The Navhind Times has an interesting story about Mecca and how many of the sacred sites are being destroyed -- literally plowed under -- by developers wanting to put up new buildings:
Builders erase Mecca�s historyIdiots. They are erasing their own history and timeline, lusting to live as it was around 950 AD -- and yet, they want to be players on the world stage. This is one sick "Religion of Peace" indeed...
Some of Islam�s historic sites in Mecca, possibly including a home of the Prophet Mohammad, are under threat from Saudi real estate developers and Wahhabi Muslims who view them as promoting idolatry.
Mr Sami Angawi, an expert on the region�s Islamic architecture, said 1,400-year-old buildings from the early Islamic period risk being demolished to make way for high rise towers for Muslims flocking to perform the annual pilgrimage to Islam�s holiest city.
�We are witnessing now the last few moments of the history of Mecca,� Mr Angawi told Reuters. �Layers of history are being bulldozed for a parking lot,� he added.
Mr Angawi estimated that over the past 50 years at least 300 historical buildings had been leveled in Mecca and Medina, another Muslim holy city containing the prophet�s tomb.
Wahhabism, Saudi Arabia�s dominant doctrine which promotes a strict narrow interpretation of Islam, was largely to blame, he said.
�They (Wahhabis) have not allowed preservation of old buildings, especially those related to the prophet. They fear other Muslims will come to see these buildings as blessed and this could lead to polytheism and idolatry.�
The Washington-based Saudi Institute, an independent news gathering group, says most Islamic landmarks have been destroyed since Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932. It cited a 1994 edict by the kingdom�s senior council of religious scholars which ruled that preserving historical buildings might lead to polytheism.
