Representational Image with email screenshots.
Newly released emails from the Jeffrey Epstein files show the convicted sex offender arranged to have pieces of the Kiswa, the sacred cloth covering the Kaaba in Makkah, shipped to his Florida residence through contacts in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The 2017 emails reveal that UAE businesswoman Aziza Al-Ahmadi and another individual, Abdullah Al-Maari, coordinated the transfer of three pieces related to the Kiswa. The items travelled by air freight from Saudi Arabia to Florida through British Airways, with the correspondence tracking invoices, customs paperwork and final delivery arrangements.
The shipment included one piece from inside the Kaaba itself, a second from the outer covering that had been in use, and a third made from identical materials but never deployed. To clear customs, the unused piece allowed the entire shipment to be classified as “artworks” rather than religious artefacts.
The parcels arrived at Epstein’s home in March 2017, after he had completed a prison sentence for sex offences. In one email, Al-Ahmadi described the Kiswa’s religious importance to Epstein: “The black piece was touched by minimum 10 million Muslims of different denominations, Sunni, Shia and others.”
“They walk around the Kaaba seven times, then everyone tries as much as they can to touch it and they kept their prayers, wishes, tears and hopes on this piece. Hoping after that all their prayers to be accepted,” she wrote.
The emails don’t explain how Al-Ahmadi came to know Epstein or why he wanted the cloth.
Their correspondence continued beyond the Kiswa transaction. After Hurricane Irma battered the Caribbean in September 2017, causing extensive damage to Epstein’s private island, Al-Ahmadi sent repeated messages through his secretary asking after his safety.
Epstein’s secretary responded: “Everyone is safe, and that is most important…some structures are gone…trees gone….dock pavilions gone… roads impassable….other outside damage, but inside ok….it’s a mess but can all be rebuilt! thanks for checking.”
Al-Ahmadi replied, “Promise to send a new tent.” Whether she ever visited the island or grasped what occurred there remains unclear.
The Kiswa is replaced annually during Haj, with old pieces sometimes distributed as gifts to dignitaries and religious institutions. How these particular sections ended up being shipped to a convicted paedophile raises questions about the vetting of recipients and the chain of custody for such religiously significant items.
This post was last modified on February 2, 2026 1:50 pm