Changing essence of Makkah
3/10/2007 - Social - Article Ref: NT0703-3251
By: Hassan M. Fattah
New York Times* -
MECCA, Saudi Arabia - Five times a day across the globe devout Muslims face this city in prayer, focused on a site where they believe Abraham built a temple to God. The spot is also the place Muslims are expected to visit at least once in their lives.
Now as they make the pilgrimage clothed in simple white cotton wraps, they will see something other than the stark black cube known as the Kaaba, which is literally the center of the Muslim world. They will also see Starbucks. And Cartier and Tiffany. And H&M and Topshop.
The Abraj al Bait Mall - one of the largest in Saudi Arabia, outfitted with flat-panel monitors with advertisements and announcements, neon lights, an amusement park ride, fast-food restaurants and a lingerie shop - has been built directly across from Islam's holiest site.
Not everyone considers this progress.
"Mecca is becoming like Las Vegas, and that is a disaster," said Ali al-Ahmed, director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs in Washington, a Saudi opposition research organization. "It will have a disastrous effect on Muslims because going to Mecca will have no feeling. There is no charm anymore. All you see is glass and cement."
The mall, which opened a week before the annual pilgrimage, called the hajj, in December, is the first phase in a $13 billion construction boom in Mecca that promises to change how this city, forbidden to everyone but Muslims, looks and feels.
The Abraj al Bait housing and hotel complex, a 1.5-million-square-yard development that will include a towering hotel, has begun to redraw the skyline of this ancient religious city.
When the project is completed in 2009, it will include the seventh tallest building in the world, its developers say, with a hospital, hotels and prayer halls. A public-announcement system pipes in prayers from the Grand Mosque across the way, and worshipers can join the masses simply by opening their draperies.
In nearby Jabal Omar, an entire mountain is being flattened to make way for a huge hotel and high-rise complex. And elsewhere, cranes dot the skyline with up to 130 new high-rise towers planned for the area.
"This is the end of Mecca," said Dr. Irfan Ahmed in London. He has formed the Islamic Heritage Foundation to try to preserve the Islamic history of Mecca, Medina, the second holiest city, and other important religious sites in Saudi Arabia. "Before, even in the days of the Ottomans, none of the buildings in Mecca towered higher than the Grand Mosque. Now these are much higher and more disrespectful."
Money is certainly one of the motivators in the building boom. Every year, up to four million people descend on this city during the pilgrimage, while a stream continues to flow through here during the year, spending an average $2,000 to $3,000 to stay, eat and shop.
Billboards along the way to Mecca remind investors of the potential earnings from owning an apartment here; some claim a 25 percent return on investment. Advertisements on Arab satellite television channels remind viewers that "you, too, can have the opportunity to enjoy this blessed view."Muhammad al-Abboud, a real estate agent, recounts tales of Pakistani businessmen plunking down $15 million to buy several apartments at a time. Saudi princes own entire floors.
A three-bedroom apartment here runs about $3 million, Mr. Abboud said. One directly overlooking the Grand Mosque can reach $5 million.Critics of the development complain that the result is gated communities where worshipers can separate themselves from the crowds, thereby violating the spirit of the hajj, where all stand equal before God.
"All of Mecca is a sanctuary," Mr. Abboud said. "So how could something like this not be snapped up?" But some groups say the building boom also has religious motives. They accuse the archconservative Salafi, who hold great sway in Saudi Arabia, of seeking to eliminate historic spots, fearing that these sites would become objects of worship themselves.
Dr. Ahmed of London has cataloged the destruction of more than 300 separate antiquity sites, including cemeteries and mosques. He says the house where the Prophet Muhammad lived was razed and today a dilapidated library, with its windows and doors shuttered, stands in its place.
"It is not respecting the Kaaba, not respecting the house of God or the environment of the sanctuary," Sami Angawi, a Saudi architect who wants to preserve Mecca's heritage, said of the development. "You are not supposed to even cut a tree in this city, so how could you blow up a mountain? The Islamic laws have been broken."
Progress has exacted a heavy price in Mecca. More pilgrims than ever can come here, thanks to billions spent on tunnels and infrastructure to accommodate them. But in exchange, the city's once famed night market, where pilgrims brought their wares to sell, is gone. The Meccan homes and buildings that filled the area near the mosque were demolished in the 1970s to enlarge the mosque. The neighborhoods and families who lived near the mosque and welcomed pilgrims have long since moved away.Mecca has long been a commercial as well as a religious center, but increasingly global brands dominate here.
Mr. Angawi, the Saudi architect, has led a lonely campaign within the kingdom to bring attention to the destruction of the historic sites. Dr. Ahmed has worked to lobby Asian and Arab governments to press the Saudis to stop such demolitions. And Mr. Ahmed, in Washington, has built a database of the historic spots now destroyed. Many Muslims inside and outside Saudi Arabia have remained silent about the issues, they say, fearing the loss of financing from Saudi Arabia for religious institutions and projects.
Saudi officials say they have been painstakingly preserving the Islamic artifacts they find, and operate two small museums in Mecca. In all, they say, more than $19 billion has been spent on preserving the country's Muslim heritage. They dismiss their critics as cranks who have no following.Developers and real estate agents, meanwhile, say the construction makes room for even more Muslims to take part in the hajj, and therefore serves the greater good.
That suggests that the changes are far from over.
"Mecca has never been changed like it has now," Mr. Angawi said. "What you see now is only 10 percent of what's to come. What is coming is much, much worse."Hassan M. Fattah writing for The New York Times
http://www.iviews.com/Articles/artic...ef=NT0703-3251
That's horrible. It's a holy city! Do you know if the government has said why it's doing all these things?
Destroying the house the Messenger of Islam grew up in, building over cemetaries...How can that be for the greater good? What am I not seeing? >.<
amusement park in Mecca?
i heard there is baskin robins in makkah...
in malaysia that ice cream is expensive. lol
This is very sad that they are making major changes to the holy site, and about the starbucks, malls and so on.. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY? people don't go to haj for shopping or visiting starbucks... This is just not approperiate for the site and the people.
yea. i've been there ( at the baskin n robbins). it was expensive still.format_quote Originally Posted by syilla
The Prophet (Salallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) warned us when he said (paraphrased) "Islam will return to Medinah like a snake retreats to its hole (when all the other muslim countries turn corrupt). It is sad, but it has been foretold.
Not exactly true. While the Saudi's are doing it for the revenue, the hujjaj are game to it. If the hujjaj don't want to eat at Pizza Hut, Baskin Robbins, or Starbucks, go on shopping sprees, or stay at Hilton Towers, they don't have to. Nobody's forcing them into it. There are other alternatives. They prefer that, and they get it. Fair play.format_quote Originally Posted by allah-akbar
Rasulullah (Sallallaho Alaihi Wassallam) once said: "Near the time of Qiyamah the rich ones from amongst my Ummah will perform Hajj for the sake of travel and holidays; The middle class will perform Hajj for commercial purposes, thereby transporting goods from here to there while bringing commercial goods from there to here; the ulama will perform Hajj for the sake of show and fame; The poor will perform Hajj for the purposes of begging." (Kanzul Aamaal)
That is truly sad.
Building over graves and destroying historical sites is hardly fair play. Why stop with Muhammad's house? Why not destroy the Kaaba too? Or move it someplace where it doesn't get in the way of the new Dairy Queen that's moving in.format_quote Originally Posted by Jawharah
O.ORasulullah (Sallallaho Alaihi Wassallam) once said: "Near the time of Qiyamah the rich ones from amongst my Ummah will perform Hajj for the sake of travel and holidays; The middle class will perform Hajj for commercial purposes, thereby transporting goods from here to there while bringing commercial goods from there to here; the ulama will perform Hajj for the sake of show and fame; The poor will perform Hajj for the purposes of begging." (Kanzul Aamaal)
So he's saying that nobody's going to Makkah because it's their duty to make the pilgrimage, but because of the personal gain to be made?
Hajj for many people has turned into a holiday, rather than an act of ibada. I hate to say it but I see alot of fitna being introduced to the holy sites, especially Mecca. People are game for it, but does that mean the Saudi Governemnt should bring in those companies that support the killing of their muslim brothers? Does that mean they should wipe at all of historical sites, does that mean they should turn Mecca into New York? Does that mean that the fulfill the desires and distract those people who are on hajj away from their deed.
The whole idea of even having such places withing 10 metres from the haramain was a mistake. They have surrounded the haramin with lofty buidlings, fast food restaraunts, 5* hotels and malls, without taking into consideration the people and their safety, the poor, and the weak.
You know, my heart just felt when i saw the haji's from poorer nations walking for miles just to get to their hotel, which because of their distance met their financial capabilities, walking past while i sat and ate from the restaraunts, carrying their belongings and making a trip of a lifetime, with all their life savings and a trip which they probably would never even dream of making again. Sitting in the courtyard of the harmains with all their belongings. What about their needs? what about meeting what they are game for? You know hajj is suppose to show no difference between the rich and the poor as to the sunnah of the time of muhammed [saw], but now its a totally different concept. Its about reading you salat from your hotel room, which is adjacnet to the harmain, its about walking the mallls at the time of tarawee paryer, because some consider it a bid'a, optional but find it more beneficial to walk the malls and get abite to to eat, when the imaam is leading prayer.
It is good that they have made facilities for people to stay, but why is there such a difference between the ones adjacent to the harmain and those not so adjacent. simple, its about meeting the demands of the rich and profiting on their hajj. since when did hajj ever require staying in a 5*start hotel, what was wrong with making 2* or 3* hotels, and to see half if not mroe of these rooms being vacant is the worse.
May Allah protect the hajis from fitnah and protect the harmain from evil intentions/
Ameen.format_quote Originally Posted by Issac
theres like 3 baskin and robbins in the hilton mall and its cheap and tastes so nice.
the abraj al bait is masssssssive <_< but inside is also reallllllly nice.
i think theres gonig to be bowling in there to because on the advertisement there was bowling pics.
regarding blowing up mountains for hotels you have to realise though every year more and more pilgrims are coming they need to stay somewhere! and to add to that there are like 1 million people living in makkah itself and they go about life just how everyone else does. it doesnt mean because they live in makkah they dont like stuff like other people do. yes makkah has amusement parks but thats not exactly next to the Haram
and the women there like shopping just like any other women so yes there are malls. and during peak time these malls round the haram are filled with the pilgrims not the locals.
the article states 'and a lingerie shop' is there something wrong with that? the side corner shops sell womens stuff no one picks that out???
and to blame it on the salafis is absolutely absurd. its the govt with the contract given to the bin laden group thats building all these things and the reason why some historical sites have been taken out is because people used to go WORSHIP there and theres nothing worse than shirk
and this article dont mention that with the tall buildings the haram itself is tall. because as time has come more people need space and so its been built having 4 floors all together. and so those people coming need a place to stay?
and what building over graves has been done? i remember reading one article on this but it was totally false so please provide??
all in all regarding the abraj al bait i find it tooooooooo tall it should be smaller, but regarding building hotels people need a place to stay.
i took a pic of it- here it is
and heres their site
http://abrajalbait.com/main.html
Last edited by S_87; 03-13-2007 at 01:11 PM.
i have been provided this thru email..i was about to post it...but felt unappropriate and uncomfortable as it may become or be referred to backchatting...
i know its absolutely disaster..its a sign...of the day of judgement.....
but we as muslims shud act upon on it....but how?????...ya Allah...ppl wil be going there will weak imaan...and will travel back with no change or fear.....
ya Allah....
Which graces? Anyway, knocking down the Kaabah would be knocking down something that is clearly in the Quran and Sunnah as a place of worship, whereas nowhere in the Quran and Sunnah is the birthplace of Sayyidina Rasulullah (Salallahu Alayhi Wasallam) a place of worship. To be honest, I do agree that they should have preserved it but just locked access to it so that people could just see what it looked like, but wouldn't be able to attain "blessings" from it.Building over graves and destroying historical sites is hardly fair play. Why stop with Muhammad's house? Why not destroy the Kaaba too? Or move it someplace where it doesn't get in the way of the new Dairy Queen that's moving in.
I wouldn't say Abraj al Bait is the best way to house the hujjaj, because the masses won't be able to stay there. If the prices are anything like Hilton, and I'm guessing its higher than Hilton, it won't really be affordable for anybody besides the wealthy.
Aside from that, I do agree with sis amani.
subhanalah!!
Graces?format_quote Originally Posted by Jawharah
If there was a mosque built next to the pyramids, the Easter Island statues, or your own home, would you be very happy if they wanted to knock down those structures so they could build a hotel, fast food restaurant, or some other thing next to the mosque? Or would you be upset, because walking a few minutes down the road for a cheeseburger isn't so horrible?Anyway, knocking down the Kaabah would be knocking down something that is clearly in the Quran and Sunnah as a place of worship, whereas nowhere in the Quran and Sunnah is the birthplace of Sayyidina Rasulullah (Salallahu Alayhi Wasallam) a place of worship.
Attaining blessings from the relics of Nabi [saw] is a bad thing? Not everybody that sees the historical artifacts that belonged to our Nabi [saw] commit shirk.
It was wrong to demloish the birthplace or our Nabi [saw], due to the simple fact that it did not intefere with the hajjis. Demolished and replaced with what? Or was it that it did not fit in with the up and coming modern look of surrounding of the harmain?
A car Park on the birth place of the Prophet (saw), Bulldozed and Gasoline poured on the grave of the mother of the Prophet (saw), Lavatories built on the house of Sayyedah Khadijah (sa). What is wrong with these people. Do they have nor respect for the history which comes with our Nabi [saw]
By: Nabil Raza
The paper said there is a growing shadow being cast over Islam's holiest site. Only a few metres from the walls of the Grand Mosque in Makkah skyscrapers are reaching further into the sky, slowly blocking out the light. These enormous and garish newcomers now dwarf the elegant black granite of the Kaaba, the focal point of the four million Muslims' annual Haj pilgrimage.
The tower blocks are the latest and largest evidence of the destruction of Islamic heritage that has wiped almost all of the historic city from the physical landscape. As revealed in The Independent last August, the historic cities of Makkah and Medinah are under an unprecedented assault from religious zealots and their commercial backers.
Writing in response to the article, Prince Turki al-Faisal said that Saudi Arabia was spending more than $19bn (£11bn) preserving and maintaining these two holy sites. "[We are aware] how important the preservation of this heritage is, not just to us but to the millions of Muslims from around the world who visit the two holy mosques every year. It is hardly something we are going to allow to be destroyed."
This rebuttal sits at odds with a series of previously unseen photographs, published today, that document the demolition of key archaeological sites and their replacement with skyscrapers.
The report further said Saudi religious authorities have overseen a decades-long demolition campaign that has cleared the way for developers to embark on a building spree of multi-storey hotels, restaurants, shopping centres and luxury apartment blocks on a scale unseen outside Dubai. The driving force behind this historical demolition is *******sm the austere state faith that the House of Saud brought with it when Ibn Saud conquered the Arabian peninsula in the 1920s.
The *******s live in fanatical fear that places of historical or religious interest could give rise to alternative forms of pilgrimage or worship. Their obsession with combating idolatry has seen them flatten all evidence of a past that does not agree with their interpretation of Islam.
Irfan Ahmed al-Alawi, the chairman of the Islamic Heritage Foundation, set up to help protect the holy sites, says the case of the grave of Amina bint Wahb (as), the mother of the Prophet (saw), found in 1998, is typical of what has happened. "It was bulldozed in Abwa and gasoline was poured on it. Even though thousands of petitions throughout the Muslim world were sent, nothing could stop this action."
Today there are fewer than 20 structures remaining in Makkah that date back to the time of the Prophet (saw) 1,400 years ago. The litany of this lost history includes the house of Khadijah (sa), the wife of the Prophet (saw), demolished to make way for public lavatories; the house of Abu Bakr, the Prophet's companion, now the site of the local Hilton hotel; the house of Ali-Oraid, the grandson of the Prophet, and the Mosque of abu-Qubais, now the location of the King's palace in Makkah.
Yet the same oil-rich dynasty that pumped money into the Taliban regime as they blew up the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan six years ago has so far avoided international criticism for similar acts of vandalism at home.
Mai Yamani, author of The Cradle of Islam, said it was time for other Muslim governments to ignore the al-Sauds' oil wealth and clout and speak out. "What is alarming about this is that the world doesn't question the al-Sauds' custodianship of Islam's two holy places. These are the sites that are of such importance to over one billion Muslims and yet their destruction is being ignored," she said. "When the Prophet was insulted by Danish cartoonists thousands of people went into the streets to protest. The sites related to the Prophet are part of their heritage and religion but we see no concern from Muslims."
Lay people, and in some cases even US senators could be forgiven for thinking that the House of Saud has been the guardian of the two holy places for time immemorial. In fact, it is only 80 years since the tribal chieftain Ibn Saud occupied Makkah and Medinah. The House of Saud has been bound to *******sm since the 18th century religious reformer Mohamed Ibn Abdul-Wahab signed a pact with Mohammed bin Saud in 1744. Wahab's warrior zealots helped to conquer a kingdom for the tribal chieftains. The House of Saud got its wealth and power, and the clerics got the vehicle of state they needed to spread their fundamentalist ideology around the world. The ruler of this fledgling kingdom needed the legitimacy afforded by declaring himself “custodian of the two holy places".
But that legitimacy has come at an enormous price for the diversity of Muslims who look to Makkah for guidance. Once in charge, the *******sts wasted little time in censoring the Haj. As early as 1929, Egyptian pilgrims were refused permission to celebrate the colourful Mahmal rites and more than 30 were killed. At the time Egypt severed diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia. Few governments have stood up to them since.
Instead, the homogenisation of Islam's holiest sites was allowed to accelerate into a demolition campaign that now threatens the birthplace of the Prophet itself. The site survived the early reign of Ibn Saud 50 years ago when the architect for the planned library persuaded the absolute ruler to allow him to preserve the remains under the new structure. Saudi authorities now plan to "update" the site with a car park that would mean concreting over the remains.
"The al-Sauds need to rein in the *******sts now," warns Dr Yamani. "Makkah used to be a symbol of Muslim diversity and it needs to be again." But with oil prices and profits, at record highs, there is little sign the House of Saud is listening.
Sami Angawi, a Hijazi architect who has devoted his life to a largely doomed effort to preserve what remains of the history of the world's greatest pilgrimage sites, said that the final farewell to Makkah was imminent. “What we are witnessing are the last days of Makkah and Medinah."
Makkah's skyline
Giant cranes and half-constructed skyscrapers tower over the Grand Mosque in Makkah. Six new property developments, including the Bin Laden group's Zam Zam Tower, are transforming the character of Islam's holiest city
Mountain of light
The mountain of light, or al-Nour, is next in the *******s' sights. Home to the Hira'a cave, it was here that the Prophet is said to have received the first verses of the Quran. Hardline clerics want it destroyed to stop pilgrims visiting. At the foot of the hill there is a ******* fatwa: “The Prophet Mohamed (saw) did not permit us to climb on to this hill, not to pray here, not to touch stones, and tie knots on trees..."
The Prophet's wife's grave
The ruins in the foreground are the remains of the grave of the Prophet's wife, Al Baqi, destroyed in the 1950s. The mutawi religious police are present night and day to prevent anyone placing flowers on the site, or even praying in the proximity of the graves
Al Oraid Mosque
The 1,200-year-old mosque, site of the grave of the Prophet's grandson al-Oraid, is seen here being dynamited. Gathered around the site are Saudi religious police with their distinctive red scarves, who appear to be celebrating
umm if i recall correctly action was taken after 2000. there was more than 1 grave and people used to go there seeking blessing not sure which grave it was. they MOVED the graves to jannatul baqi....Irfan Ahmed al-Alawi, the chairman of the Islamic Heritage Foundation, set up to help protect the holy sites, says the case of the grave of Amina bint Wahb (as), the mother of the Prophet (saw), found in 1998, is typical of what has happened. "It was bulldozed in Abwa and gasoline was poured on it. Even though thousands of petitions throughout the Muslim world were sent, nothing could stop this action."
hmmm well why not not use the toilets (of which theres only like two plots of toilets anyhow, and why not go see the actualy kidmat done to the haram? every single plot around the Kabah has some historical significance, how about they didnt build the Haram the way it is now?The litany of this lost history includes the house of Khadijah (sa), the wife of the Prophet (saw), demolished to make way for public lavatories; the house of Abu Bakr, the Prophet's companion, now the site of the local Hilton hotel; the house of Ali-Oraid, the grandson of the Prophet, and the Mosque of abu-Qubais, now the location of the King's palace in Makkah.
and is ther something wrong with this?not to pray here, not to touch stones, and tie knots on trees..."
they have signs at the graves in uhud saying dont make dua to the graves its shirk. i bet some people dont even like that and completely ignore it and pray.
again Alhumdulillah may Allah bless the people who have done this. they only razed the tombs which is NOT allowed. they are only preventing shirk. is that so bad? answer yourself. why would someone want to go put flowers on a grave totally kuffar style? why would someone want to go pray by graves, and worship them???The ruins in the foreground are the remains of the grave of the Prophet's wife, Al Baqi, destroyed in the 1950s. The mutawi religious police are present night and day to prevent anyone placing flowers on the site, or even praying in the proximity of the graves
last but not least this article makes it sound as with all these things being done the Haramain have been left in some kind of dilapitated way. when in actual fact they actually outshine everything being done around them.
may Allah assist those who seek to prevent bidah and shirk in any way possible.
[MOUSE]inshaAllah one day I will go there :laugh: [/MOUSE]
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