DougC
February 3, 2006, 9:02pm
1
…Well okay, maybe not. But I am curious about something there.
Recently I was discussing with someone that (I presumed) that if one was the particularly-enthusiastic sort of practitioner of the Moslem faith, then it would seem that being able to live in Mecca would be very desireable. But Mecca is of course only one city, all the Moslems can’t possibly live there. Not even all the Moslems in Saudi Arabia can live there.
So, , , , -is it considered a desireable location for followers to reside? And how does the gov’t decide who gets to live there or not?
I assume it will help if you become a citizen, on top of being a Moslem; you better have experience in Tourism or Construction:
Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah (Arabic: مكة المكرمة, romanized: Makkat al-Mukarramah, lit. 'Makkah the Noble' Hejazi pronunciation: [makːa almʊkarːama]) and commonly shortened to Makkah (Arabic: مكة, romanized: Makkah Hejazi pronunciation: [makːa]),[a] is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. The city is 70 km (43 mi) inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley 277 m (909 ft) above sea level. Its last recorded...
The city has grown enormously in the past few decades, as jet travel makes participating in the Hajj ever easier and cheaper and as the crowds of pilgrims swell. Many Saudis are employed year-round to oversee the Hajj; many thousands more work in the shops and hotels that cater to pilgrims. All these Hajj-dependent workers in turn need housing and services. The old, small, walled city of the past is being demolished and replaced by freeways, shopping malls, and skyscrapers such as the Abraj Al Bait Towers.
In the rush to modernize, historic buildings are being demolished. The Wahhabi sect of Sunni Islam that dominates Saudi Arabia views all veneration of shrines and graves as bid’a, innovation, and shirk, idolatry, and hence approves and encourages these demolitions.
Many Muslims are highly concerned by what they see as wilful disregard for their sentiments. Art historians, architects, and historical preservationists also oppose the wholesale destruction, albeit for different reasons. [1]
It is interesting to see the very modern buildings that are now next to the Kaaba:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:High_veiw.JPG
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truetrue
As for the gov’t deciding who gets to live there or not, I think Dopers like Paul in Saudi can answer that better.