The Destruction Of Mecca

Saudi Hardliners Wiping Out Their Own Heritage

By Daniel Howden The Independent - UK 8-5-5 Historic Mecca, the cradle of Islam, is bein b!ried in an !nprecedented onsla! ht by reli io!s "ealots# $lmost all of the rich and m!lti-layered history of the holy city is one# The %ashin ton-based &!lf Instit!te estimates that '5 per cent of millenni!mold b!ildin s ha(e been demolished in the past two decades# )ow the act!al birthplace of the *rophet Mohamed is facin the b!lldo"ers, with the conni(ance of +a!di reli io!s a!thorities whose hardline interpretation of Islam is compellin them to wipe o!t their own herita e# It is the same oil-rich orthodo,y that p!mped money into the Taliban as they prepared to detonate the Bamiyan b!ddhas in -...# $nd the same doctrine - (iolently opposed to all forms of idolatry - that this wee/ decreed that the +a!dis0 own /in be b!ried in an !nmar/ed desert ra(e# $ +a!di architect, +ami $n awi, who is an ac/nowled ed specialist on the re ion0s Islamic architect!re, told The Independent that the final farewell to Mecca is imminent1 2%hat we are witnessin are the last days of Mecca and Medina#2 $ccordin to Dr $n awi - who has dedicated his life to preser(in Islam0s two holiest cities - as few as -. str!ct!res are left that date bac/ to the lifetime of the *rophet 3,4.. years a o and those that remain co!ld be b!lldo"ed at any time# 2This is the end of history in Mecca and Medina and the end of their f!t!re,2 said Dr $n awi# Mecca is the most (isited pil rima e site in the world# It is home to the &rand Mos5!e and, alon with the nearby city of Medina which ho!ses the *rophet0s tomb, recei(es fo!r million people ann!ally as they !nderta/e the Islamic d!ty of the Ha6 and Umra pil rima es# The dri(in force behind the demolition campai n that has transformed these cities is %ahhabism# This, the a!stere state faith of +a!di $rabia, was

imported by the al-+a!d tribal chieftains when they con5!ered the re ion in the 3'-.s# The moti(e behind the destr!ction is the %ahhabists0 fanatical fear that places of historical and reli io!s interest co!ld i(e rise to idolatry or polytheism, the worship of m!ltiple and potentially e5!al ods# The practice of idolatry in +a!di $rabia remains, in principle at least, p!nishable by beheadin # This same literalism mandates that ad(ertisin posters can and need to be altered# The walls of 7eddah are adorned with ads feat!rin people deliberately missin an eye or with a foot painted o(er# These contri(ed imperfections are the most larin si n of an orthodo,y that tolerates nothin which fosters ad!lation of the ra(en ima e# )othin can, or can be seen to, interfere with a person0s de(otion to $llah# 2$t the root of the problem is %ahhabism,2 says Dr $n awi# 2They ha(e a bi comple, abo!t idolatry and anythin that relates to the *rophet#2 The %ahhabists now ha(e the birthplace of the *rophet in their si hts# The site s!r(i(ed rede(elopment early in the rei n of Kin $bd!l al-$"i" ibn +a!d 5. years a o when the architect for a library there pers!aded the absol!te r!ler to allow him to /eep the remains !nder the new str!ct!re# That concession is !nder threat after +a!di a!thorities appro(ed plans to 2!pdate2 the library with a new str!ct!re that wo!ld concrete o(er the e,istin fo!ndations and their priceless remains# Dr $n awi is the descendant of a respected merchant family in 7eddah and a leadin fi !re in the Hi6a" - a swath of the /in dom that incl!des the holy cities and r!ns from the mo!ntains borderin 8emen in the so!th to the northern shores of the 9ed +ea and the frontier with 7ordan# He established the Ha6 9esearch :entre two decades a o to preser(e the rich history of Mecca and Medina# 8et it has lar ely been a doomed effort# He says that the b!lldo"ers co!ld come 2at any time2 and the *rophet0s birthplace wo!ld be one in a sin le ni ht# He is not alone in his concerns# The &!lf Instit!te, an independent newsatherin ro!p, has p!blicised what it says is a fatwa, iss!ed by the senior +a!di co!ncil of reli io!s scholars in 3''4, statin that preser(in historical sites 2co!ld lead to polytheism and idolatry2# $li al-$hmed, the head of the or anisation, formerly /nown as the +a!di Instit!te, said1 2The destr!ction of Islamic landmar/s in Hi6a" is the lar est

in history, and worse than the desecration of the Koran#2 Most of the b!ildin s ha(e s!ffered the same fate as the ho!se of $li-;raid, the randson of the *rophet, which was identified and e,ca(ated by Dr $n awi# $fter its disco(ery, Kin <ahd ordered that it be b!lldo"ed before it co!ld become a pil rima e site# 2The b!lldo"er is there and they ta/e only two ho!rs to destroy e(erythin # It has no sensiti(ity to history# It di s down to the bedroc/ and then the concrete is po!red in,2 he said# +imilarly, finds by a =ebanese professor, Kamal +alibi, which indicated that once-7ewish (illa es in what is now +a!di $rabia mi ht ha(e been the location of scenes from the Bible, prompted the b!lldo"ers to be sent in# $ll traces were destroyed# This depressin pattern of e,ca(ation and demolition has led Dr $n awi and his collea !es to /eep secret a n!mber of locations in the holy cities that co!ld date bac/ as far as the time of $braham# The r!lin Ho!se of +a!d has been bo!nd to %ahhabism since the reli io!s reformer Mohamed Ibn abd!l-%ahab si ned a pact with Mohammed bin +a!d in 3>44# The combination of the al-+a!d clan and %ahhab0s warrior "ealots became the fo!ndation of the modern state# The Ho!se of +a!d recei(ed its wealth and power and the hardline clerics ot the state bac/in that wo!ld enable them in the decades to come to promote their %ahhabist ideolo y across the lobe# ;n the tailcoats of the reli io!s "ealots ha(e come commercial de(elopers /een to fill the historic (oid left by demolitions with l!crati(e hi h-rises# 2The man-made history of Mecca has one and now the Mecca that &od made is oin as well#2 +ays Dr $n awi# 2The pro6ects that are comin !p are oin to finish them historically, architect!rally and en(ironmentally,2 he said# %ith the ann!al pil rima e e,pected to increase fi(e-fold to -. million in the comin years as +a!di a!thorities rela, entry controls, estate a encies are seein a chance to cash in on h! e demand for accommodation# 2The infrastr!ct!re at the moment cannot cope# )ew hotels, apartments and ser(ices are badly needed,2 the director of a leadin +a!di estate a ency

told 9e!ters# Despite an estimated ?3@bn in de(elopment cash c!rrently washin aro!nd Mecca, +a!di sceptics dismiss the de(elopers0 ar !ment# 2The ser(ice of pil rims is not the oal really,2 says Mr $hmed# 2If they were concerned for the pil rims, they wo!ld ha(e b!ilt a railroad between Mecca and 7eddah, and Mecca and Medina# They are remo(in any historical landmar/ that is not +a!di-%ahhabi, and !sin the prime location to ma/e money,2 he says# Dominatin these new de(elopments is the 7abal ;mar scheme which will feat!re two 5.-storey hotel towers and se(en @5-storey apartment bloc/s all within a stone0s throw of the &rand Mos5!e# Dr $n awi said1 2Mecca sho!ld be the reflection of the m!ltic!lt!ral M!slim world, not a concrete par/in lot#2 %hereas proposals for hi h-rise de(elopments in 7er!salem ha(e prompted a worldwide o!tcry and the Taliban0s demolition of the Bamiyan b!ddhas was condemned by Unicef, Mecca0s b!sy b!lldo"ers ha(e barely raised a whisper of protest# 2The ho!se where the *rophet recei(ed the word of &od is one and nobody cares,2 says Dr $n awi# 2I don0t want tro!ble# I 6!st want this to stop#2