IN Paris, I met an Iranian diplomat during one of the UN functions. He was friendly, diplomatic and conversational. Since it was Haj time, the conversation was mostly about the event, but we tried to steer away from current affairs and Saudi-Iran relations. The man was well-cultured and informed. He was also philosophical and shared my stand that our religious differences are exaggerated, politicized and exploited. We agreed and differed on other issues, though. In his opinion, Makkah and Madinah have lost their heritage and spirituality because of the expansions and redevelopment of surrounding areas. He thought we are modernizing and commercializing the scared lands and destroying their roots in history. "Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had the advantage over other prophets (peace be upon them) of leaving material proofs of his existence — such as remnants and artifacts," he says. "Much of these evidences are destroyed during mosques' expansions and area developments. You should have left everything as it was during the Prophet's (pbuh) life. Today, I can't go to the holy lands because I can't stop looking at the high rises and huge mosque buildings, with all modern life facilities. That is an irresistible distraction," he complains. "If accommodation of large numbers is the issue, you could allow only those pilgrims that can be absorbed. To make it harder for so many to come, they should come in camel caravans. Easy transportation makes it possible for anyone to visit many times in his lifetime — some come every year! "That's too much, It's enough that one does Haj once. It is only obligatory for those who afford it — financially and physically. And, please, don't tell me you can't regulate this because you did disallow Iranian pilgrims this year." First, I corrected his claim that Saudi Arabia prevented Iranian Haj. It was, as he should have known, the decision of his government, not ours. They, alone, refused to accept what the rest of the Muslim world agreed on — not to mix religion with politics in Haj. Iranians (and Shiites) from other parts of the world, who agreed with the rest of us, and came in peace, were welcomed. Then I addressed his other concerns, saying that I wish his romantic ideas were realistic and logistically possible. But if we had kept Makkah and Madinah the way they were 1,400 years ago when the whole Muslim population was in the thousands, it would not be possible to absorb, provide and serve millions of Hajis. That is after using the quota system and allowing repetition only once every 5-year. The same could be said about the Shiite holy places in Najaf and Karbala. On Ashura Day, this year, more than 600 thousands Iranians went for "Haj" there, using and enjoying modern transportation and facilitates. Imagine if the tombs and surrounding areas were kept at their original state when the entire population was in a few thousands, would they have accommodated a fraction of the visiting millions? And, by the way, no one there is riding camels or living in tents, today, including the ayatollahs and mullahs! Naturally, the holy mosques were expanded during different stages in history, starting from Caliph Omar's project to that of the Ummaiad, Abbasi and the Ottoman caliphates. Ours was the latest and greatest project so far, because after WWII and the advancement of transportation, air travel in particular, the number of pilgrims shot from tens of thousands in the 1940s to millions in the new millennium. Not to mention the natural increase in the population of Makkah and Madinah. So imagine if we have not rebuilt the holy mosques and places! If we have not developed the metropolitan cities! If we insisted on the old ways of living and transportation, as suggested? Would you be able to perform Haj and Umrah? As for spirituality, if you are seeing with your heart and feeling with your soul, you won't even notice modern architecture or be easily distracted. If not, then I agree with your decision, brother, don't come again! — Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi is a Saudi writer based in Jeddah. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him at Twitter:@kbatarfi
