Militant Islam Monitor > Satire > Forget Tancredo and the bombs : Muslims start petition to stop Saudi destruction of Mecca and 'The House of Mohammed'
Forget Tancredo and the bombs : Muslims start petition to stop Saudi destruction of Mecca and 'The House of Mohammed'
September 29, 2005
This is how the Prophet's house [white structure on the right] looks at this moment
MIM: Last month the remarks of Senator Tancredo, who suggested that in the event of a nuclear terrorist attack that Americans should bomb Mecca created a storm of protest in the Arab world.http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,162795,00.html
The bogus display of righteous indignation shown at Tancredo's remarks was in marked contrast to the deafening silence surrounding the ongoing systematic destruction of Mecca by the Saudis which has already wiped parts of Mecca and Medina off the face of the earth. Even Muslims are remarking on how their bretheren are ignoring the razing of Islam's holiest site.
Some claim that the destruction is for profit and others see the demolitions as an attempt to wipe out every vestige of non Wahhabist religious fervor in something called the Jamal Omar scheme. The demolition has aroused the ire of writers for radical Islamist websites like Media Monitors. as well as purported 'moderates' like Tarek Fateh of the Canadian Islamic Congress.
"...Destruction of the most precious sites in Islam for fear of idolatry by some, is akin to killing a child for fear that he may grow up to be less than pious. Instead of fearing, the idolatry of the historic structures, they could be used as instructional tools for the upcoming generations..."
The Muslims, the world over, are oblivious to the drone of the bulldozers destroying forever the most precious historical sites of Islam. Some lone voices have been raised, but are lost in the din of daily living of ordinary Muslims. The intellectuals are more concerned with the struggle of modernists and medievalists. This is one issue all can and should come to gather to save the most precious heritage.
In an article "Developers and purists erase Mecca's history", the author, Laith Abou-Ragheb quotes, Sami Angawi, an expert on the region's Islamic architecture, "1,400-year-old buildings from the early Islamic period risk being demolished to make way for high rise towers for Muslims flocking to perform the annual pilgrimage to Islam's holiest city." He added, "Angawi estimated that over the past 50 years at least 300 historical buildings had been leveled in Mecca, and Medina, a Holy City containing the prophet's tomb."
What was preserved for almost 1400 years, often in poverty and neglect, is being bulldozed for a parking lot or a tall building replacing the historic heart of the city, under the trusteeship of the Saudi government..." http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/18123
According to Canadian Islamic Congress communications director Tarek Fateh:
"In January 2002, Turkey accused Saudi Arabia of a ‘cultural massacre' following the demolition of an historic Ottoman castle near the holy city of Makkah. "The spat between Turkey and Saudi Arabia barely caused a stir anywhere in the Muslim world, let alone international circles. The Ottoman fort's destruction is not the only massacre of culture that the Saudis have done in the name of money and Islam. In the 1980s, they demolished part of the two hills of Safaa and Marwah to build a palace for the late King Khaled. "These historic hills were where Abraham left Hagar, and where Muslims during Hajj run between the two hills to commemorate Hagar's search for water for her infant son. Not one Imam or Muslim leader protested. After all millions of dollars have the power of silencing even the most "pious". But that is not all. The Saudis are now planning to destroy the very house of Prophet Muhammad (greetings, peace and blessings be upon him and his family)."
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"...An eminent Saudi architect... leads a one-man campaign to save the home of Muhammad.
He told the London newspaper, The Independent, "The house where the Prophet received the word of God is gone and nobody cares ... this is the end of history in Mecca and Medina and the end of their future."
The cultural massacre of Islamic heritage sites is not a new phenomenon. It is said that in the last two decades, 95 per cent of Mecca's 1,000-year-old buildings have been demolished. In the early 1920s, the Saudis bulldozed and levelled a graveyard in Medina that housed the graves of the family and companions of Muhammad..."
To: Muslims worldwide and the authourities in Makkah
This petition has been formed to protest against potential destruction and desecration of the birth place of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) born in 570/571 After Christ.
"Almost all of the rich and multi-layered history of the holy city is gone. The Washington-based Gulf Institute estimates that 95 per cent of millennium-old buildings have been demolished in the past two decades." Independent Online Article August 6th 2005. (Archived pay to read article)
As it stands now the birthplace is protected by a library which has been built upon the original foundations of the house in which our beloved Prophet was born in - this is one of the only signs of heritage in the whole of Makkah that is in its original foundation.
The policy makers and "Ulema" or so-called scholars of Saudi Arabia have given permission for the destruction of the original foundation due to reasons which do not make any logical sense to a muslim or non-muslim. It is entirely possible that this holy site will be replaced by a skyscraper or to make way for more hotels.
We muslims simply cannot allow this to happen and must put all our efforts to stop the Saudi authourities from removing this landmark in any legal way.
I ask you brothers and sisters to join me in this petition to raise awareness of this potential upcoming disaster to the Ummah. It is surely a sign of the fitna (discord) in our community that we are about to allow the desecration of the birthplace of the Prophet after so much has already been lost in Makkah and Madinah. 1400 years of history is being systematically erased and a new Saudi influenced self promoting history is replacing our Islam.
Show support for history and heritage, show support for your faith and your beloved, the mercy on mankind.
Non-Muslims are welcome to sign this petition to prevent the destruction and desecration of the birthplace of the most important personality in history, Muhammad Mustafa, Rasul-Allah (Messenger of God).
Source: Michael H. Hart, 'Ranking of 100 Most Influential Persons in History'
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
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