The Wahhabi occupation of Mecca has to end

We fear the day when the mosque, God forbid, will crumble. Yet, while we are saddened by such worrying news we should not forget that Mecca and Medina, the first and second holiest sites in Islam, have already been almost completely destroyed during more than eighty years of Wahhabi occupation. If Al-Aqsa had been controlled by Wahhabis instead of Zionists there would probably be nothing left of it by now.

It is really tragic that Mecca, the birthplace of the Prophet and the direction of prayer for all the worlds Muslims, is in the hands of a small, fanatic and obscurantist cult. The Wahhabi band of zealots invaded the holy city in 1924 after which they forced the inhabitants to submit to the Wahhabi creed. Those Muslims who refused to convert to Wahhabism were put to the sword. Many Sunni scholars were killed and Sunni books burned.

The Wahhabis were lead by the warrior chief Abdelaziz Ibn Saud who used the weird Wahhabi doctrine to justify the killing of Muslims and the stealing of their goods. Since they captured Mecca and Medina they have treated these sacred cities like their private property with no concern whatsoever for Muslim sensitivities. They have plundered and vandalized artifacts and sites of both religious and historical importance without consulting any scholars outside of their cult. Neither Sunnis nor Shiites have had any say.

It’s important to distinguish between Wahhabis and mainstream Sunnis. The Wahhabi cult was founded in the province of Najd by a feeble minded preacher by the name of Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab in the 18th C. He declared that both Sunnis and Shiites were non-Muslims and had to be forcefully converted to Wahhabism.

The capture of Mecca in 1924 was a tragic event of enormous proportions. To get a sense of what happened imagine that the Vatican was one day invaded by marauding hordes of fanatic Calvinists who would kill the priests, rape the nuns, burn the libraries and tear down the Square of S:t Peter. Then they would raze all tombs of Saints to the ground, declare a Calvinist state and brand all other Christians as heretics, Catholics included. To insure that all citizens and pilgrims abide by their fanatic interpretation of Calvinism they would set up a religious police force that would walk around beating people with sticks and if necessary jail, torture or kill them.

The cult of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab was despised by ordinary Muslims. If he had used only peaceful means the cult would probably have disappeared after his death. The reason why Wahhabism managed to gain influence was not because of its pervasive power but because of Ibn Abd al-Wahhabs alliance with the warrior Abdelaziz Ibn Saud. Through terror and bloodshed they weakened all other forms and interpretations of Islam on the Arabian Peninsula. According to Wahhabism only Wahhabis are true Muslims. Ibn Saud used the Wahhabi creed as a pretext to kill and rob Muslims.

The nakba of 1948 was a human disaster for the poor Palestinian people who lost their homes, but is was also a spiritual disaster for Muslims since West Jerusalem, a holy city, was captured by the Zionists. However the nakba of 1924 was an even greater spiritual disaster since both Mecca and Medina came under Wahhabi rule, and ideology more aggressive and more hostile than Zionism, especially towards non-Wahhabi Muslims whom they consider to be sub-humans without any rights whatsoever.

We as Muslims are quite good at remembering the nakba of 1948, the suffering of the Palestinians and the occupation of Al-Quds, but we are not so good at remembering the nakba of 1924 and the destruction of Mecca and Medina. The truth is that the Zionists have not mistreated Jerusalem to the extent that the Wahhabis, who claim to be Muslims, have mistreated Mecca and Medina. I think we should even be thankful that Al-Quds is occupied by Zionists and not by Wahhabis. They would probably have turned it into a parking lot.
We all speak about al-Quds. There is even a special Al-Quds Day. That is well and fine, but what about Mecca? Shouldn’t we have a Mecca Day? After all it’s the city of the holy Kaaba, the house in which Imam Ali was born. Muslims have to realize that the continuing Wahhabi occupation of Mecca is damaging our religion, our values, our heritage and our public image. Ancient tombs and beautiful mosques have been smashed to give way to luxurious, vulgar looking hotels and shopping malls. This horrendous sacrilege is committed by the Wahhabis without any other Islamic state ever being consulted. They do not care about the sentiments of the worlds Muslims. They act as if Mecca belonged to them. In the same way that Abdelaziz Ibn Saud used the Wahhabi creed to license his killing and plundering, his descendents on the Saudi throne use the same creed to justify the destruction of Islamic tombs so they can build commercial centers and make profit. When the American pastor Terry Jones burned the Koran Muslims protested. Why don’t we protest against the Wahhabi destruction of the grave of Khadidja? Why don’t we protest against the destruction of the grave of Abu Talib?

The Wahhabi occupation of Mecca and Medina has to end. It’s a disgrace. The heart of Islam has been hijacked by a fanatical and extremist cult. It’s time we launch a worldwide movement for the liberation of the Hijaz. Sunnis and Shiites should come together for this purpose. We should demand that control over the shrines be taken away from the Wahhabi regime and put in the hands of an international, Islamic council. Mecca is sacred to all Muslims and should reflect the diversity within the Islamic community. Shiites constitute a big part of the worlds Muslims population. They must also be allowed to have a say in how the affairs of Mecca are being run. At the moment Shiite pilgrims are harassed by the Wahhabi police. This is unacceptable.

The council would be responsible for managing the pilgrimages and should make sure that all Islamic schools of thought are respected. Shiite houses of worship and Shiite centers of learning should be established in both Mecca and Medina. Non-Wahhabi Muslims cannot be trampled upon day in and day out and remain silent forever. History has proven that Sunnis and Shiites can live together in peace. Wahhabis can’t. They have to go now. Free Mecca!
© Islam Times

Mohamed Omar is a Swedish poet and freelance writer