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]
.
