I performed hajj about four times but have always wondered about the paucity of historical sites in the Mecca, Medina and Jedda areas. Mecca in particular ought to be full of historical homes and locations that pilgrims can visit during Hajj. A deliberate preservation of these important places should have been a key activity of past regimes of Saudi Arabia. The expansion of the grand Mosques may provide explanation but it appears several such locations have been deliberately destroyed to give way to Hotels and other high rise buildings atc. I have always thought it odd that the location of the Prophet’s house, and those of other important icons of Islam like Khadija, Abu Sufiyan, Bilal etc and even those of Abu Jahl have all been lost. Ibn Saud seized power in 1925 and was the first modern ruler of Saudi Arabia. He succeeded in bringing the warring regions together through alliances and intermarriages to form the modern Saudi state. At the same time his alliance with the British thwarted possible reprisals from the Turks who were the bona fide colonial masters. It is instructive to note that all those important sites were in good shape during the time of Ibn Saud. I can not imagine why successive governments headed by his sons (Saud II, Faisal, Khalid, Fahd and now Abdallah) decided to demolish the sites.
Well I came across a plausible explanation that implicates the Saudi authorities and their Wahhabi sect set of beliefs. moorishgirl made a revelation as to the callous destructions of these important sites and suggests that a Fatwa be declared against the Saudi rulers. Read below:
Fatwa This
For the last few years, the Wahhabi regime of Saudi Arabia has been quietly, but systematically destroying several archeological sites of religious and cultural significance to Muslims. Among these destroyed sites are: The grave of Amina bint Wahb, the Prophet's mother, which was bulldozed in 1998; the house of Khadijah, the Prophet's wife, which was demolished and replaced with lavatories; the house of Abu Bakr, the companion of the Prophet and his political successor, was destroyed in favor of a Hilton hotel. Even the birthplace of the Prophet is under threat; the Saudi government built a library around it, and now they want to destroy even those remnants and build on them.
Now, the Wahhabis are mulling whether to bar women from praying at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the world's largest pilgrimage site. The proposal is sheer misogynistic lunacy. And of course it's potentially unenforceable. I can't imagine that women pilgrims will stop turning up at the Ka'aba. But the way in which this fundamentalist sect has co-opted what should be the religious and cultural heritage of one-fifth of humanity is truly sickening.
Lest we forget though, women in Saudi Arabia lead strict lives. They are banned from driving and need permission from a male guardian to go to school, get a job, travel or stay at a hotel. This kind of regimented life is best watched from a distance …. I mean personally I would not want to lead such a life. I want to be free to live my life the way I want but within the general guidelines of my religion or perhaps my interpretation of it.
# posted by hajia @ 8:58 pm
