[4] The marble covering protecting the original limestone slab upon which Jesus was thought to have been laid by Joseph of Arimathea was temporarily removed for restoration and cleaning on October 26, 2016.
[11][12][13][14][15] Locals believe a sage is buried here, Yuzasaf (alternatively Yuz Asaf or Youza Asouph), alongside another Muslim holy man, Mir Sayyid Naseeruddin.
The shrine was relatively unknown until the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, claimed in 1899 that it is actually the tomb of Jesus.
[16] This view is maintained by Ahmadis today, though it is rejected by the local Sunni caretakers of the shrine, one of whom said "the theory that Jesus is buried anywhere on the face of the earth is blasphemous to Islam.
Instead his brother, Isukiri,[19] took his place on the cross, while Jesus fled across Siberia to Mutsu Province, in northern Japan.