British newspaper The Independent, that 'broke' the news on Saudi Arabian authority's decision to demolish Prophet Muhammad's grave, has been accused of 'theft, and 'mistranslation' by a Saudi newspaper. Mowafaq al-Nowaysar, the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Saudi newspaper the Makkah accused the Independent of “theft,” claiming they have “robbed” one of their journalists of his efforts.
In an editorial on Wednesday, Nowaysar said the Independent “fell in the trap of misunderstandings after it mistranslated” an Arabic article that was posted in Makkah Newspaper on Aug 25.On Monday the British newspaper reported that the tomb of the Prophet Mohammad in the holy city of Madinah could be “destroyed” and the Prophet’s remains removed to an anonymous grave. The article states that there are calls for the Prophet’s tomb to be “isolated,” not destroyed, explained Nowaysar. He also accused The Independent of previously stealing content from his newspaper.
The Independent is claiming the story as an exclusive, and many media outlets around the world carried the report having credited the paper as breaking the story.
Following the publication of the report in Bangladeshi media, Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, a religion-based organisation, has announced to lay siege to the Saudi Embassy in Dhaka on Sunday.
'I would be glad to provide accurate translation' Speaking to Al Arabiya News on Wednesday, Omar al-Mudhwahi, the Saudi journalist who wrote the Makkah newspaper report said: “If they insist on stealing my work, at least they should allow me to provide them with an accurate translation … I would be glad to”.“I had initially written about the proposal after reading a study by Saudi academic Dr. Ali bin Abdulaziz al-Shabal in a publication published on behalf of the General Presidency of the Two Holy mosques.” In response to the allegations of “theft,” Deputy Managing Editor at the Independent, Will Gore, told Al Arabiya News on Wednesday they were “not aware of Makkah’s report” a week earlier. “The information for our article was brought to our attention by the Saudi academic Dr. Irfan al-Alawi, who had read directly the work of Dr. Ali bin Abdulaziz al-Shabal and was concerned by its content. This follows on from previous Independent articles over recent years about the approach of the Saudi authorities to historical sites in Makkah and Madinah,” Gore said.
Al Arabiya News is the English-language news providing service of the Al Arabiya News Channel. The website launched in August 2007 aiming to build a communication between the Arabic-language television channel and the English-speaking world.
