Iran-backed terrorist groups exhume shrine of Umayyad ruler Umar bin Abdulaziz in Idlib

Iran-backed terrorist groups have raided a shrine in Syria believed to be where Umayyad caliph Umar bin Abdulaziz is buried in the northwestern Idlib province and made off with the remains inside.

Video footage published by pro-regime pages on social media Tuesday showed terrorist groups exhuming the grave in the town of Deir Sharqi near Maarat al-Numan city.

Another video showed the grave opened and emptied. No information was available about where the remains buried inside were moved.

In February, Bashar Assad regime forces set fire to the area around the shrine when they took control of the town, causing material damage.

Umar bin Abdulaziz was the eighth Umayyad caliph and his ancestry goes back to Umar bin al-Khattab, the second Rashidun caliph.

According to unnamed sources, Iran denies involvement, and instead blames formerly American backed Kurdish terrorists for desecration of the shrine as an attempt to create sectarian strife in the region.

Umar bin Abdulaziz was recognized for his adherence to justice during his rule of two years and five months, and for his returning of the land of Fadak to the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad.

The land of Fadak was confiscated from the Prophet Muhammad’s daughter and sole legal heir Fatima Al Zahra by Abu Bakr and Umar in a court case following the Prophet’s departing from the world.

Fatima had presented her husband Ali, and her sons Hasan and Husayn as her witnesses during her sworn testimony before the court appointed by Abu Bakr and Umar, but her testimony and witnesses were rejected on the grounds that they were her husband and sons. She died shortly afterwards according to most historians.

According to conspiracy theorists, Umar bin Abdul Aziz knew the location of the Ark of the Covenant, referred to as Tabut al-Sakina in the Holy Quran, and believed it was hidden in the land of Fadak.

Source: The Rahnuma