I’ve heard that the city of Mecca is considered so sacred by Muslims that non-Muslims may not enter. My question is, how do they know if you’re Muslim? Do they ask you to recite an affirmation of faith or something like that?
Let’s put it this way. With Saudi Arabia’s legal system, do you want to take a chance on faking it?
Generally, you need to have a Saudi sponsor to enter the country, so that person would probably know what your religious inclination is.
They will test you by taking you to a mosque. If you walk in wearing shoes, you may walk out wearing no feet.
Work is the curse of the drinking classes. (Oscar Wilde)
You can find a link to the Saudi embassy (and many others) at http://www.embassy.org , “The Electronic Embassy.” From the Saudi site, you’ll discover that the only legal ways to enter the country are:
(1) Saudi citizen, returning from abroad,
(2) Foreign military, stationed there under orders,
(3) Foreign national, sponsored into country for work,
(4) Foreign national, entering country to visit direly ill relative,
&
(5) Foreign national, making the Islami Pilgramage.
(You might have to speak to someone at the contact numbers listed to confirm all of these.)
There is no tourist visa option.
And to think the USA sponsors this country while maintaining an embargo on Cuba… what an irony. At least in Cuba they let tourists in.
Sponsor? Last I checked (06:35 AM PDT, 4/18/2000), Saudi Arabia was a sovereign nation.
Anyway, Saudi Arabia is one of our allies. I suppose you could just as easily say they sponsor the United States by providing (at a price) oil, huh?
Let me expound a bit on the situation in which Saudi Arabia’s ruler finds himself:
(1) His official title is not “King,” but rather “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.” That sounds kind of corny to a lot of people, but in the strictest sense of Islam, there is no difference between secular rule and religious rule and this is a very high honour indeed. So, the ruler has to toe a very thin line between what’s acceptable in a secular sense and what’s acceptable in a religious sense.
(2) As those two mosques are the most sacred to Muslims around the world, he must maintain the strictest controls to ensure neither mosque, or its territory, is subjected to behaviour which may be interpreted by domestic or foreign enemies as blasphemous. Many Muslims, rightly or wrongly, consider the mere presence of an “infidel” or “unbeliever” to be defiling. You may recall the incident of some Iranians killing some worshipers not so long ago at the Kaab in Mecca. Muslims around the world were shocked at that defiling of both Mecca and the Pilgramage.
(3) He and his family belong to a small sect called the Wahabi. Many Muslims don’t really consider this sect to be Islam so he and his family must do all they can to show the world that they will jealously guard the basic shrines and tenets of Islam.
(4) Not everyone (not even all Muslims) understands that the Koranic phrase “People of the Book” applies to Christians, Jews, and a few other religons. So, to avoid an uprising, the Saudi ruler and his family have to be very strict in allowing foreigners into their land.
(5) It wasn’t all that long ago that modern Saudi Arabia was united by conquest. There are still resentments against the ruling family.
Do I agree with all of this? No! But I do understand the dude’s situation.
It’s times like this I wish I could post from home.
Anyway, I have a book that explains the procedures for getting into Saudi Arabia and more specifically, Mecca.
Journalists and tourists are not welcome. Monty, in his post, clearly stated the people that are allowed to visit - I’m under the impression Saudi’s carefully screen each visitor.
From my memory (I’ll check it tonight), to enter Mecca, a person is quizzed on the Koran.
Thousands of people are trampled to death a year at Mecca, though, so unless you’re a believer, you’re risking your life unnecessarily.
No one has said anything to the contrary, but I wanted to point out that it is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that has set the “only Muslims in Mecca” rule. There is nothing in Islam that prohibits a non-Muslim from visiting or even living there.
Islamic tradition holds that the Kaaba is built on the same ground as an altar built by Abraham (pbuh), so arguably the site could have religious meaning to Jews as well. There aren’t many Jews clamoring to get in, probably (a guess here) due in part that the Jews don’t hold the Abraham altar connection to be true.
Because I have an Anglo name, I will most likely need a letter from a local Mosque before traveling there.
(“Raza”, or more properly “Ridtha”, is not my legal name)
I asked a coworker who used to live in Saudi Arabia about how you go about visiting Mecca.
- You have to have the right visa to get there. Presumably, the office issuing the visa would inquire about your religion.
However, let’s assume you faked out this person.
-
When you show up in Mecca, the authorities there generally know what a pilgrim dresses and acts like. Also, the vast majority of pilgrims are Arab. So if you’re a 6’5" Viking, expect further questioning. For starters, if you’re a good Muslim, you’ve studied your Koran. A lot. Presumably you can read some Arabic.
-
I was told that if you’re a foreigner, you really don’t want to draw attention to yourself.
BobT wrote:
Hmmm…got a cite, Bob? Encyclopedias and the Saudi government (in a pamphlet they publish) put the percentage of Muslims who are Arab at 18-20% (Indonesia having the largest number of Muslims).
While I would think it likely that the vast majority of Al-Makkah residents are Arab, I find it hard to believe that the overwhelming percentage of Hajj pilgrims are Arab.
Umm. My friend who was in Saudi Arabia said that. It’s not particularly scientific.
Though this casts doubt on the sugestion that the vast majority of pilgrims to Mecca are Arabs, but all the people who live within a 500 mile radius are Arabs. It’s cheaper and easier for them to come back year after year, while Muslims in Indonesia or Bangladesh are hard-pressed to make the once-in-a-lifetime minimum.
I just read today that the Saudis are considering allowing tourism.
If they do, both the tourists and the Saudis could suffer some serious culture shock. Might be interesting.
I had a friend who lived there for a year when he worked for Raytheon. The stories he brought back wouldn’t really promote tourism.
Rys: I followed this link, http://www.asir.net/ , which was provided on the Royal Saudi Embassy’s homepage ( http://www.saudiembassy.net ). It mentions that there’s been some discussion of extending the Hajj (Pilgramage) visa to permit tourism, but it doesn’t say if that was at the national Majlis (Council) or provincial Majlis. It also states that Asir Province is visited by tourists from the Gulf Countries. As many of the foreign workers are from Gulf countries, that’s not so surprising. They’ve entered the country on employment visas and are touring on holiday.
This link, http://www.saudiembassy.net/travel_info/travel_facts.html , provides some good information for those who will be visiting Saudi Arabia (one would assume for employment or pilgramage, of course).
And this link, http://www.saudiembassy.net/hajj/Hajj-Rquir-Regu.htm , provides the requirements for the last Hajj. As one must state on the visa application that you are entering the country for the Hajj and all visa applications for Saudi Arabia require you to state your religion, not to mention that you must surrender your passport upon entry, I think they’ll know fairly well who’s who on arrival.