Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa appeared at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus for the dawn prayer on Monday, revealing a gift from Saudi Arabia: a piece of the Kaaba's curtain, which was placed inside the mosque.
Sharaa announced that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had gifted him a piece of the Kaaba's sacred curtain bearing the Quranic verse: "And [mention] when We made the House [i.e., the Kaaba] a place of return for the people and [a place of] security and take, [O believers], from the standing place of Abraham a place of prayer." This piece was placed in the Umayyad Mosque in the capital, Damascus.
The Syrian President led the prayers at the Umayyad Mosque and delivered a speech, wearing the same outfit he wore upon his arrival in Damascus after the fall of the regime of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on December 8, 2024, when he also gave a speech from the same minbar.
Earlier, last October, Sharaa had issued a presidential decree stating that December 8 of each year, the date of the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, is an official holiday called "Liberation Day".
