History gets bulldozed

[cynatnite]

I love history. I love old buildings and other landmarks that have shown where we come from. I'm the nut that wants to stop at every landmark, museum and other places where history was made. When things like this happen it makes me want to cry. Everytime a piece of history is destoyed we lose a part of ourselves.

*****

MECCA, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - 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.

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," Angawi told Reuters. "Its layers of history are being bulldozed for a parking lot," he added.

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.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050712/lf_nm/saudi_mecca_dc

[annabanana]

1. Well, THAT oughta calm things down over there...

how can the Saudi's further endear themselves to Muslims worldwide?

[lapfog_1]

2. You wouldn't want ACTUAL historical artifacts

and such... not when you can invent stuff and call it dogma.

(heavy sarcasm)

[no_hypocrisy]

3. It's ironic that the most fundamental sect of Islam is OK with this on the

basis of idolatry, which is traditionally more statue that architecture. Does that mean that they're also OK with giving up the Temple Mount in Jerusalem as it's also a symbol? I don't think so.

[fujiyama]

4. Wahhabiism

is the same sect the Taliban was part of. These people are simply evil. They destroy the past in order to fit with dogma. I think this is a major problem with many in the Islamic world today - from Pakistan to Indonesia, where anything pre Islamic is seen not to exist.

A similar thing happened with Christian missionaries in some parts of the world.

These are nothing more than theocratic fascists.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. Sufis revere

the tombs of saints, and the Wahhabis look upon this as idolotry. I've heard that they have forbidden Sufis to meet and have destroyed some Sufi shrines in Saudi Arabia.