Al-Baqi Cemetery, the oldest and one of the two most important Islamic graveyards[1] located in Medina, in current-day Saudi Arabia, was demolished[2] in 1806 and, following reconstruction in the mid-19th century, was destroyed again in 1925[3]: 55  or 1926.

[7] Historical records show that there were domes, cupolas, and mausoleums in Jannat al-Baqi before the 20th century; today it is a bare land without any buildings.

[9] They drew from the story of the golden calf mentioned in the Qur'an where the Israelites manufactured idols and prayed to them, inviting divine wrath.

[10] On the other hand, Shia scholars used a number of different verses and traditions to support the practice of building shrines over the graves of Islamic saints.

[5] Weeks before the second demolition, at the request of Ibn Bulayhid, a group of fifteen scholars from Medina unanimously issued a fatwa (an Islamic legal ruling) condemning the making of mausoleums around the graves.

[3]: 55 At the beginning of the House of Saud's nineteenth century (1806) control over Mecca and Medina, they demolished many of the religious buildings, including tombs and mosques, whether inside or outside the Baqi,[12] in accordance with their doctrine.

[6] After taking control of the holy cities, the Saudis tried to create obstacles to prevent non-Wahhabi Muslims from performing the Hajj (annual pilgrimage).

[3]: 49 The Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II ordered the governor of Egypt, Muhammad Ali Pasha, to retake the territories controlled by the Wahhabi rebels, starting the Ottoman–Wahhabi War.

[12] Sir Richard Francis Burton, who visited Medina in 1853 disguised as an Afghan Muslim named "Abdullah", said that there were fifty-five mosques and shrines after the reconstruction by the Ottomans.

In recent years, efforts were made by Iranian religious scholars and political figures to restore the cemetery and its shrines, according to the Encyclopaedia Islamica.

[15] According to the Encyclopaedia Islamica, prominent Sunni theologians and intellectuals have condemned the "unfit" situation of the al-Baqi cemetery but the Saudi authorities have so far ignored all criticism and rejected any requests for restoration of the tombs and mausoleums.