Spotlight
Concern about sites in Mecca and Medina
- By Siraj Wahab
Jeddah, Dec. 24: Dr Sami Angawi is a very concerned man these days. As an activist architect, he is often seen at weekly gatherings or appearing in articles talking about the wanton destruction of history and Saudi Arabia's heritage.
"The house where Prophet Mohammed received the word of God is gone and nobody cares," he was quoted as saying in an article written in The Independent of London some time ago. "This is the end of the history of Mecca and Medina. It's the end of their futures as well."
Dr Angawi should know better. A Meccan himself, he comes from a family of Haj guides, or mutawwifs, as they are known in the local parlance. His semi-palatial house in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah is a must-see for every visitor to Saudi Arabia because it showcases the Meccan architecture as it existed in the past.
In a reaction to The Independent article, Prince Turki Al-Faisal, who was then the Saudi ambassador to the UK, said that every artifact discovered has been preserved and protected and will be displayed in new museums in Mecca and Medina.
Dr Angawi is not alone in expressing concern at what is happening in Islam's two holy cities. Non-Saudi historians too have been alarmed over the destruction of Mecca and Medina's historical sites.
The heritage question was back in the Saudi media this month. It was triggered by the Medina municipality's decision to demolish the Al-Osaifareen hillocks. Old-timers see the two small, yellow-coloured hilltops as a landmark. "Prophet Mohammed himself prayed in a nearby mosque The Osaifareen have a historic value. They shouldn't be demolished," wrote one Medina resident in his letter to the editor of an Arabic publication.
Abdul Aziz Al-Hussain, the mayor of Medina, was quoted as saying in the local newspapers that the hillocks were private property and that the owner decided to level them after getting the required licence from the municipality. "People in the neighbourhood complained to the governor of the holy city and asked for a halt in the demolition process," the mayor added.
The governor responded promptly and talked to Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, the king's half-brother, who stepped in and stopped the demolition. The hillocks will now be converted into a public park.
Relieved residents of Medina are now calling for establishing a research centre to study the historic sites in the holy city with a view to identifying and protecting them. Medina has always been a location for historic sites of different civilisations and religions, they say and add that unfortunately people are neither aware of their locations nor their historical importance.
Muhammad Al-Hazimi, a resident of Medina, told a local English newspaper that this is not the first time such an issue has been raised by a concerned public. "The same thing happened when they started to destroy the seven historic mosques that are well-known and visited by all Muslim visitors to Medina," he said. "Rage was also sparked three months ago when the municipality pulled down part of the historic Hejaz Railway that was built by the Ottoman rulers and partially destroyed during World War I."
The mayor denied any intention of destroying any of the seven mosques, adding that what actually happened was a rebuilding process of a big mosque that highlights the area's historic importance. He said the seven mosques were named after Prophet Mohammed's companions who were standing at those locations during the Battle of the Trench.
The Hejaz Railway in Al-Aqiq Valley, the mayor continued, was not completely removed. Only one part of it was because of the danger it posed to people living around it, especially during the rainy season. "It will be rebuilt soon after expanding the valley," he told Arabic newspapers.
It is important to note that the followers of the dominant strain of Islam in Saudi Arabia feel that the existence of the historical sites may lead to a deviation of the practice of pure Islam. Their existence, they feel, may lead to "biddat" and "shirk" which are "haraam (prohibited)" in Islam.
"The whole idea is to focus on one God and the last Prophet, which is the essence of Islam, rather than on the historical landmarks themselves," said one noted Saudi scholar. "The so-called historical sites should be merely seen as brick and mortar that can be torn down without shedding any tears," he added.