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| Arabia |
| The destruction of Mecca: Saudi hardliners are wiping out their own heritage |
| 2005-08-08 |
| Btw, I've read some time ago a fringe, but very interesting, book about the non-existence of Mahomet and the falsehood of the early history of islam. While I was not convinced, the theory exposed was sufficiently backed by actual finds and others books to be very thought-provoking (I've never read Ibn Warraq, my bad, will have to remedy that, but it is my understanding that he posits a similar theory about the early days of islam, minus the "Mahomet mythical patriarch" bit). The interdiction of archaeological searches by infidels in Medina and Mecca would be so very convenient for the tenants of official islamic history... and so would be the actual erasure of their past. Regardless of that, this article a good thing to remember next time someone complains about the lack of western respect for islam... look at who is doing the desacration. |
| Posted by:anonymous5089 |
| #13 Back to the future, Frank? Me head is a-spinnin'. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2005-08-08 16:40 |
| #12 My first instinct was to cringe in sympathy. Then I remembered that Islam deserves no sympathy, being unable to give it... |
| Posted by: Ptah 2005-08-08 15:31 |
| #11 "No wonder many of the other muslims look down on them." LH - maybe it would be better for all concerned if the "other muslims" would stop looking down on the wahhabis and start stomping down on them. Repeatedly. Hard. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2005-08-08 15:01 |
| #10 "I suppose if your culture and society -lacks any music worth a damn -has not produced art worth a damn -has zero scientific and technical accomplishments -has little redeeeming value" that would certainly be true of the wahabis. No wonder many of the other muslims look down on them. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2005-08-08 14:52 |
| #9 I suppose if your culture and society -lacks any music worth a damn -has not produced art worth a damn -has zero scientific and technical accomplishments -has little redeeeming value You might not give a hoot if bulldozers destroy your history |
| Posted by: john 2005-08-08 14:50 |
| #8 It's not history if you're trying to go back to the 7th century. It's actually the future. Go figure |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-08-08 13:39 |
| #7 Here's an old report of the Wahhabs' kid-glove treatment and respect for the graves and mosques of Kosovo. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2005-08-08 13:17 |
| #6 "the nomad-mentality factors in a lot as well." I'd agree - they would leave any cumbersome things they had acquired when they moved on - fully expecting them to be there when they passed through, again - and I'm sure they were. But when the Bedu mostly stopped their cyclical travels, well... These are the goodies the people I know keep running across, and collecting, when they do their 4WD excursions into the Empty Quarter and areas between population centers. I saw them come through Al Khobar in '92 and '93 - pitching huge tents on empty lots in the city. Generated some double-takes, actually, cuz they'd be out there in front of the tent drinking tea when I'd come out to get in my truck to go to work - every day for maybe a week (?). Then the lot would be empty one day when I came home. But I didn't see any evidence of their passing through AlK '00 -'03. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-08-08 12:43 |
| #5 This depressing pattern of excavation and demolition has led Dr Angawi and his colleagues to keep secret a number of locations in the holy cities that could date back as far as the time of Abraham. This Wahhabism is nothing more than a cult... |
| Posted by: BigEd 2005-08-08 12:29 |
| #4 They're not old enough, yet, to think about it that way, I guess, assuming they ever would. Essentially; the nomad-mentality factors in a lot as well. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2005-08-08 12:17 |
| #3 I believe, in Islam, only the moskkks and any Qu'uran which happen to be lying about are actually holy. The notion of preserving historical sites and doodads is not (yet?) a Saudi cause du célèbre. At least that's my take on this. A tiny bit of background... There is a small museum in a restaurant (or maybe it's a restaurant in a museum, heh) in Al Dammam where they've preserved some Qu'uran (of course), some swords, tools, camel saddles and blankets, rugs (of course), colored window glass, and other assorted things of nominal historical value. It's something like a Saudi TGI Friday's (TAI Friday?) - heh - though I can't quite remember the name - something like The Heritage (Anyone there reading this to verify / correct?). You can request dining in a private room - with each room decked out in the style of some part of the Kingdom. Rugs and pillows, no chairs in the rooms. Different art patterns in the wall paint scheme and such differentiate the region each room represents. For example, what is now the Eastern Province was wealthier than Riyadh and other interior regions because of Gulf trade - so rooms depicting art and style from that area have shiny things like hammered brass door decorations. The expensive stuff, doncha know. The Riyadh goat herders room is pretty stark, comparatively speaking. What I'm saying is that they do have some sense of history, but it doesn't enjoy the Western variety's official standing and Govt support. They're not old enough, yet, to think about it that way, I guess, assuming they ever would. You have to admit the Western version can sometimes go overboard and declare everything from dead trees to cracks in the sidewalk as "historical" - and gain control over it. I know folks who have taken what we would call object d'art out of the Kingdom without much (any?) hassle - just packed it up with the rest of their household goods and shipped it out without being contested by Customs - that may change if SA survives another 20 years. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-08-08 11:18 |
| #2 I must confess that the prospect of that site (of mohhamed's epileptic hallucinations and the room where he lay his head on the lap of his menstrating wife and recited nonsense) being demolished causes no sadness. I don't give a damn. The Saudis don't give a damn idea. That should tell us something. |
| Posted by: john 2005-08-08 11:05 |
| #1 LMAO 8^) Greed head desert thugs destroying "Islam". Hey, a-brain, that black rock is the biggest idol around and I be you could put up a great casino there. Why doesn't the rest of the "Muslim" world invade SA and stop the nut jobs? Too cowardly? |
| Posted by: AlanC 2005-08-08 10:49 |