Middle East Focus: Greed in Mecca, Destruction of Historic Mecca, Plunder of History………….

Arabia Deserta

Greed in Mecca, Destruction of Historic Mecca, Plunder of History………….

Will greed overshadow God?
“Those who wish to spend the last ten days of Ramadan in the vicinity of the Holy Mosque at Mecca will face problem, in view of the mad increase in the rents of hotels and furnished apartments in the area. Prices and rents this year have matched the steeply high temperatures. Apartment rents are estimated to have reached about uS $13, 260 (for ten nights) near the mosque , and only $2,700 for an apartment that is 15 minutes away. Costs of five-star hotels near the Kaaba have reached about 10, 000 rials a day ( about US $ 2,700)…… Many have expressed their ire at the destruction of historic sites, some going back to the early days of Islam, in favor of real estate development………..”

What Alrabiya deos not spell out is that this rape of historic Mecca has been going on for some years, and that it is accelerating now. Princes, potentates, and their retainers have managed to make Mecca, the holy city of Islam, into a new Las Vegas (minus the entertainment), complete with real estate speculation and development that destroys its character. Greed for exploiting pilgrims has been the main force. Many pilgrims believe that the closer one gets to the Kaaba, the more worthy their pilgrimage. They are treating the hadj basically as an NFL football game, or the Opera, where the best seats, the ones that ensure a better view, are worth more. They also believe that being closer would make the hadj worth more ‘up there’ than being farther away. The whole idea is outrageous, nearly sacrilegious. It would have made Mohammed (the prophet), Abu- Bakr, Omar, and Ali cringe at the way their hometown, their holy city, has been desecrated by greedy, soft, perfumey potentates who claim to follow in their footsteps.
Cheers
mhg

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com