source: http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/52814
While most Middle Eastern oil-producing countries are gripped by
construction-mania, turning deserts into imitations of New York,
Houston or Las Vegas, the Saudis have embarked on an enterprise that
will destroy the physical heritage of the Ummah. If the Saudis had
concentrated on building Riyadh in the image of Las Vegas few Muslims
would be bothered, but they are going after Makkah and Madinah,
obliterating the historical sites of Islam and replacing them with
concrete and glass towers that not only surround the Masjid al-Haram
but dwarf it, assaulting its spiritual ambience.
Most Muslims are already denied the op****tunity to perform Hajj
because of exorbitant prices that continue to increase each year.
Instead of being the spiritual journey that Muslims long for, Hajj has
been turned into a financial racket in which Saudi royals and their
allies gouge the hujjaj of their life's savings. Categories of Hajj
have been developed; travel agents in the West now offer Five-Star
Hajj packages as if the Hajj were a holiday trip to Disneyland. Such
distortion of one of the fundamental ibadaat of Islam is completely
contrary to the spirit of Hajj and the principle of equality and
brotherhood that the Hajj is supposed to demonstrate, as emphasized in
the Qur'an and exemplified by Allah's Messenger (saws). But the House
of Saud is not interested in the teachings of the Qur'an or Sunnah,
although they are quick to denounce as bida=91 any act of which they do
not approve. The Saudis' own mega-bidas are justified by their paid
agents and court-ulama by spurious arguments for such violations of
Islam's fundamental principles. Were the Prophet (saws) to appear
today, the Wahhabis might well accuse him too of introducing
innovations in the deen and indulging in bida=91 (nastaghfirullah min
dhalik).
Although the court ulama seem to find nothing wrong with the Saudi
desecration of Islam's historical sites and the commercialization of
Hajj, it has not escaped the attention of others, including some non-
Muslims. Zvika Krieger, for instance, writing in the New Republic
magazine on March 26, drew attention to a promotional DVD that lures
future =93spiritual tourists=94 to Makkah. Prepared for the Abraj al-Bait
Towers, a giant new skyscraper complex that will be built at a cost of
US$6 billion just across the street from one of the entrances to the
Haram, it =93shows a beautiful woman sitting in one of the towers'
luxury apartments with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook
thousands of pilgrims circling the Ka=91aba below. Eyes fla****ng a come-
hither stare from beneath her tightly wound headscarf, she asks
prospective buyers in Arabic, =91Would you like to be here in this place
in front of the Ka=91aba year after year?'=94 Must hujjaj be enticed with
such vulgar ads to visit the House of Allah? Surely they are coming as
pilgrims and not as tourists going to a casino in Monte Carlo or Las
Vegas?
Beyond this sort of vulgarity lies the even greater issue of historic
buildings and sites that have either been destroyed or are scheduled
for destruction. The vandalism to which the Baqi=91 Cemetery in Madinah
has been subjected will seem minor if the Saudis succeed in their
nefarious designs for the Prophet's (saws) grave in Madinah. Some ten
years ago, Muqbil ibn Hadi al-Wadi'i, a student at the University of
Madinah, wrote a thesis titled =93About the Dome Built over the Grave of
the Messenger,=94 sponsored by Shaykh Hammad al-Ansari. In this paper,
Muqbil ibn Hadi demanded that the Prophet's grave be brought out of
the Mosque. He said that its presence and the dome over it were major
innovations (bidas) and that both have to be destroyed. His thesis was
applauded and received high marks from the university, confirming
their complete disrespect of the Messenger of Allah (saws).
How this upstart Saudi came to the conclusion that building the dome
was a bida=91 or that the grave needed to be taken out of the Masjid-e
Nabawi needs critical review. Is he more knowledgeable about Islam
than the illustrious Sahaba (Companions) of the noble messenger of
Allah (ra), who did not object and in fact paid great respect to the
messenger (saw) by visiting his grave? Further, two of his closest
companions are also buried beside him. Does Muqbil ibn Hadi know more
than Abu-Bakr and Umar (ra)? The question that Muslims must ask is:
what right do the Saudis have to do whatever they like to these sites?
The Saudis do not own the Haramayn; they are usurpers of the Arabian
Peninsula, whose name they have illegally changed to =93Saudi=94 Arabia.
This is bida: Allah's Messenger named this land the Arabian Peninsula
(Jazeerat al-Arab). In their zeal to impose their own distorted
version of Islam on everyone, they have embarked on wholesale
destruction of Islam's historical sites. Last year the city planning
board of Madinah changed the colour of the famous green dome of the
Prophet's Mosque and painted it silver. The green dome identifies and
symbolizes the Prophet's grave; due to the Mosque's expansion, it has
now been surrounded, yet it is a unique visual focal point. Was the
purpose to pave the way for its destruction, since most Muslims might
not even realize what had happened if they hear or notice that a
silver dome has been destroyed in Masjid-e Nabawi? After all, a number
of silver domes in the Masjid-e Nabawi have already been obliterated
using the pretext of expansion and renovation. Intense protests by
concerned citizens forced the board to restore the dome to its
original color, but it would be wrong to conclude that the Wahhabis
have realized the error of their ways.
In their zeal to =93save=94 Muslims from ****rk (associating partners with
Allah) and bida=91 (innovations in the deen), the Wahhabis have been
involved in the destruction of historic buildings and sites for
decades. =93It is not permitted to glorify buildings and historical
sites,=94 proclaimed Sheikh Abdul-Aziz bin Baz, the kingdom's chief
alim, in a much-publicized fatwa in 1994 when he was alive. He went
on: =93Such action would lead to ****rk (polytheism). =85 So it is
necessary to reject such acts and to warn others away from them.=94 But
the Wahhabi zealots are not content with mere warnings. They have
embarked on a plan, in conjunction with the hordes of Saudi princes,
to destroy Islam's heritage. One is constrained to ask how many
Muslims have become mushriks by visiting these places and what right
the Wahhabis have to prevent Muslims from doing so?
Dr Irfan al-Alawi, historian, founder and former executive director of
the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, who is one of the most vocal
opponents of the destruction of the Haramayn and their environs, says
that last year the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs distributed a
pamphlet in the Masjid-e Nabawi calling for the demolition of the
green dome. Endorsed by Abdul-Aziz al-Sheikh, the kingdom's current
grand mufti, the pamphlet brazenly declared: =93The green dome shall be
demolished and the three graves [where the Prophet, Abu Bakr and Umar
are laid to rest] flattened in the Prophet's Mosque.=94 The groundwork
for such sacrilegious statements was prepared by another prominent
Saudi scholar, the late Muhammad ibn al-Uthaymeen, who for 35 years
delivered khutbas in the Masjid al-Haram. =93We hope one day we'll be
able to destroy the green dome of the Prophet Muhammed [saws],=94 he
said, in a recording provided by Dr Alawi.
Dr Alawi estimates that 300 historic sites have been destroyed or are
scheduled for destruction. An old house that had belonged to Umm al-
Mu'mineen Khadijah al-Kubra (ra) was recently razed to make room for a
public toilet facility, among other things. The birthplace of the
Messenger (saw) in Makkah was first turned into a library and named
=93Maktabat Makka al-Mukarrama=94, and is now being turned into a parking
lot. While libraries are im****tant, the plan was not based on the
Wahhabis' desire for learning but on their determination to destroy
all vestiges of Islam's heritage. The few remaining historical sites
in Makkah can be counted on one hand and will probably not survive
much past the next Hajj, according to Dr Alawi. =93It is incredible how
little respect is paid to the House of Allah [in Makkah].=94
An ATM (cash-dispensing machine) has opened on the site where the
ancient mosque named after the first khalifah, Abu-Bakr Siddiq (ra),
once stood. The sites of the historic battles at Uhud and Badr have
become parking lots. The graves of Amir Hamza (ra) and the other
shuhada of Uhud have suffered even greater indignity: garbage litters
the site and the Wahhabis expressly forbid any identification-markers
on them, again under the spurious excuse that this would lead to
****rk. The 1,200-year-old mosque and tomb of Sayyid Imam al-Uraidhi
ibn Ja=91far al-Sadiq, four miles from Masjid-e Nabawi in Madinah, was
destroyed by dynamite and flattened on August 13, 2002. Imam al-
Uraidhi was ninth in line from the Prophet (saw).
The Wahhabis' zealotry works in tandem with the greed of thousands of
Saudi =93royals=94=97sons, daughters and grandsons of Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud,
founder of the Saudi dynasty. Destruction of Islam's historical sites
facilitates the construction of hotels, restaurants and other modern
structures on the pretext of providing better services for the hujjaj.
This is a complete fraud: the overwhelming majority of hujjaj will
never be able to afford the kind of prices such hotels charge.
To get an idea of what is afoot, consider this re****t by the Saudi
British Bank (SABB), one of the kingdom's biggest lenders. It
estimates that $30 billion will be invested in construction and
infrastructure in Makkah alone, from local and foreign companies, in
the next four years. Up to 130 new skyscrapers are anticipated,
including the $6-billion Abraj al-Bait Towers, a seven-tower project
that, once completed in 2009, will be one of the largest buildings in
the world, with a 60-floor, 2,000-room hotel; a 1,500-person
convention centre; two heli****ts; and a four-storey mall that will
house, among 600 other outlets, Starbucks, the Body Shop, UK-based
clothing line Topshop (Kate Moss is a guest designer), and Tiffany &
Co. Rich =91pilgrims' can already shop at cosmetic superstore MAC,
perfumery VaVaVoom, and Claire's Accessories. H&M and Cartier are on
the way. =93All the top brands are flocking here,=94 says John
Sfakia****is, SABB's chief economist, proudly. Crass materialism of the
worst kind is replacing the spiritual aspects of Hajj, all in the name
of progress. When the house of Abu-Bakr (ra) was destroyed to make
room for Makkah's Hilton Hotel, Ivor McBurney, a spokesman for Hilton,
had the gall to say: =93We saw tremendous op****tunities to tap into
Saudi Arabia's religious tourism segment.=94
Most Muslims visiting Makkah long to climb to the top of Jabal al-Nur
(=93the mountain of light=94), to visit the Cave of Hira. It was to this
cave that the Prophet (saws) used to retire in the month of Ramadan
for prayer and meditation. He (saws) received the first revelations of
the Qur'an while in the cave. The Wahhabi zealots want to destroy the
mountain to prevent pilgrims from visiting the cave. At the foot of
the hill the Wahhabis have posted a fatwa: =93The Prophet Muhammed
(saws) did not permit us to climb on to this hill, not to pray here,
not to touch stones, and tie knots on trees...=94 Can the Wahhabis
provide any evidence that he forbade Muslims from going there, or are
their rants based on their hatred of Islam and the Muslims' attachment
to and love for Allah's Beloved Messenger?
By contrast, there is no doubt that both the Qur'an and the Prophet
(saws) absolutely forbid Muslims to take the kuffar as their awliya
(masters and protectors), yet Wahhabi ulama have never issued a fatwa
condemning the subservience of the House of Saud to the greatest
enemies of Islam. As recently as last May, US president George Bush
was in the kingdom. Bush has the blood of millions of Muslims on his
hands; perhaps that is of little concern to the Saudis, but if Muslims
wish to climb the Jabal al-Nur to reach the Cave of Hira and link with
the history of divine revelation, the Wahhabis go berserk. The
Muslims' devotion to the Sunnah so irks the Wahhabis that they want to
destroy an entire mountain. Such thoughts can only emanate from
demonic minds. Perhaps in a few years' time the mountain will be
dynamited to build a hotel owned by some prince, or even another
parking lot.
At every step, the Saudis are violating the principles of Islam. For
instance, part of the $6 billion funding for Abraj al-Bait Towers is
coming from the King Abdul Aziz Endowment (Waqf), which the towers'
developers conveniently describe as a =93religious property=94 created to
serve interests =93vital to the welfare of Islamic society.=94 What
religious interest is being served and why is it considered vital to
the interests of the Islamic society when the Saudi royals line their
pockets with money even stolen from Waqf Funds? It is appallingly
hypocritical and criminal of them to do so, but it is their wanton
destruction of irreplaceable historical sites that is inexcusable.
=93It's not just our heritage, it's the evidence of the story of the
Prophet,=94 according to Dr Alawi. =93What can we say now? =91This parking
lot was the first school of Islam'? =91There used to be a mountain here
where the Prophet Muhammed (saws) made a speech'? ... What's the
difference between history and legend?=94 he asks. =93Evidence,=94 he
replies without waiting for an answer, =93that the Wahhabi zealots are
busy obliterating.=94 Regrettably, few people in the Muslim world have
expressed any great concern, much less alarm, to prevent the Saudis'
vandalism in order to preserve the most significant history and
monuments of Islam.
The im****tant question is why there is such indifference among Muslims
to the destruction of the symbols and sites of Islam.
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