Iraqi Prime Minister says Qiblah for prayer should be Kerbala not Mecca

Taroudant- According to AlArabaiya, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said that the Shiite holy city of Kerbala must be the Qibla - direction, towards which Muslims pray – instead of the Kaaba in Mecca, the sanctuary where Muslims turn their faces when performing their prayers.

“Karbala must be the Qibla of the Islamic world because Imam Hussein [the Prophet Mohammad’s second grandson, and an important figure in Shia Islam] is buried there,” Maliki said this week, according to Al Arabiya

The controversial statements of Al-Maliki, a Shiite Muslim, sparked uproar among Muslims and have been understood by many Islamic scholars as an "incitement to fight" and "division" of the Muslim world.

Khaled al-Mosleh, professor of Jurisprudence at the University Qassim in Saudi Arabia, described Maliki’s statements as “nonsense” and incompatible with Islamic sharia law.

The Qiblah, for any point of reference on the Earth, is the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca, Islam's holiest place.

The reference to Kaaba as a direction for prayers is not a matter of choice or an agreed upon point by Muslim scholars, but a mandatory Divine command for Muslims whenever they offer their prayers.

“From whencesoever Thou startest forth, turn Thy face in the direction of the sacred Mosque; that is indeed the truth from the Lord. And Allah is not unmindful of what ye do.” Qur'an, sura 2 (Al-Baqara), ayat 149

For those who can’t define the direction of Kaaba for some reasons, it is less important where the prayers turn their faces as long as they are faithful to God.

 “It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces towards east or West; but it is righteousness- to believe in Allah and the Last Day,” Qur'an, sura 2 (Al-Baqara), ayah 177

However, Muslims offer their prayers facing the Kaaba symbolize the unity of all Muslims worldwide under one religion, and any attempt to change this divinely ordered direction is to be understood as an incitement to strife and a call to divide Muslims.