Criticism of Policy Regarding Religious Heritage Sites
The last ten years have 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 have deemed it necessary to raze large tracts of formerly residential neighborhoods around the two mosques to make way for tourism-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 very meaning of the Arabic word “Haram” is “sanctuary”). 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.
Read more about this topic: Destruction Of Early Islamic Heritage Sites
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