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Saudi Arabia imposes new taxes on Hajj, refuse additional quota for Pakistan

Not only did they take our holy sites through conquest, but they are also destroying it.

19th century[edit]
See also: Demolition of al-Baqi and Wahhabi sack of Karbala
In 1801 and 1802, the Saudis under Abdul Aziz ibn Muhammad ibn Saud attacked and captured the Shia holy cities of Karbala and Najaf in today's Iraq, massacred parts of the Shia Muslim population and destroyed the tomb of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad and son of Ali, Muhammad's son-in-law. In 1803 and 1804, the Saudis captured Mecca and Medina and destroyed historical monuments and various holy Muslim sites and shrines, such as the shrine built over the tomb of Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad, and even intended to destroy the grave of Muhammad himself as idolatrous, causing outrage throughout the Muslim world.[7][8][9] In Mecca, the tombs of direct relations of Muhammad located at Jannatul Mualla cemetery, including that of his first wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, were demolished.[10] The initial dismantling of the sites began in 1806 when the Wahhabi army of the First Saudi State occupied Medina and systematically levelled many of the structures at the Jannat al-Baqi cemetery.[11] This is the vast burial site adjacent the Prophet's Mosque (Al-Masjid al-Nabawi) housing the remains of many of the members of Muhammad’s family, close companions and central figures of early Islam. The Ottoman Turks, practitioners themselves of more tolerant and at times mystical strains of Islam, had erected elaborate mausoleums over the graves of Al-Baqi. These were levelled in their entirety. Mosques across the city were also targeted and an attempt was made to demolish Muhammad's tomb.[12] Widespread vocal criticism of this last action by Muslim communities as far away as India, eventually led to abandoning any attempt on this site. Political claims made against Turkish control of the region initiated the Ottoman-Saudi war (1811–1818) in which the Saudi defeat forced Wahhabi tribesmen to retreat from the Hejaz back into the interior. Turkish forces reasserted control of the region and subsequently began extensive rebuilding of sacred sites between 1848 and 1860, many of them done employing the finest examples of Ottoman design and craftsmanship.[13]

20th century[edit]
On 21 April 1925 the mausoleums and domes at Al-Baqi in Medina were once again levelled[13] and so were indicators of the exact location of the resting places of Muhammad’s family members and descendants, as it remains to the present day. Portions of the famed Qasida al-Burda, the 13th century ode written in praise of Muhammad by Imam al-Busiri, inscribed over Muhammad's tomb were painted over. Among specific sites targeted at this time were the graves of the Martyrs of the Battle of Uhud, including the grave of the renowned Hamza ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib, uncle of Muhammad and one of his most beloved supporters, the Mosque of Fatimah Al Zahraa’, daughter of Mohammad, the Mosque of the Two Lighthouses (Manaratayn) as well as the Qubbat Al-Thanaya,[13] the cupola built as the burial place of Mohammad’s incisor tooth, which was broken from a blow received during the Battle of Uhud. In Medina, the Mashrubat Umm Ibrahim, the home of Mohammad’s Coptic Egyptian slave Mariah and birthplace of their son Ibrahim, as well as the adjacent burial site of Hamida al-Barbariyya, mother of Musa al-Kadhim, were destroyed during this time.[13] The site was paved over and is today part of the massive marble esplanade beside the Mosque. The government-appointed permanent scholarly committee of Saudi Arabia has ordered the demolition of such structures in a series of Islamic rulings noting excessive veneration leading to shirk.[14]

21st century[edit]
The twenty-first century has seen an increase in the demolition of sites in Mecca and Medina by Saudi authorities, alongside expansion of luxury development.

As the annual hajj continues to draw larger crowds year after year, the Saudi authorities deemed it necessary to raze large tracts of formerly residential neighborhoods around the two important mosques to make way for pilgrimage-related infrastructure. In 2010, it was forecast that developers were going to spend an estimated $13 billion on the largest expansion project in the city’s history.[15]

While there is widespread agreement for the need of facilities that can accommodate greater numbers of pilgrims, the development of upscale hotels and condominium towers, restaurants, shopping centres and spas[16] has caused some to criticize the over-commercialization of a site which many consider to be a divinely ordained sanctuary for Muslims.

The rapid influx of capitalist investment in Mecca and Medina leads many to believe that money and economic growth are the ultimate reason for Saudi authorities. Critics argue that this monetary focus works with Wahhabi state policy that imposes a massive cultural and social deletion within the Holy Cities,[17] erasing any elements that encourage practices counter to the Wahhabi creed.

According to The Independent, the House of Mawalid where Muhammad is said to have been born is about to be replaced by a huge royal palace, as a part of a multibillion-pound construction project in Mecca which has resulted in the destruction of hundreds of historic monuments.[18]

The Saudis are turning Diriyah, the birthplace of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, into a major tourist attraction, with Diriyah becoming an important place of visitation within Saudi Arabia's modern borders.[19][20]

Below is an incomplete list of destroyed sites:

Mosques[edit]
Cemeteries and tombs[edit]
Historical religious sites[edit]
  • The house of Mawlid where Muhammad is believed to have been born in 570. Originally turned into a library, it now lies under a rundown building which was built 70 years ago as a compromise after Wahhabi clerics called for it to be demolished.[22]
  • The house of Khadija, Muhammad’s first wife. Muslims believe he received some of the first revelations there. It was also where his children Fatimah and Qasim were born. After it was rediscovered during the Haram extensions in 1989, it was covered over and it was made into a library.[citation needed]
  • A Hilton hotel stands on the site of the house of Islam’s first caliph, Abu Bakr.[23]
  • House of Muhammed in Medina, where he lived after the migration from Mecca.[21]
  • Dar e Arqam, the first Islamic school where Muhammad taught.[22] It now lies under the extension of the Masjid Alharam of Mecca.[citation needed]
  • Qubbat’ al-Thanaya, the burial site of Muhammed's incisor that was broken in the Battle of Uhud.[13]
  • Mashrubat Umm Ibrahim, built to mark the location of the house where Muhammad’s son, Ibrahim, was born to Mariah.[citation needed]
  • Dome which served as a canopy over the Well of Zamzam.[21]
  • Bayt al-Ahzan of Sayyida Fatima, in Medina.[21]
  • House of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, in Medina.[21]
  • Mahhalla complex of Banu Hashim, in Mecca.[21]
  • House of Ali where Hasan and Husayn were born.[21]


When Ismail 1st of the Safavid seized Baghdad in 1508 AD, Sunni Muslims were massacred. The tombs of the Abbasid Caliphs were destroyed. Even the tombs of the jurist Imam Abu Hanifah and Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani were not spared and were literally desecrated. After the Safavids were pushed out the Ottomans on the other hand never retaliated against Shi’ite shrines and populations in Iraq. Here a list of the crimes of the savage pagan, Isma’il Safawi:

“Many architectural monuments of Sunnis were destroyed. One of those architectural monuments was the tomb of the founder of the Hanafi madhab, Abu Hanifa (rahimahullah). The tomb included a mosque and an adjactent madrasa. The mosque and the madrassa at the grave of Abu Hanifah (rahimahullah) was built by the Saljuks. On the command of Shah Ismail Safawi 1st, the mosque and madrassa were destroyed to the ground. Then they made a hole in the grave of Abu Hanifah. They took the bones of Abu Hanifa out of the grave and instead buried a dog inside of it. After that, they made a toilet on the grave. In the streets of Baghdad, the Kizilbashis (Turkic Alawite army of the Safavids) anounced that whoever goes to this toilet to relieve himself, he will be given 25 tabriz Dinars.(1). At that moment, a Qommi (from the Shia city of Qom) poet was next to Ismail. A poem of this poet was written on the wall of the toilet. The poem went as follow:

The Shi’i dirtied the grave of Abu Hanifa, On the dirtied grave by a shi’i, prostation was performed by Sunnis. The dirtied places by Shi’ites, have become a place of prostation for Sunnis.(2)”

Sources:

1.Alam arayi Safawi p. 477
2.اسناد و نامه های دوره صفویه، گردآوری ا. ثابتیان، ص 99/ Documents and letters during Safavid era, prepared by: A. Sabityan, p. 99

what the Safavids did was not just leveling graves (that’s what has been done to the shrines and mausoleums in Baqi’, Madinah, thanks to Allah, what Rafidah Shias and others wrongly call “destruction of graves”), they actually demolished graves, digged out bones, defiled graves, things that Shias constantly accuse their opponents of (yet the reality is that the opponents of Shia-Sufi grave veneration do not seek the destruction of graves, rather the preservation of graves in modest, Sunnah comform forms).
 
. .
Try my Turkified and Arabized Anatolian friend and you will see what will happen.

Makkah and Madinah are two ancient Hijazi cities that are almost 4 millennia old. Those ancient cities were ruled by local Hijazi dynasties (Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid, Sharif of Makkah, House of Saud etc.) from the beginning of Islam until today. Not to the mention the locals being locals. Even when Hijaz was nominally a part of the Ottomans, the local rulers were the Sharifs of Makkah (second only to the Sultan in terms of status) and the locals were the same.

KSA barely makes any money from Hajj and Umrah given the costs that KSA alone bears. The income is negligible and always was.

Every Muslim country has a quota system that reflects their population. Each country is assigned this quota based on that and this system has been working always.

The new taxes (negligible) are natural given the massive expansion projects that are worth several billion dollars and which only KSA is financing and nobody else. Do you think this is run for free, Einstein?

I believe that we should turn Constantinople to a Vatican. Hagia Sophia is Greek (as most of the heritage of that city) and it should be under Greek control. Tourists paying the Turkish state, should pay the Greek state instead. Qom and Mashhad should be under KSA control since those cities (even the names are of Arabic origin) were funded by Arabs from KSA and since those Imams buried there are from KSA. Same with Najaf and Karbala in Iraq.


@Zaki can you please deal with this serial troll (take a look at his user history)?



Keep dreaming idiot. The economy of the GCC (non-oil/gas) is bigger than the entire economy of Turkey. You are just too stupid to be given any attention. It's quite sad. Better go back to writing novels about how miserable your life is and how drunk you are.

If you raise the tax we will invade so you know little arab boy.

Keep dreaming idiot. The economy of the GCC (non-oil/gas) is bigger than the entire economy of Turkey. You are just too stupid to be given any attention. It's quite sad. Better go back to writing novels about how miserable your life is and how drunk you are.

Who you calling idiot, goat lover.

Well failed projects have to be funded, like building new cities. Oil price is to low for the projects, so why not undress muslims.

Yeah thee saudis are pathetic, I will eat pop.corn when the oil runs out. They will go back to being goat lovers.

:lol:

Failed projects this troll said. Did you know that Saudi Arabian firms and Turkish firms and Saudi Arabian engineers and Turkish engineers and workers are working together on those projects with others too?

Time to repost an old post of mine to give that barking minority an even bigger constipation that will result in hemorrhoids or something worse!

"1) One of the biggest sovereign wealth funds on the planet (4th place and worth 700 billion USD)

2) 1-2 trillions USD worth of investment abroad

3) Enormous untapped resources (oil, gas, minerals etc., incredible potential for renewable energy (solar and wind etc.) that 95% of all countries worldwide can not compete with.

4) Praised economic reforms in the past 2-3 years by IMF and other organizations and very promising non-oil/gas growth (this year almost 15 USD billion more than expected) and economic growth despite unprecedented economic reforms in the modern era and falling oil prices (although I read that they were back to 70 USD per barrel earlier today)

In fact KSA is so "bankrupt" that;

6) The largest ever state budget for this year was implemented 3 weeks ago.




In fact KSA is so "bankrupt" that

7) 4.700 + infrastructural projects worth almost 1 trillion USD (1) are underway currently.


In fact KSA is so "bankrupt" that

8) KSA is the fourth least indebted country in the world!


In fact KSA is so "bankrupt" that

9) a new technological and strategic city (project) worth 500 billion USD (!) called NEOM was inaugurated this year. A project which will be built in a area the size of middle-sized European country almost!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhDNainqi1c&sns=tw

https://twitter.com/discoverneom

10)

Did I mention that the unemployment rate fell 5.8% for the 3rd quarter of last year?

So let's stick to facts.

The reason why a tourism sector (real one) is opening up is due to the promising Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 (google that as well)


http://vision2030.gov.sa/en

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Vision_2030

and the amazing potential for tourism in KSA which is already one of the top 15 most visited countries on the planet as well as simple logic. The combination of Hajj, Umrah, KSA' geography and all that KSA can offer is a combination that few countries can compete with.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_rankings

So yeah, we are struggling BIG time.:lol: "Bankrupt" very, very soon.

Oh, did I mention uranium exploration (KSA is estimated to have one of the largest uranium reserves in the world and is going to built at least 16 nuclear reactors by 2030). With Chinese cooperation among many others.

upload_2017-12-15_15-24-53-jpeg.442764


upload_2017-12-15_15-27-17-jpeg.442765


upload_2017-12-15_15-27-50-jpeg.442766


09aa3afc-8d01-42d8-884c-79c6738f93ce.jpg


DOcCoOyW4AABBJW.jpg


https://mobile.sabq.org/nYgFcv

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-wine-country-tourism-lifeblood-idUSKBN1CH34U

http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-o-s/saudi-arabia.aspx

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_energy_in_Saudi_Arabia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Abdullah_City_for_Atomic_and_Renewable_Energy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_program_of_Saudi_Arabia

KSA will master the entire "nuclear energy process" as I mentioned above within less than 2 decades if not sooner. So it is not a question if but when. KSA will be like Japan and South Korea by then by all accounts. Nuclear weapons are old technology anyway. "Even" the likes of NK with outside help (granted) but hardly any economy can accomplish it. So no big deal really. The political aspect is the most challenging one which is why Rick Perry (Minister of Energy in the US) has been pressuring KSA to pick the US option (visited recently) and for KSA to sign the "123 agreement" which most regional countries have signed but KSA refused to do so. Very wisely.

http://middle-east-online.com/?id=263062

No coincidence that China is involved with the uranium drilling and that a deal was just signed with Russia."


Here a little bonus addition;


https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/oiling-the-wheels-on-a-road-to-success-in-saudi-arabia.428713/

News just in;

#BUSINESS NEWS
JANUARY 28, 2018 / 7:46 PM / 6 DAYS AGO
Saudi foreign reserves rise for third straight month

Reuters Staff

DUBAI (Reuters) - The Saudi Arabian central bank’s foreign reserves rose in December for a third consecutive month, a sign that higher oil prices may be easing pressure on the government’s finances, official data showed on Sunday.

The bank’s net foreign assets grew $2.0 billion from November to $488.9 billion last month, after increasing $1.0 billion in November and $8.3 billion in October. It was the first time since mid-2014 that the reserves have risen for three straight months.


Rest of the article;

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...s-rise-for-third-straight-month-idUSKBN1FH0VE

Detainees held at Saudi Arabia’s Ritz-Carlton released or moved, 56 remain in custody: Attorney General
ARAB NEWS | Published — Tuesday 30 January 2018
1088051-1662760732.jpeg

The Ritz Carlton in Riyadh (Reuters)

DUBAI: The Saudi Arabian Attorney General, Sheikh Saud Al-Mojeb, said on Tuesday that 56 corruption suspects remained in custody out of the 381 high profile figures detained on graft allegations.
He said he decided to release all those proven not guilty, as well as others who had agreed financial settlements with the government after admitting to corruption allegations.
Mojeb said the total settlements with the suspects had topped $130 billion, which came in various forms of assets.
News broke earlier on Tuesday that Saudi authorities had released all remaining detainees from Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel, which had been used as an interrogation center in a crackdown on corruption, according to a Saudi official.
“There are no longer any detainees left at the Ritz-Carlton,” the official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity under briefing rules.
He did not say how many suspects remained in detention at other locations in Saudi Arabia. Some are believed to have been moved from the Ritz to prison after refusing to admit wrongdoing and reach financial settlements with the authorities.
He said those who remained in custody were still under investigation as the legal procedures continued.
Among top businessmen caught up in the purge were Prince Alwaleed, owner of global investor Kingdom Holding, and Waleed Al-Ibrahim, who controls influential regional broadcaster MBC.
MBC said the investigation found Ibrahim completely innocent of wrongdoing and Prince Alwaleed has insisted he is innocent, although Saudi officials said both men agreed to settlements after admitting unspecified “violations.”
In an interview with Reuters at his suite in the Ritz-Carlton hours before he was released on Saturday, Prince Alwaleed said he had been well-treated in custody and described his case as the result of a misunderstanding.
He showed off the comforts of his suite’s gold-accented private office, a dining room and a kitchen which was fully stocked with his preferred vegetarian meals.
The hotel has 492 guest rooms and suites and 52 acres (21 hectares) of landscaped gardens, according to its website. It has said it will reopen to the public in mid-February, with a nightly rate for its cheapest room of $650.
(With AFP and Reuters)

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1235891/saudi-arabia

220px-Crown_Prince_Mohammad_bin_Salman_Al_Saud_-_2017.jpg
"​

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/ksa-...ed-sea-coast-aramco-pioneers-new-tech.542530/

BTW please visit that thread above. KSA just discovered 100 billion barrels of crude oil off the Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast and Saudi Arabian ARAMCO just have pioneered new groundbreaking technology in the petrochemical field.

In the past 3 months alone, KSA earned 12 billion USD from its sovereign wealth fund alone. Keep crying.



Hajj and Umrah was an important income source for the Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid and Ottomans too. Why is it that KSA and its people (natives of the land) must be deprived of that? Why not turn religious sites in every sovereign country into a Vatican? Have those geniuses ever wondered what locals in Makkah and Madinah (Hijaz) in general would say about being ruled by a collection of foreigners, regardless of being Muslims or not? For instance as a person with ancient family ties to Hijaz, I have no intention to be ruled by a Muslim Cameroonian or a Muslim Indonesian just because Makkah and Madinah are sacred cities for Muslims worldwide.

Those negligible taxes are long overdue IMO. When KSA runs ALL costs without exception (which are huge) 24/7 all year around and constantly tries to improve facilities, it is natural that costs will rise. Had all this not been financed solely by KSA it would be a completely different discussion.

How about the other way around? The population of Muslims worldwide (including in KSA) is rapidly increasing and more and more people want to perform Hajj and Umrah. For that to happen expansions are necessary. People can't have it both ways.

BTW I am very interested in reading statistics that show that KSA is making some kind of huge income from Hajj and Umrah. This is not the case.

Here we go again this saudi troll always brags about saudi achievements.

When in reality without oil they would still be living in tents with their beloved goats.
 
.
:lol:

Failed projects this troll said. Did you know that Saudi Arabian firms and Turkish firms and Saudi Arabian engineers and Turkish engineers and workers are working together on those projects with others too?

Time to repost an old post of mine to give that barking minority an even bigger constipation that will result in hemorrhoids or something worse!

"1) One of the biggest sovereign wealth funds on the planet (4th place and worth 700 billion USD)

2) 1-2 trillions USD worth of investment abroad

3) Enormous untapped resources (oil, gas, minerals etc., incredible potential for renewable energy (solar and wind etc.) that 95% of all countries worldwide can not compete with.

4) Praised economic reforms in the past 2-3 years by IMF and other organizations and very promising non-oil/gas growth (this year almost 15 USD billion more than expected) and economic growth despite unprecedented economic reforms in the modern era and falling oil prices (although I read that they were back to 70 USD per barrel earlier today)

In fact KSA is so "bankrupt" that;

6) The largest ever state budget for this year was implemented 3 weeks ago.




In fact KSA is so "bankrupt" that

7) 4.700 + infrastructural projects worth almost 1 trillion USD (1) are underway currently.


In fact KSA is so "bankrupt" that

8) KSA is the fourth least indebted country in the world!


In fact KSA is so "bankrupt" that

9) a new technological and strategic city (project) worth 500 billion USD (!) called NEOM was inaugurated this year. A project which will be built in a area the size of middle-sized European country almost!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhDNainqi1c&sns=tw

https://twitter.com/discoverneom

10)

Did I mention that the unemployment rate fell 5.8% for the 3rd quarter of last year?

So let's stick to facts.

The reason why a tourism sector (real one) is opening up is due to the promising Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 (google that as well)


http://vision2030.gov.sa/en

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Vision_2030

and the amazing potential for tourism in KSA which is already one of the top 15 most visited countries on the planet as well as simple logic. The combination of Hajj, Umrah, KSA' geography and all that KSA can offer is a combination that few countries can compete with.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_rankings

So yeah, we are struggling BIG time.:lol: "Bankrupt" very, very soon.

Oh, did I mention uranium exploration (KSA is estimated to have one of the largest uranium reserves in the world and is going to built at least 16 nuclear reactors by 2030). With Chinese cooperation among many others.

upload_2017-12-15_15-24-53-jpeg.442764


upload_2017-12-15_15-27-17-jpeg.442765


upload_2017-12-15_15-27-50-jpeg.442766


09aa3afc-8d01-42d8-884c-79c6738f93ce.jpg


DOcCoOyW4AABBJW.jpg


https://mobile.sabq.org/nYgFcv

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-wine-country-tourism-lifeblood-idUSKBN1CH34U

http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-o-s/saudi-arabia.aspx

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_energy_in_Saudi_Arabia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Abdullah_City_for_Atomic_and_Renewable_Energy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_program_of_Saudi_Arabia

KSA will master the entire "nuclear energy process" as I mentioned above within less than 2 decades if not sooner. So it is not a question if but when. KSA will be like Japan and South Korea by then by all accounts. Nuclear weapons are old technology anyway. "Even" the likes of NK with outside help (granted) but hardly any economy can accomplish it. So no big deal really. The political aspect is the most challenging one which is why Rick Perry (Minister of Energy in the US) has been pressuring KSA to pick the US option (visited recently) and for KSA to sign the "123 agreement" which most regional countries have signed but KSA refused to do so. Very wisely.

http://middle-east-online.com/?id=263062

No coincidence that China is involved with the uranium drilling and that a deal was just signed with Russia."


Here a little bonus addition;


https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/oiling-the-wheels-on-a-road-to-success-in-saudi-arabia.428713/

News just in;

#BUSINESS NEWS
JANUARY 28, 2018 / 7:46 PM / 6 DAYS AGO
Saudi foreign reserves rise for third straight month

Reuters Staff

DUBAI (Reuters) - The Saudi Arabian central bank’s foreign reserves rose in December for a third consecutive month, a sign that higher oil prices may be easing pressure on the government’s finances, official data showed on Sunday.

The bank’s net foreign assets grew $2.0 billion from November to $488.9 billion last month, after increasing $1.0 billion in November and $8.3 billion in October. It was the first time since mid-2014 that the reserves have risen for three straight months.


Rest of the article;

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...s-rise-for-third-straight-month-idUSKBN1FH0VE

Detainees held at Saudi Arabia’s Ritz-Carlton released or moved, 56 remain in custody: Attorney General
ARAB NEWS | Published — Tuesday 30 January 2018
1088051-1662760732.jpeg

The Ritz Carlton in Riyadh (Reuters)

DUBAI: The Saudi Arabian Attorney General, Sheikh Saud Al-Mojeb, said on Tuesday that 56 corruption suspects remained in custody out of the 381 high profile figures detained on graft allegations.
He said he decided to release all those proven not guilty, as well as others who had agreed financial settlements with the government after admitting to corruption allegations.
Mojeb said the total settlements with the suspects had topped $130 billion, which came in various forms of assets.
News broke earlier on Tuesday that Saudi authorities had released all remaining detainees from Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel, which had been used as an interrogation center in a crackdown on corruption, according to a Saudi official.
“There are no longer any detainees left at the Ritz-Carlton,” the official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity under briefing rules.
He did not say how many suspects remained in detention at other locations in Saudi Arabia. Some are believed to have been moved from the Ritz to prison after refusing to admit wrongdoing and reach financial settlements with the authorities.
He said those who remained in custody were still under investigation as the legal procedures continued.
Among top businessmen caught up in the purge were Prince Alwaleed, owner of global investor Kingdom Holding, and Waleed Al-Ibrahim, who controls influential regional broadcaster MBC.
MBC said the investigation found Ibrahim completely innocent of wrongdoing and Prince Alwaleed has insisted he is innocent, although Saudi officials said both men agreed to settlements after admitting unspecified “violations.”
In an interview with Reuters at his suite in the Ritz-Carlton hours before he was released on Saturday, Prince Alwaleed said he had been well-treated in custody and described his case as the result of a misunderstanding.
He showed off the comforts of his suite’s gold-accented private office, a dining room and a kitchen which was fully stocked with his preferred vegetarian meals.
The hotel has 492 guest rooms and suites and 52 acres (21 hectares) of landscaped gardens, according to its website. It has said it will reopen to the public in mid-February, with a nightly rate for its cheapest room of $650.
(With AFP and Reuters)

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1235891/saudi-arabia

220px-Crown_Prince_Mohammad_bin_Salman_Al_Saud_-_2017.jpg
"​

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/ksa-...ed-sea-coast-aramco-pioneers-new-tech.542530/

BTW please visit that thread above. KSA just discovered 100 billion barrels of crude oil off the Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast and Saudi Arabian ARAMCO just have pioneered new groundbreaking technology in the petrochemical field.

In the past 3 months alone, KSA earned 12 billion USD from its sovereign wealth fund alone. Keep crying.



Hajj and Umrah was an important income source for the Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid and Ottomans too. Why is it that KSA and its people (natives of the land) must be deprived of that? Why not turn religious sites in every sovereign country into a Vatican? Have those geniuses ever wondered what locals in Makkah and Madinah (Hijaz) in general would say about being ruled by a collection of foreigners, regardless of being Muslims or not? For instance as a person with ancient family ties to Hijaz, I have no intention to be ruled by a Muslim Cameroonian or a Muslim Indonesian just because Makkah and Madinah are sacred cities for Muslims worldwide.

Those negligible taxes are long overdue IMO. When KSA runs ALL costs without exception (which are huge) 24/7 all year around and constantly tries to improve facilities, it is natural that costs will rise. Had all this not been financed solely by KSA it would be a completely different discussion.

How about the other way around? The population of Muslims worldwide (including in KSA) is rapidly increasing and more and more people want to perform Hajj and Umrah. For that to happen expansions are necessary. People can't have it both ways.

BTW I am very interested in reading statistics that show that KSA is making some kind of huge income from Hajj and Umrah. This is not the case.

Here we go again this saudi troll always brags about saudi achievements.

When in reality without oil they would still be living in tents with their beloved goats.

Your tiny entity cannot even invade tiny Afrin and you want to invade people and countries and regions (Arab world) 100 times bigger and stronger? Little Turkified and Arabized troll.

Go cry about your miserable life you alcoholic and donkey lover.

The last time you pissed off locals your likes ended up headless.

You were at the mercy of our "tiny entity" for centuries you little goat lover.
 
.
The troll have spoken, the only thing you have done now is. You have confirmed what i have wrote. Well all that money and nothing for the poor 500 million arabs. All the investment in foreigner countries and making them rich. So the money is not in ksa but in the usa or other countries.

You are proud about what ahahahahah. 2018 will nightmare for muslims, the arabs will undress if we look to your plan. The big money in not in KSA, so that projects have to be funded.

I don't have time for you, i didn't quote you ahahah.

get lost troll..

Exactly this saif al-arab is nothing but a troll.

All he does is post pictures of what saudis are building, and the funnies part is that it's not money they earned using their brain, it's OIL MONEY!

Which is very pathetic indeed.

They won't help their fellow arabs like the syrians, but they will come here and post pictures about what they are buying with oil money.

Before you know it he will start posting VERY VERY PRIVATE PICTURES of his goat.

Even with oil they are the laughing stock of the world, no one like them, so they have this constant need to post pictures of what they did with oil money.

Your tiny entity cannot even invade tiny Afrin and you want to invade people and countries and regions (Arab world) 100 times bigger and stronger? Little Turkified and Arabized troll. You are the son of defeated Anatolian (mixture of Semites, Greeks, Armenians, Arabs, Assyrians, Kurds, Persians, Caucasians) etc. people who were easily Turkified by a few 1000 Turkic steppe nomads from Central Asia. Before and after there was Arabization and Islamization by Arabs who ruled half of Anatolia. Hence the many cities of Arabic origin (names) in Eastern and Southern Anatolia.

Go cry about your miserable life you alcoholic and donkey lover.

The last time you pissed off locals your likes ended up headless.

BTW "you" ruled shit. You were on the mercy of the Arabized Ottomans who conquered your ancestors and helped Turkify and Arabized them as the Seljuks before them. You had almost no presence in Arabia other than military barracks inhabited by local Arabs. Arabs ruled half of Anatolia for centuries and much of Central Asia too. At least we were not Arabized by a few 1000 foreign invaders.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_studies_on_Turkish_people

Pathetic alcoholic donkey lover.

@SALMAN F

Stockholm syndrome in full swing.:lol:

Turkey has no oil, yet we are a success saudi arabia has oil yet you are a failiure and the laughing stock of the world.

Now go hug your goat for comfort.

You call me alcoholic, well this isn't saudi arabia I do what I want, don't try to impose your laws on the free world.

You obressive goat lover.
 
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Here we go again this saudi troll always brags about saudi achievements.

When in reality without oil they would still be living in tents with their beloved goats.



You were at the mercy of our "tiny entity" for centuries you little goat lover.

If you raise the tax we will invade so you know little arab boy.



Who you calling idiot, goat lover.



Yeah thee saudis are pathetic, I will eat pop.corn when the oil runs out. They will go back to being goat lovers.



Here we go again this saudi troll always brags about saudi achievements.

When in reality without oil they would still be living in tents with their beloved goats.

Your tiny entity cannot even invade tiny Afrin and you want to invade people and countries and regions (Arab world) 100 times bigger and stronger? Little Turkified and Arabized troll. You are the son of defeated Anatolian (mixture of Semites, Greeks, Armenians, Arabs, Assyrians, Kurds, Persians, Caucasians) etc. people who were easily Turkified by a few 1000 Turkic steppe nomads from Central Asia. Before and after there was Arabization and Islamization by Arabs who ruled half of Anatolia. Hence the many cities of Arabic origin (names) in Eastern and Southern Anatolia.

Go cry about your miserable life you alcoholic and donkey lover.

The last time you pissed off locals your likes ended up headless.

BTW "you" ruled shit. You were on the mercy of the Arabized Ottomans who conquered your ancestors and helped Turkify and Arabized them as the Seljuks before them. You had almost no presence in Arabia other than military barracks inhabited by local Arabs. Arabs ruled half of Anatolia for centuries and much of Central Asia too. At least we were not Arabized by a few 1000 foreign invaders.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_studies_on_Turkish_people

Pathetic alcoholic donkey lover.

@SALMAN F

Stockholm syndrome in full swing.:lol:

Exactly this saif al-arab is nothing but a troll.

All he does is post pictures of what saudis are building, and the funnies part is that it's not money they earned using their brain, it's OIL MONEY!

Which is very pathetic indeed.

They won't help their fellow arabs like the syrians, but they will come here and post pictures about what they are buying with oil money.

Before you know it he will start posting VERY VERY PRIVATE PICTURES of his goat.

Even with oil they are the laughing stock of the world, no one like them, so they have this constant need to post pictures of what they did with oil money.



Turkey has no oil, yet we are a success saudi arabia has oil yet you are a failiure and the laughing stock of the world.

Now go hug your goat for comfort.

The Arab world is the cradle of civilization and home to the oldest civilizations and cities on the planet. Arabs from modern-day KSA and Arabia ruled the Islamic world from the very beginning to 1517. Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid, Al-Andalus etc. Under the Islamic Golden Age (most scientists and scholars were Arabs and Persians, Turks were nowhere to be seen let alone your rootless Anatolian ancestors) and we made 90% of the Islamic conquests.

Go away you rootless Turkified and Arabized alcoholic donkey lower. Get lost from Arab-related threads. Your compatriots will have to pay and there is nothing you can do about it other than crying more than you do already.
 
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Maybe the cradle of goat lovers?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization

Keep crying.

That is something that you are familiar with in impoverished and rural Anatolia.



https://www.intltravelnews.com/2008/06/touring-turkey-—-using-kusadasi-as-a-base







http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/turkey-goats.html

Guess where those photos are from?

Go study about your Ottoman occupiers and conquerors by reading their Ottoman Arabic works. You can't read your own history though since it is written in Arabic.:lol:

Even your name in Turkish Turkiye (has an Arabic suffix). Half of your people have Arabic names. Now what have Arabs from you "Turks"? LOL.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Turkish_language
 
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization

Keep crying.

That is something that you are familiar with in impoverished and rural Anatolia.



https://www.intltravelnews.com/2008/06/touring-turkey-—-using-kusadasi-as-a-base







http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/turkey-goats.html

Guess where those photos are from?

Go study about your Ottoman occupiers and conquerors by reading their Ottoman Arabic works. You can't read your own history though since it is written in Arabic.:lol:

Even your name in Turkish Turkiye (has an Arabic suffix). Half of your people have Arabic names. Now what have Arabs from you "Turks"? LOL.



Dear goat lover, I just want to say that I did not read a single word you wrote and I take great pleasure in wasting your time. Precious time you could have spent with your goat.
 
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Even if Saudi Government imposes 100% tax on Hajj, it hardly matters for Muslims as they have no choice but to visit KSA in order to perform mandatory Hajj but Saudis should have been wise and imposed indirect taxes on transportation or hotels etc.

The billions of dollars worth of projects are not only for the sake of Hajis but to promote tourism so that more and more people can come. Its not a favour of anybody but Hajj/Umrah is a massive tourism industry for Saudi Arabia and it is common sense to know that they want to expand this industry so more people can come to visit and spend their life time hard earned money in the blessed cities of Makkah and Madinah. The Saudis aren't doing any favour by expanding the Haram and raising tall buildings as the pilgrims could have been easily stayed in the existing infrastructure being demolished by the Government but they want more people to perform Hajj/Umrah hence the expansion projects
Actually we are talking about 5% tax..which is minimal by world standards.. and as usual, taxes are meant for building and maintenance of infrastructure.. which is exactly what's happening with the expansion of Al Haramein..

kaba-mecca-2020-expansion-project-model-picture-wallpapers-images-photos-of-outer-look-of-kabbah-makkah-3d-hd-resolution-saudia-arabia-freewallpapermania-4.jpg


beautiful-masjid-nabawi-aerial-view-wallpaper.jpg
 
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Their country; their rules.

Don't like it... Don't go.

They have to pay for Neom City ... One way or another.
 
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I don't understand why people demand KSA to allow more people to come for Hajj but at same time start bashing KSA for expansions which are necessary to increase the capacity. KSA is doing well in improving the facilities to make pilgrimage comfortable and safe. But yeah, KSA should avoid taxing the pilgrimage services as God has already blessed her with enormous sources of income.
 
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Personal attacks/name calling is not allowed. Member(s) involved, read this & there will be no more reminder.

Regards,
 
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lol... Since when Makkah is the property of "someone"...
But i uderstand quotas... since you can't put everyone in...but raising taxes so for the sake of it... to earn even more...for personal gain... is not normal and should be pointed by every muslim countries...even if it's not your own country being touched...
I m pretty sure Saudis also spend alot on hajj pilgrims managenman so some tax is fine . How much is this tax any way ?
 
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Fake thread title by an uninformed "journalist".

It is not a "Hajj or Umrah" tax.

It's about this.

VALUE ADDED TAX (VAT)



VAT-Banner-Slider-Banner-en.jpg


The (5%) Value Added Tax (VAT) will be applied on Domestic Air Travel fees and its related services; that include the following:


  • Seat Selection.
  • Class upgrade.
  • Bidding Upgrade.
  • Bicycle In Hold.
  • Heavy Baggage.
  • Pet In Cabin.
  • Animal In Hold.
  • Sports Equipment.
  • Weapons - Firearms or Ammunition.
  • Excess Baggage.
  • Time To Think.
  • Bassinet - Carrycot - Baby Basket.
  • Commercial Courier.
  • Fragile Baggage.
  • Meet And Assist.
  • Wifi.
  • Airline Fees/Ticket issue fees.
  • Re-booking Fees.
  • Re-issuing/Revalidation fees.
https://www.saudia.com/saudia/TRAVE...tion-Services/Payment-Options/Value-Added-Tax

There was talk last year of imposing a tax on multiple Hajj and Umrah visitors (2nd and 3rd time) to give room for first-time goers but it was not imposed.

Saudi Arabia Imposes Heavy Taxes on People Performing Multiple Hajj
Posted 6 months ago by Bilal Hakim
Untitled-10-1.jpg



The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony has informed that those who are intending to perform Hajj for the 3rd time will have to pay an additional fee of Saudi Riyal (SR) 2,000 or PKR 56,200.

The step was taken by the Ministry to allow more pilgrims to perform Hajj for the first time.

Those who have performed Hajj in either 2014, 2015 or 2016 and still wish to perform in this or the following year, will have to pay the additional fees.

Saudi Govt Imposed the Same Rule for Umrah
A similar type of fee was also imposed by the Saudi government last year for pilgrims that performed Umrah multiple times in as many years. The decision was taken by the Saudi government to avoid unnecessary rush and also to let more people experience the pilgrimage.

Since the policy is applicable from this year, those who have already performed Hajj within the past 3 years and are again in Saudi Arabia this year will have to pay the newly applicable fees.

This means that around 636 Pakistani pilgrims that are performing Hajj this year will have to pay the fees. The required fees can be either paid in Saudi Arabia when they collect their passports, or to the Ministry here once they return to Pakistan in October.

It should be mentioned that this is applicable for those who are performing Hajj under government schemes. Those who are performing Hajj through a private tour operator will have to pay the additional fees to their tour operator.

While some may be against this new policy, it is necessary to take such steps in order to ensure that everyone is given a fair chance to perform Hajj.

https://propakistani.pk/2017/08/01/saudi-arabia-imposes-heavy-taxes-people-performing-multiple-hajj/

Are moderators going to do something about this fake thread title or ignore this information?

Lastly Hajj and Umrah quotas are calculated based on population of country x or y. So small Guinea cannot have the same number of Hajj pilgrims like Indonesia for instance. Nor can countries ask for a bigger quota unless their populations grow and this is well proven.

That is why Pakistan has some 180.000 Hajj quotas = 180 million population.

@The Eagle brother how many UNMOTIVATED insults/provocations can this @TurkeyForever troublemaker (self-admitted alcoholic and depressive person) be allowed to make against Arabs in various Arab-related threads (without anyone mentioning him prior or Turkey or Turks)? Not to mention derailing such threads. Kindly take a look at this user history and act accordingly. Adds nothing of value to any discussions. Thanks in advance.

He is almost solely responsible for some rare Arab-Turkish trolling here on this forum. Please take action.

Also the thread starter (Indian) has an clear agenda (trolling) for him to create such a propaganda thread.
 
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