The destruction of sites associated with early Islam is an ongoing phenomenon
that has occurred mainly in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia,
particularly around the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The demolition has
focused on mosques, burial sites, homes and historical locations associated with
the Islamic prophet Muhammad and many of the founding personalities of early
Islamic history. In Saudi Arabia, many of the demolitions have officially been
part of the continued expansion of the Masjid al-Haram at Mecca and the
Prophet's Mosque in Medina and their auxiliary service facilities in order to
accommodate the ever-increasing number of people performing the pilgrimage.
History Much of the Arabian Peninsula was
politically unified by 1932 in the third and current Saudi State, the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia. The military campaign led by King Abdulaziz ibn Saud and his
Bedouin army of tribesmen conquered the Hejaz and ousted the ruling Hashemite
clan. The new Najdi rulers, nomadic Arabs largely tribal and illiterate,
found themselves at the reins of a highly sophisticated society. A cohesive
political structure based on the Majlis al-Shura system had been in place for
centuries. A central administrative body managed an annual budget which allocated
expenditure on secondary schools, military and police forces. Similarly,
the religious fabric of the Najd and the Hejaz were vastly different. Traditional
Hejazi cultural customs and rituals were almost entirely religious in nature.
Celebrations honoring Muhammad, his family and companions, reverence of
deceased saints, visitation of shrines, tombs and holy sites connected with any
of these were among the customs indigenous to Hejazi Islam. As
administrative authority of the Hejaz passed into the hands of Najdi [Wahabi]
Muslims from the interior, the Wahabi ‘ulema viewed local religious practices
as unfounded superstition superseding codified religious sanction that was
considered a total corruption of religion and the spreading of heresy.
What followed was a removal of the physical infrastructure, tombs,
mausoleums, mosques and sites associated with the family and companions of
Muhammad. 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 Muslim population and
destroyed the tombs of Husayn ibn Ali who is the grandson of Muhammad, and son
of Ali, the son-in-law of Muhammad. 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. In Mecca, the tombs of
direct relations of Muhammad including his first wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
were demolished at Jannatul Mualla cemetery. 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. This is the vast burial site adjacent the Prophet's Mosque 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 tear
down Muhammad's tomb. 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 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.
On April 21, 1925 the mausoleums and domes at Al-Baqi in Medina were once
again levelled and so were indicators of the exact location of the resting places
of the 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 as well as the Qubbat
Al-Thanaya, 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 wife
Mariah and birthplace of their son Ibrahim, as well as the adjacent burial
site of Hamida al-Barbariyya, mother of Imam Musa al-Kadhim, were destroyed
during this time. 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.
The twenty-first century has seen an increase in the demolition of sites in
Mecca and Medina. 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 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. 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 centers and even
two luxury spas 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 ultimately the bottom line
for Saudi authorities. A proposition which critics argue works hand in hand
with Wahhabi state policy that looks to impose a massive cultural and social
deletion within the Holy Cities, erasing any elements that give way to practices
that go against the Wahhabi creed. According to The Independent, 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. Destroyed sites
Below is an incomplete list of destroyed sites:
= Mosques= The mosque at the grave of Sayyid
al-Shuhada’ Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib. The Mosque of Fatima Zahra.
The Mosque of al-Manaratain. Mosque and tomb of Sayyid Imam
al-Uraidhi ibn Ja‘far al-Sadiq, destroyed by dynamite on August 13,
2002. Four mosques at the site of the Battle
of the Trench in Medina. The Mosque of Abu Rasheed.
Salman al-Farsi Mosque, in Medina. Raj'at ash-Shams Mosque, in Medina.
= Cemeteries and tombs= Jannat al-Baqi in Medina, leveled, still
open access for men only. Jannat al-Mu'alla, the ancient cemetery
at Mecca. Grave of Hamida al-Barbariyya, the
mother of Imam Musa al-Kazim. Grave of Amina bint Wahb, Muhammad’s
mother, bulldozed and set alight in 1998.
Graves of Banu Hashim in Mecca. Tombs of Hamza and other casualties of
the Battle of Uhud were demolished at Mount Uhud.
Tomb of Eve in Jeddah, sealed with concrete in 1975.
Grave of the father of Muhammad, in Medina.
= Historical religious sites= 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 torn down.
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.
A Hilton hotel stands on the site of the house of Islam’s first caliph, Abu Bakr.
House of Muhammed in Medina, where he lived after the migration from Mecca.
Dar e Arqam, the first Islamic school where Muhammad taught. It now lies under
the extension of the Masjid Alharam of Mecca.
Qubbat’ al-Thanaya, the burial site of Muhammed's incisor that was broken in
the Battle of Uhud. Mashrubat Umm Ibrahim, built to mark the
location of the house where Muhammad’s son, Ibrahim, was born to Mariah.
Dome which served as a canopy over the Well of Zamzam.
Bayt al-Ahzan of Sayyida Fatima, in Medina.
House of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, in Medina.
Mahhalla complex of Banu Hashim, in Mecca.
House of Ali where Hasan and Husayn were born.
See also Destruction of cultural heritage by ISIL
Destruction of Shia mosques during the 2011 Bahraini uprising
Iconoclasm Islamist destruction of Timbuktu
heritage sites Jannat ul-Baqi
Jawatha Mosque Wahhabism
Yaum e gham References
External links McMecca: The Strange Alliance of Clerics
and Businessmen in Saudi Arabia, Zvika Krieger, March 19, 2013, The Atlantic.
The Destruction of Mecca, Ziauddin Sardar, September 30, 2014, The New York
Times.