Jamal Khashoggi’s family is holding funeral prayers in absentia for the journalist on Friday in Mecca and Medina.
By Josh Babb
Rabat – Salah Khashoggi, the son of Jamal, said the prayer would be held in Medina following the morning prayer, and a second will be held in Mecca following the conclusion of Friday’s prayer.
The ceremony will be held without the remains of Khashoggi who was killed October 2 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Last Sunday, Khashoggi’s fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, called for worldwide funeral prayers for Khashoggi on Friday. She specifically requested the “janazah” prayer to be performed in the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, Khashoggi’s home city.
Jamal Khashoggi was a contributor to the Washington Post at the time of his death and a permanent resident of the US. Turkish investigators have put forward the theory that Khashoggi’s remains were dissolved in acid and poured down the drain of the Saudi consulate shortly after he was killed by a 15 man hit-squad flown in from Riyadh.
Cengiz had a visceral reaction to the Turkish theory. Taking to Twitter she wrote, “I’m unable to express my sorrow to learn about dissolving your body Jamal!”
She added, “They killed you and chopped up your body, depriving me and your family of conducting your funeral prayer and burying you in Madinah as wished.”
According to Islamic law, burying the dead is a collective obligation. If the community of Muslims does not carry out this duty, they are burdened with collective sin.
In practical terms, funeral rites for the deceased usually fall to their next of kin. The rites consist of three main acts: Washing the body, holding a prayer for their loved one, and finally internment in the earth.
By denying Jamal Khashoggi’s next of kin the rite to his remains, those responsible have added to their crimes by not allowing a proper Muslim burial.
On Thursday, Saudi prosecutors announced the findings of their internal investigation into the death of Jamal Khashoggi, handing down 11 indictments and seeking the death penalty for five suspects. Officials had originally arrested 18 suspects in connection with Khashoggi’s murder.
