RIYADH- Can Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain be the 43rd greatgranddaughter of Prophet Muhammad as has been suggested by genealogists?Opinions are divided on the answer, but what is more important is why thisconnection is being highlighted now.

A Moroccan weekly, *Assahifa al-Ousbouia*recently published a detailedfamily tree that traces Queen Elizabeth’s lineage to Abu al-Qasim Muhammadibn Abbad, the first independent ruler of Seville in the Al-Andalus regionof Spain, and from him all the way back to the Prophet Muhammad through hiseldest grandson Hasan ibn Ali, born to his daughter Fatima.

The family tree suggests that Abu al-Qasim Muhammad ibn Abbad’sgranddaughter, Princess Zaida converted to Christianity taking on the nameIsabella and married King Alfonso IV of Castille in the 11th century.

It was through their children that the Prophet’s bloodline entered theBritish royal family in 1375 with the birth of Richard of Conisburgh, theson of Isabella Perez of Castille who was married to the Earl of Cambridge.

If this is correct than even Queen Victoria of whom the current Queen is adirect descendent, King George I, II and III, Mary Queen of Scots andEdward IV of England all had Prophet Muhammad’s blood flowing through theirveins.Spanish and British royals

Historians suggest that the connection is possible as marriages betweenSpanish and British royals have been common through the centuries and boththe current British and Spanish royal families descend through QueenVictoria, thus concluding that even the Spanish royals share a lineage withthe Prophet.

“It may be quite possible for the Queen’s ancestors to be Hasan ibn Ali’sdescendants. After Prophet Muhammad’s death, his family and Hasan ibn Ali’sdescendants migrated to various parts of the world, especially NorthAfrica,” Ahmed Versi, Editor-in-Chief of the UK’s largest circulated Muslimnewspaper *The Muslim News* told Al- Arabiya.

“There has been continuous contact between the Muslim world and England andEurope through the ages,” added Versi.

The author of the article in *Assahifa al-Ousbouia*, Abdel-Hamid al-Awni,also propounds the theory that “the blood of the Prophet runs through theveins of kings who ruled Morocco, Andulasia and Europe”.

The claim makes the world’s longest-reigning living monarch, QueenElizabeth a cousin of both King Mohammed VI of Morocco and King Abdullah IIof Jordon.

Queen Elizabeth waves next to Prince Charles and Prince William during aspecial concert to celebrate her 92nd birthday at the Royal Albert Hall inLondon on April 21, 2018. (Reuters)

The connection was first published in 1986 by Burke’s Peerage, one of thetop genealogical publishers of the world for the last 190 years. HaroldBrooks-Baker, the publishing director and an authority on British royaltyhad then written to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher calling for increasedsecurity for the royal family.

“The royal family’s direct descent from the Prophet Mohammed cannot berelied upon to protect the royal family forever from Moslem terrorists”,Brooks-Baker wrote to Thatcher.

Realizing that the link would come as a surprise to many he added, “It islittle known by the British people that the blood of Mohammed flows in theveins of the Queen. However, all Moslem religious leaders are proud of thisfact”.Genealogical records

Genealogical records of early-medieval Spain also support the claim and ithas also been verified by Ali Gomaa, the grand mufti of Egypt.

So the question that many are asking is why has this “truth” surfaced now.Some warn that it is a secret plot to revive the British Empire with thehelp of Muslims who revere the Prophet’s descendants.

Others argue that is just propaganda used by the British monarchy toappease the growing number of Muslim “subjects”. Awni claims the connection“builds a bridge between two religions and kingdoms”.

While Buckingham Palace, as expected, has not reacted to the claim, thereis no denying that Prince Charles is intrigued by Islam. He is a patron ofthe Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies where he reportedly greets audienceswith *Assalamu Alaykum*.

Prince Charles, who is the heir to the British throne, has said he wants amulti-faith coronation and to be ordained as a “defender of faiths”,instead of just defender of Christianity. The British monarch is also thehead of the Church of England.

Lesley Hazleton, a British-American journalist and author of several bookson Islam including The First Muslim: The Story of Muhammad says the link isa “well-meaning interfaith spin”.

It is “a reaction to the demonization of Islam in the West, especially inthe United States”, says Hazleton, and reveals a hope that the Queen mightlend “respectability” to a major world religion. What still remainsunanswered is why these yet unconfirmed theories have surfaced now. – AlArabiyaBy: Sajida Momin