Saudi Wahhabis Continue Assault on Islamic Heritage
by Irfan Al-Alawi
December 12, 2012 at 3:00 am
December 12, 2012 at 3:00 am
Saudi plans indicate that commercial ambitions outweigh the protection of the spiritual and cultural history of Islam.
Wahhabi extremists and property developers affiliated with the Saudi authorities are furthering plans to demolish the oldest sections of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the location to which all the world's Muslims turn in prayer. They apparently intend to remove features of the site dating back many centuries, such as columns placed in the Grand Mosque during the eighth century CE. Also, porticos designed by the legendary Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan (c. 1489/1490-1588 CE), whose achievements, and those of his personal disciples, are found at many places in the Islamic culture area, from Bosnia-Hercegovina to India, are slated for destruction. Public dismay about the proposed wrecking, to be done under the pretext of renovation and modernization, has been notable. In response, the Imam and Friday preacher of the Grand Mosque, Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, a prominent Wahhabi fanatic and hatemonger, has promised that the areas of the Grand Mosque originating in the Abbasid Arab caliphate (750-1258 CE) and the Ottoman period of rule in Mecca and Medina would not be touched.
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