Queen Elizabeth II Descendant Of Prophet Muhammad? Report Draws Mixed Reactions

A latest research has revealed that Queen Elizabeth II, the ruling monarch of Great Britain and the head of the Church of England, is a descendant of Prophet Muhammad.

Moroccan newspaper Al-Ousboue published a report in March, where it traced her lineage back 43 generations to discover that she can be linked to the founder of Islam. The information, however, is not new and was originally published in 1986 by Burke’s Peerage, the noted guide to royal pedigrees.

"It is little known by the British people that the blood of Mohammed flows in the veins of the queen. However, all Moslem religious leaders are proud of this fact," Burke's publishing director told former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1986, via a letter, ANI News reported.

"The royal family's direct descent from the prophet Mohammed cannot be relied upon to protect the royal family forever from Moslem terrorists," the director added.

Ali Gomaa, the former grand mufti of Egypt, has also verified the discovery which makes the queen cousin to King Abdullah II of Jordan, Mohammed VI of Morocco, and of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader.

However, the theories behind how the queen is actually linked to the Prophet is still debatable with different sources coming up with different explanations.

"A person, hailing from the House of Hashem [the Prophet's family] was arrested in Britain where he was coerced into converting to Christianity. It was said he was the grandfather of Queen Elizabeth," Gomaa said.

The Moroccan newspaper, which is the latest source to compile a report on the same have based their report on the theory that the queen’s lineage traces back to "Earl of Cambridge in the 14th century, across medieval Muslim Spain, to Fatima, the Prophet's daughter."

According to Burke’s Peerage, Elizabeth II has descended from 11^th Century Muslim princess Zaida. When her hometown of Seville was attacked by the Berbers or Amazighs, Zaida fled in order to save her life and ended up in Christian court of Alfonso VI of Castille. There she converted to Christianity and changed her name to Isabella.

Zaida married Alfonso and bore him a son called Sancho, whose descendant married the Earl of Cambridge, the Economist reported. However, according to other reports, Sancho was the son of King Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad of Seville, who took Zaida as his fourth wife. Then there are those who say that she was Abbad’s daughter and not wife.

“It builds a bridge between our two religions and kingdoms,” Abdelhamid Al-Aouni, who wrote the article in Al-Ousboue, said.

Not everyone rejoiced at the suggestion that Elizabeth II might be related to Prophet Muhammad. One particular sect of Islam — the Shias — who hold the descendants of the Prophet in a high esteem — have branded the information nothing more than a cunning plot to rebuild the lost strength of the British Empire using the Muslims.

People who have welcomed the news have started referring to the queen by titles such as Sayyida or Sherifa, which are reserved for the Prophet’s descendants.