Our heritage at stake-demolition of Prophet Mohhamad house by Saudi govt.

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Our heritage at stake-demolition of Prophet Mohhamad house by Saudi govt.

 

http://www.dawn.com/weekly/mazdak/20050903.htm

September 3, 2005 Saturday Rajab 28

 

Our heritage at stake

 

By Irfan Husain

ALTHOUGH 13 years have passed since the destruction of

Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, the desecration still

reverberates in both Muslim and secular Indian minds.

 

At the time, protestors rioted across the

subcontinent; furious editorials and op-ed articles

were written; and Muslim countries formally registered

their protests with the Indian government. But now, a

far worse act of disrespect and desecration is about

 

to take place, and there has not been a single mention

or objection from anybody that I know of, at least

here in Pakistan.

 

It took an article in the Toronto Star, e-mailed to me

by a reader, to alert me to the fact that the Saudi

government plans to demolish the Prophet Mohammad’s

[PBUH] 1,400-years old home in Makkah. According to

the article, written by Tarek Fatah, a founding member

of the Muslim Canadian Council, the house is being

destroyed to make way for “a parking lot, two

50-storey hotel towers and seven 35-storey apartment

blocks†as part of the Jabal Omar Scheme, just around

the corner from the Grand Mosque.

 

I must confess that I have not made the pilgrimage to

Makkah, but the idea of the religious cradle and

centre of the Muslim world being dominated by a

crassly commercial project is repugnant. The Saudi

royal family claims to be guardians of the holy places

of Islam, and profit hugely from the centuries-old

traffic of believers to Makkah and Madina. And yet,

they are party to this barbaric desecration of the

holiest sites in the Islamic world.

 

In the 1920s, the Saudis levelled the graveyard in

Madina that contained the graves of the family and

companions of the Prophet. A few years ago, they

demolished an old Ottoman fort in Makkah, in spite of

the protests of the Turkish government. This

disrespect for ancient monuments is a hallmark of

Wahabi thought, but one would have thought the

Prophet’s home would have been exempt. Clearly, the

interests of property developers outweigh religious or

historical considerations.

 

Why has there not been a single significant protest

from anywhere in the Muslim world? Or, as Tarek Fatah

asks, “Why is it that when the Babri mosque was

demolished, hundreds of thousands of Muslims worldwide

took to the streets to protest, but when Saudi

authorities plan to demolish the home of our beloved

Prophet, not a whisper is heard?â€

 

The writer speculates on the reason for this silence:

“Is it because Muslims have become so overwhelmed by

the power of the Saudi riyal currency that we have

lost all courage and self-respect? Or is it because we

feel a need to cover up Muslim-on-Muslim violence;

Muslim-on-Muslim terror; Muslim-on-Muslim oppression?â€

 

I suspect ‘all of the above’ is the right answer. We

constantly rail against any wrongs inflicted on

fellow-Muslims by non-believers, but hold our peace

when Muslims kill, exploit and terrorize other

Muslims. Thus, when the Americans kill Iraqis, or the

Russians persecute Chechens, we are rightly indignant.

But when Saddam Hussein slaughtered Kurds and Shias

for years, Muslims around the world maintained a

discreet silence. Ditto for other dictators in most of

the Muslim world.

 

In his article, Fatah quotes Niaz Salimi, president of

the MCC, from a letter she wrote to the Saudi envoy in

Canada: “The sacred places of Islam, regardless of

where they are located, belong to the Muslim community

worldwide. The countries where they are located are

simply trustees and have no right to destroy them.â€

 

A Google search on the internet led me to an article

by Mirza Beg, posted on the Web on August 21. Writes

Beg:

 

“...destroying our precious heritage because of less

than perfect understanding of some Muslims [read

Wahabis], would be a great loss to the Islamic

civilization, ethos, history and the future

generations of Muslims. Destruction of the most

precious sites of 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...â€

 

Now obviously, the Saudis are free to fill their

cities with tasteless buildings. But considering the

size of the country, one would expect them to show

some respect for our collective heritage and build

their new, ostentatious plazas, hotels and shopping

malls on the outskirts of ancient cities like Makkah

and Madina.

 

But we all know the Saudi mindset, and given their

recent windfall in the shape of unprecedented oil

prices, it is unlikely that they will listen to

reason. What concerns me more is our reluctance to

criticize this uncouth behaviour. Our Islamic parties,

for instance, are so eager to take up real and

imaginary Muslim causes, but have not uttered a squeak

in the face of this flagrant contempt for our history

and the Prophet’s memory.

 

What explains this blatant hypocrisy? While many of

our major religious politicians have long been

recipients of Saudi largesse (allegedly often in the

shape of visas and work permits that they sell), what

explains the silence of people and parties who are not

influenced by petro-dollars?

 

Fortunately for us, Pakistan has a (relatively) free

media, but I have yet to come across any news or

commentary relating to this impending horror in either

the newspapers, or the private TV channels. So why

this conspiracy of silence? This question brings us

back to our reluctance to criticize other Muslims,

while screaming threats at non-Muslims.

 

Thousands demonstrated against the alleged desecration

of the Holy Book at Guantanamo a few months ago.

Several people were killed in the accompanying

violence. Where are those zealots now? Why aren’t

preachers at mosques demanding that the Saudi

government halt their destructive plans?

 

Alas, these double standards are what now define the

ummah. We have become completely neutered when it

comes to criticizing other Muslims. I have often

received e-mails from readers, accusing me of washing

our dirty linen in public when I have written of the

many problems afflicting the Islamic world. But these

things need to be said out loud and often.

 

According to Mirza Beg, if you want to protest against

the destruction of historical sites in Makkah, you can

log on to the following website:

www.petitiononline.com/rasul/petition.html

 

But while I am going to do my bit, I do not plan to

hold my breath...

 

 

 

 

 

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