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Pacifist

The Price of Progress: Transforming Islam’s Holiest Site

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Pacifist   

Mecca, birthplace of the Prophet Mohammed (SAW) and Islam, is the destination for millions who arrive from every corner of the world for the religion’s annual pilgrimage, the hajj, required once of every fit worshipper. Steeped in history, the city has now become a target for tourism development, including malls, hotels with speakers that broadcast public prayers, fast-food restaurants and amusement parks. “Mecca is becoming like Las Vegas,” grumbles one critic in this “New York Times” article, and a researcher from London has started the Islamic Heritage Foundation to prevent destruction of religious and historical sites. Developers argue that new amenities allow more pilgrims to visit the holy city, but the most devout Muslims may not agree that commercialism goes hand in hand with spirituality

 

 

All of Mecca is a sanctuary

 

 

08mecca-650.jpg

 

First it was the HOuse of Abubakar(RA) as a Hilton now the the Surroundings of the Kaaba. This is a violation of the sanctity of the Holy City. Come on theme parks and Big Glitzy buildings right next to the Kaaba. What happened preserving the Islamic heritage? :mad: Innalilahi wa inailahi rajicoon. I just can't imagine Mecca and Medina becoming like dubai. Seriously look at the picture sad day.

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Khalaf   

acudu billihi......dont worry KSA rulers will be destroyed soon rather then later inshallah....Allah Most Great Will preserve this Deen.

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Naden   

Why so much hysteria ? A mall, a shop, a business, no matter the form, employ people, energize an economy and raise the standard of living. Materialist, capitalist or not, that is another debate. And to compare this development to Las Vegas is simply ludicrous. Why is the entire city holy? Says who? It is littered with the poor and the destitute, children and women begging in the streets, the disabled homeless. All of the fancy buildings and shops (which are hallmarks of Gulf cities and hardly rarities) may not ultimately help the poor but young, unemployed people may find opportunities.

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Khalaf   

OMG :D ....i understand why Allau-Ubane cruses a lot now :D and taliban is obessed wit secularists,,,i feel ur pain brahs....ila ninku yaab buu arkey! what is the hysteria for she asks! And why is entire city holy she asks!

 

ina adeer

1. "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." what about preserving islamic sites, ahh thats not important.

 

2. All this "opportunities" are riba based complete violation of islam...and KSA is not following islam which would allivate poverty, if captalism could "allivate" poverty it would have done so alreadly....but the world is more poor, n few rich elites get richer...

 

3. But no worry believe as u wish and do as u wish...inshallah it will come.

 

peace out

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Emperor   

Nadin, constructing big building and making new streets and the domolision of Islam's most holliest sites mean to you about making opportunities and feeding the poor and bye energyzing and creating jobs.

 

Do you ever happen to read the Islamic history, have your ever heard that at the time of Ameer Mu'min, the Muslim Leader Omar (R.A) poverty was eradicated from the Muslim Umma untill there were no one who could take Sadaqa and that was not done by destroying the Ka'aba.

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Naden   

^ How do you think he did that? I suppose he rubbed the ka'aba 7 times and then said the magic words and voilà, God dropped gold and silver from the skies. And who said anything about destroying the ka'aba? A little calm and a lot more thought are in order.

 

Khalaf,

 

You're mixing and matching topics. Tackle them one at a time. And try something a little higher than capitalism-bad, secularism-uff.

what about preserving islamic sites, ahh thats not important.

So, this is an anthropological insult added to serious archaeological injury? In that case, I couldn't agree more. Ugly malls and over-priced lingerie shops should be scrapped immediately. I suggest eco-friendly buildings, sustainable homes, organic farms, large community based rec. centers, wellness centers, and effective, green schools.

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Emperor   

^^Naden I beg your pardon, you have not talked about the Ka'aba, not a destruction of that Magnitude I understand, but you are Ok with the other little sites to be wiped off, right?

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Naden   

^ I'm not for the wiping off of any historical site. The Ka'aba is a house of god and will remain where it is as long as he wishes.

 

The so-called house of Omar (RA) should have been kept for nothing more than historical preservation, not religious significance. His old home means nothing to Islam. Unless, the muslims of the desert and anyone else who follows them go full circle 1000 years from now and start worshiping remnants of stones. Back where they started.

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Emperor   

^^Naden we are going somewhere now, the idea was whether to allow historic and holly sites for demolision and renevation. No one is against it new city, as the city have seen huge developments so far from new building and artchitures to roads and other facilities, it's fine. However, there are people who are taking it too far to a point where they think nothings is important and whats happening brings more thus do it as please, the proposed sites that needs to be engineered and renewed might be holly sites and thats not something to be supported as you rightly put it. A house of Omar like you say does not matter, like the house of Abu Bakar have been built on the picture but there are important traces of Islamic history that's needs to be preserved.

 

It's the whole point of the post I suppose

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Is sad..I stayed at a sheraton that was located

after the west entrance exactly behind the Kabba.

 

It was insane , comapny owned by yahuudis right behind the kabba, with Sattelite tv and chocalae served on the pillow....

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N.O.R.F   

I actually agree with Naden :D

 

In case you have not been to Makkahul Mukarama is a very small city surrounded by mountains, access has been improved over the years and with bigger hotels there is more room for people to go and perform Hajj.

 

My only contention is that those who may not be able to afford the big hotels may have nowhere else to go in a few years (but thats just speculating).

 

ps what holy sites are under threat?

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ElPunto   

Mecca goes upmarket but commercialism unnerves some

 

By Ulf Laessing Ulf Laessing – 2 hrs 27 mins ago

MECCA, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) – Sitting in the marble lobby of a luxury hotel in Mecca, Moroccan bank director Mohammad Hamdosh gets a breather from the cacophony of pilgrims bustling around the Grand Mosque in Islam's holiest city.

 

Millions have flocked to the city in Saudi Arabia for the annual haj pilgrimage, a duty for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it. But some can afford more than others, and a controversial construction boom is catering to their needs.

 

"Every pilgrim comes according to his means. God gave me money, so why shouldn't I stay in this hotel?" says Hamdosh, on a trip that has cost him 12,000 Euros ($16,545). "Haj is tiring so it's good to have a room to rest."

 

Inside the mosque, all pilgrims are equal as they circle the black stone known as the Kaaba toward which Muslims around the world turn in prayer every day.

 

But outside an array of towering five-star hotels have sprung up where the wealthy can bask in a 24-hour view of the Kaaba. The high-rises dwarf the mosque and the surrounding town, nestled in the mountains in the hinterland of the port city Jeddah.

 

It is part of a wider project to expand the mosque and bring more Muslims to the holy city for salvation, according to the writs of Islam -- something Saudi Arabia sees as its duty.

 

Mecca has just inaugurated the world's largest clockface perched Big Ben-style on the front of a high-rise hotel facing the Kaaba, while some 20 cranes next to the mosque herald more luxury accommodation.

 

The spending spree in Mecca and the second holy city Medina is valued at some $120 billion over the next decade and at present there are $20 billion of projects underway in Mecca alone, according to Banque Saudi Fransi. A square meter land in Mecca costs some 50,000 riyals ($13,333).

 

"If people are in a good position they should stay close to the mosque," said Farhad Yaftali, a 25-year-old pilgrim from an five-strong Afghani business family in Dubai who paid $15,000 each. "It's good to have a room to rest and do wudu (ablution)," he said, sipping tea in the cafe of the same five-star hotel.

 

The Saudi government is proud of the development, made possible by the country's vast wealth accrued from its oil resources. The work is the latest stage in mosque expansions to accommodate pilgrims that stretch back decades.

 

"In the past 10 years, we've seen a big rise in pilgrims. This year the number of pilgrims will rise by 20 percent," Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz told a news conference in Mecca this week.

 

"Work to further improve the level of services to pilgrims of the House of God is continuing," he said. Hoteliers say they expect more than three million pilgrims, maybe even four.

 

MECCANS ANGRY, POWERLESS

 

Many Saudi intellectuals, mainly from the Mecca region, are disturbed by the government's plans, which diplomats in Riyadh say have been approved only by senior clerics away from public scrutiny.

 

Saudi newspapers and Islamist blogs have engaged in some debate about the building frenzy, but no criticism comes from the top Saudi scholars who are allies to the Saudi royal family in governing the kingdom -- which has no elected parliament.

 

"One cannot help but feel sad seeing al-Kaaba so dot-small between all those glass and iron giants," said novelist Raja Alem, whose recent novel Tawq al-Hamam (The Doves Necklace) exposes destruction of historic areas, corruption and abuse.

 

"Long before Islam, Arabs didn't dare live in the circle of what we call 'al-haram', meaning the sacred area (of the mosque)," she said. "They spent their days in the holy city and moved out with nightfall. They thought their human activities defile God's home."

 

The rites of pilgrimage reinforce this sense of humility before God. Men wear two simple pieces of white cloth and women avoid perfumes.

 

Hoteliers say the government bans some displays of luxury such as swimming pools -- yet the new Makkah Clock Royal Tower Hotel will boast two top-notch spas (http://www.fairmont.com/makkah).

 

"The notion of filling Mecca's sky line with modern skyscrapers is not only undermining the Kaaba, it is a clear material symbol of a massive cultural and social deletion the city has experienced," said Saudi columnist Mahmoud Sabbagh.

 

"The replacement of the old city has taken with it centuries-long preserved traditions in academic, social, and cultural systems and mechanisms. The whole cultural paradigm has been damaged," he said.

 

In recent decades many old houses have been torn down in Mecca to allow better access to the haram, making way for malls, hotels and huge underground parking areas. Locals are compensated for houses they lose.

 

Irfan al-Alawi, an Islamic theology professor based in London, said the Vatican would never sanction such work in its own sacred precinct.

 

The government should use space outside the city to build hotels, he said: "Mecca doesn't have to look like Manhattan or New York."

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ElPunto   

I think this rampant consumerism and materialism undermines the essence of Mecca. Trade and commerce have a place in Islam but the holy sites need limits on this to protect their meaning.

 

Seriously - the world's largest clock? What need for that in the most beloved spot to Allah in the world? redface.gif

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