming the graves of others in areas they entered after battles with opposition parties in the Idlib countryside.

He sees Dr. Muhammad Najjar, a university professor at the Faculty of Theology at Gaziantep University, said that the bombing of mosques and the killing of thousands of children, women, and innocents would not be surprised by the exhumation of a grave, and considered this a consolidation of the method of revenge, hatred, and barbarism.

He adds that Caliph Omar bin Abdul Aziz spread his justice and love in the hearts of his enemies before his followers. As for the slanderers and vandals of his grave today, in their hearts there is a disease, and hatred is not only sectarian but also hatred for justice, peace, and humanity that characterized Omar bin, Abdul Aziz.