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The key Islamic heritage site, including Prophet Mohammed’s shrine, is to be bulldozed, as Saudi Arabia plans a $ 6 billion expansion of Medina’s holy Masjid an-Nabawi Mosque. However, Muslims remain silent on the possible destruction.
Work on the Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina, is planned to start as soon as the annual Hajj pilgrimage comes to a close at the end of November.
“After the Hajj this year, in one months’ time, the bulldozers will move in and will start to demolish the last part of Mecca, the grand mosque which is at least 1,000 years old,” Dr. Irfan Alawi of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, told RT.
After the reconstruction, the mosque is expected to become the world’s largest building, with a capacity for 1.6 million people.
And while the need to expand does exist as more pilgrims are flocking to holy sites every year, nothing has been said on how the project will affect the surroundings of the mosque, also historic sites.
Concerns are growing that the expansion of Masjid an-Nabawi will come at the price of three of the world’s oldest mosques nearby, which hold the tombs of Prophet Mohammed and two of his closest companions, Abu Bakr and Umar. The expansion project which will cost 25 billion SAR (more than US $6 billion) reportedly requires razing holy sites, as old as the seventh century.
The Saudis insist that colossal expansion of both Mecca and Medina is essential to make a way for the growing numbers of pilgrims. Both Mecca and Medina host 12 million visiting pilgrims each year and this number is expected to increase to 17 million by 2025.
Authorities and hotel developers are working hard to keep pace, however, the expansions have cost the oldest cities their historical surroundings as sky scrapers, luxury hotels and shopping malls are being erected amongst Islamic heritage.
A room in a hotel or apartment in a historic area may cost up to $ 500 per night. And that’s all in or near Mecca, a place where the Prophet Mohammed insisted all Muslims would be equal.
“They just want to make a lot of money from the super-rich elite pilgrims, but for the poor pilgrims it is getting very expensive and they cannot afford it,”
Dr. Irfan Al Alawi said.
Jabal Omar complex – a 40 tower ensemble – is being depicted as a new pearl of Mecca. When complete, it will consist of six five star hotels, seven 39 storey residential towers offering 520 restaurants, 4, 360 commercial and retail shops.
But to build this tourist attraction the Saudi authorities destroyed the Ottoman era Ajyad Fortress and the hill it stood on.
The Washington-based Gulf Institute estimated that 95 percent of sacred sites and shrines in the two cities have been destroyed in the past twenty years.
The Prophet’s birthplace was turned into a library and the house of his first wife, Khadijah, was replaced with a public toilet block.
Also the expansion and development might threaten many locals homes, but so far most Muslims have remained silent on the issue.
“Mecca is a holy sanctuary as stated in the Quran it is no ordinary city. The Muslims remain silent against the Saudi Wahhabi destruction because they fear they will not be allowed to visit the Kindom again,” said Dr. Al Alawi.
The fact that there is no reaction on possible destruction has raised talks about hypocrisy because Muslims are turning a blind eye to that their faith people are going to ruin sacred sites.
“Some of the Sunni channels based in the United Kingdom are influenced by Saudi petro dollars and dare not to speak against the destruction, but yet are one of the first to condemn the movie made by non Muslims,” Dr. Al Alawi said.
Da ih obore oni koji ih finasiraju i koji su ih stvorili kako bi sirili nered po islamskom sijetu. To je isto kao da cionisiti, Amerikanci i Britanci obore Saude. Rusenje Sauda nece predvoditi oni sami i njihove teroristicke falange, vec arapski narod koji ti hamali krstastva i cionizma tlace i unistavaju vec stoljecima.
Strasno je da ovaj forum trpi da se po njemu siri saudijska Al Kaida propaganda i nebuloze prenesene sa njenih propagandnih sajtova.
armma wrote:Vidi se da je malo ko od vas bio u Saudijskoj Arabiji i da su vam mediji glavni izvor informacija ....žalosno :-(
Ne sumnjam da je tamo sve sjajno i bajno,dok ima ulja ima i blagostanja.Ali pogledaj sta rade od svetinja? sto se mene tice od Rijada mogu napraviti Las Vegas a mogu ga i sraviti ako zele,ali Mekka i Medina su svete svim muslimanima i nije samo njihova babovina
theTruePath wrote:
To jednostavno protjerati ,trebalo bi da Mekku i Medinu pazi citav islamski svijet a ne samo saudijci
Ta pogan koja je uz pomoc Britanaca, a kasnije i SAD i cionista, podpomognuta vehabistickim falangama iz Nedzda okupirala Arabiju, pobila sve one koji su joj se suprostavili i unistila sve sto se unistiti dalo i putem koje se ugnjetava cijli islamski svijet, zbog svojih zlocina nema pravo da postoji, a ne da "pazi" Meku i Medinu.
inhalier_stift wrote:
živ bio pa vidio, a do tada ostani u svom zakukuljenom svijetu predrasuda, zavjera, neznanja, mržnje prema vjernicima i borcima protiv tiranije, tlačenja, tirana i zločinaca..
When the Wahabis took Mecca in the 1920s they destroyed the dome on top of the house where the Prophet Mohammed was born. It was thenused as a cattle market before being turned into a library after a campaign by Meccans. There are concerns that the expansion of the Grand Mosque will destroy it once more. The site has never been excavated by archaeologists.
Slated for demolition as part of the Grand Mosque expansion, these intricately carved columns date back to the 17th century and are the oldest surviving sections of Islam’s holiest site. Much to the chagrin of Wahabis, they are inscribed with the names of the Prophet’s companions. Ottomon Mecca is now rapidly disappearing
For many years, hardline Wahabi clerics have had their sites set on the 15th century green dome that rests above the tomb holding the Prophet, Abu Bakr and Umar in Medina. The mosque is regarded as the second holiest site in Islam. Wahabis, however, believe marked graves are idolatrous. A pamphlet published in 2007 by the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, endorsed by Abdulaziz Al Sheikh, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, stated that “the green dome shall be demolished and the three graves flattened in the Prophet’s Masjid”.
A mountain outside Mecca where Mohammed received his first Koranic revelations. The Prophet used to spend long spells in a cave called Hira. The cave is particularly popular among South Asian pilgrims who have carved steps up to its entrance and adorned the walls with graffiti. Religious hardliners are keen to dissuade pilgrims from congregating there and have mooted the idea of removing the steps and even destroying the mountain altogether.
The only countries which have gone on record to protest the wholesale destruction of these sites are Turkey and Iran. Western criticism of Saudis is often avoided by because nobody wants to see their lucrative contracts dry out. South Asians rarely criticise Saudis because Arabs, in general, are considered to be the pinnacle of the Islamic cultural and spiritual food-chains.
“No one has the balls to stand up and condemn this cultural vandalism,” says Dr Irfan al-Alawi who, as executive director of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, has fought in vain to protect his country’s historical sites. “We have already lost 400-500 sites. I just hope it’s not too late to turn things around.”
Sami Angawi, a renowned Saudi expert on the region’s Islamic architecture, is equally concerned. “This is an absolute contradiction to the nature of Mecca and the sacredness of the house of God,” he told the Reuters news agency earlier this year. “Both [Mecca and Medina] are historically almost finished. You do not find anything except skyscrapers.”
The Saud family, who are Wahhabis, have a long history of desecration and destruction of the sites.
In the eyes of Wahabis, historical sites and shrines encourage “shirq” – the sin of idolatry or polytheism – and should be destroyed. When the al-Saud tribes swept through Mecca in the 1920s, the first thing they did was lay waste to cemeteries holding many of Islam’s important figures. They have been destroying the country’s heritage ever since. Of the three sites the Saudis have allowed the UN to designate World Heritage Sites, none are related to Islam.
So you see, destruction of sites which might lead to grave veneration is “idolatory” but putting the tallest clock tower in the world on top of a Las-Vegas style building as a modern Temple of Mammon dedicated to the God of Bling is perfectly pious.
And let’s not forget that it is the ordinary Saudis who have to pay for the excesses of the Saudi Royal Family:
Non-Muslims cannot visit Mecca and Medina, but The Independent was able to interview a number of citizens who expressed discontent over the way their town was changing. One young woman whose father recently had his house bulldozed described how her family was still waiting for compensation. “There was very little warning; they just came and told him that the house had to be bulldozed,” she said.
Another Meccan added: “If a prince of a member of the royal family wants to extend his palace he just does it. No one talks about it in public though. There’s such a climate of fear.”
This is the same “royal family” which bankrolls Jamaat-e-Islam in South Asia and their fronts in the UK, particularly the East London Mosque and the London Muslim Centre and Islamic Forum Europe.
