Shrine of the Cloak (Kherqa) of Holy
Prophet Muhammad (SAWS)
Location : Kandahar, Afghanistan
The Shrine of the Cloak (Pashto: Kerqa Sharif)
is located adjacent to the main mosque in Kandahar, Afghanistan. It contains
the Kherqa, a cloak believed to have been worn by Islam's Prophet Muhammad
(Blessings of Allah be upon him).
The cloak was last seen in public in 1996, when
Mullah Muhammad Omar, the leader of the Taliban, removed it from the shrine and
donned the cloak while he stood atop a building, and in front of a large crowd
of his followers. Upon donning the
cloak, the crowd began to shout "Amir al-Mu'minin" (Commander of the
Faithful).
That
symbolic act is commonly considered a key point in the rise of the Taliban.
