A shocking image from the newly released Epstein files has triggered widespread outrage across the Muslim world, showing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and prominent Emirati businessman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem standing at the bottom of a staircase, looking down at what appears to resemble the Kiswa, the sacred black, gold-embroidered cloth that covers the Kaaba, laid out on the floor.
The image was sent as an email attachment to Epstein on May 8, 2014, with the sender making a lewd joke in the message body. Given the profound religious significance of the Kiswa, placing it on the floor would not be deemed respectful by Islamic standard, making the image deeply disturbing to Muslims worldwide.
The revelation comes alongside emails from February and March 2017 showing UAE-based businesswoman Aziza al-Ahmadi working with Abdullah al-Maari to organize the shipment of three pieces of the actual Kiswa to Epstein’s Florida residence. The items were shipped by air freight from Saudi Arabia via British Airways, with coordination spanning invoices, customs arrangements, and delivery inside the United States.
In one email, al-Ahmadi explained to Epstein: “The black piece was touched by a minimum 10 million Muslims of different denominations, Sunni, Shia and others. They walk around the Kaaba seven rounds then everyone tries as much as they can to touch it and they kept their prayers, wishes, tears and hopes on this piece”.
The Kiswa is removed from the Kaaba and replaced annually during the Hajj pilgrimage, with the old cloth cut into small pieces and treated as valuable artifacts, sometimes gifted to dignitaries and institutions by the Saudi government. However, how these pieces ended up with a convicted criminal remains deeply troubling.
The scandal has raised serious questions about the custodianship of Islam’s holiest symbols and accountability for those who facilitated such transfers to someone synonymous with abuse and exploitation.
