Muslim Silence over Saudi
Demolition of Holy Site Puzzling
By Khalid Hasan
Washington, DC: Surprise has
been expressed at the lack of reaction in the Muslim world
at the impending demolition of the house of the Holy Prophet
(peace be upon him) by the Saudi authorities.
An op-ed article in Toronto Star, Canada’s widely-circulated
daily, by Tarek Fatah, a Pakistani-Canadian Muslim activist
and broadcaster, finds it incomprehensible that while the
demolition of the Babri Mosque by Hindu zealots at Ayodhya
continues to remain an emotive issue with Muslims, what the
Saudi authorities plan to do has evoked no protest at all.
Fatah writes, “What makes this demolition worse is the
fact that the home of the Prophet is to make way for a parking
lot, two 50-storey hotel towers and seven 35-storey apartment
blocks; a project known as the Jabal Omar Scheme, all within
a stone’s throw of the Grand Mosque. Yet despite this
outrage, not a single Muslim country, no ayatollah, no mufti,
no king, not even a Muslim Canadian imam has dared utter a
word in protest. Such is the power of Saudi influence on the
Muslim narrative.”
The writer wonders if the lack of a response is because Muslims
have become so overwhelmed by the power of the Saudi riyal
that they have lost all courage and self-respect. Or is it
because they feel a need to cover up Muslim-on-Muslim violence,
Muslim-on-Muslim terror or Muslim-on-Muslim oppression? He
notes that one man who is standing up to the demolition plan
is Saudi architect Dr Sami Angawi, who is leading “a
one-man campaign.” to save the sacred and historic edifice.
He told a London newspaper, “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.”
According to Fatah, “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 leveled a graveyard in Medina that housed the
graves of the family and companions of Muhammad. Today, the
religious zealots in Saudi Arabia are not alone.
”Commercial developers have joined hands with them and
are making hundreds of millions in profits as they build ugly,
but lucrative high-rises that are shadowing the Grand Mosque
known as the Kaaba. Today Saudi petrodollars have the ability
to silence even its most vocal critics, but when all is said
and done, history will render a harsh judgment on those who
try to wipe out its footprints and steal the heritage of all
humanity.”
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