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greed and stupidity combined
In December 2005 Crown Prince Sultan instructed authorities to restore the centuries-old Osaifreen Mountain in Madinah as part of the government’s efforts to protect historic monuments across the country. Prince Sultan’s intervention came after municipal authorities started demolishing the site, which is part of the region’s history. There was a mosque near the mountain where the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) prayed. “The Crown Prince has issued instructions to keep Osaifreen Mountain as it was after appropriating the land from its current owner,” Madinah Governor Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Majed told the Saudi Press Agency. Much has been made, in the anti-Saudi media, about the destruction of historical sites and monuments in the country. The assumption they make is that these acts are those of a mad, extremist form of Islam bent on destroying all that might question their beliefs. The answers, though, are much simpler: greed and stupidity.In this instance, the government in Madinah saw desirable real estate "going to waste," i.e., not turning a profit. They condemned a mountain in order to build hotels and residences. Real estate in Madinah, as in Mecca, is scarce and extremely valuable. Acting in his authority as Crown Prince, Sultan has reversed the decision and ordered the property restored to its prior condition, for the sake of its history. Earlier this year, local government tore down a site on the Hijaz Railway – which was essentially destroyed by Lawrence – after the central government had just spent millions to restore it. Greed and stupidty combined. A few years back, great fuss was raised when the government tore down a fort in Mecca. The fort, dating from the days when the Ottoman Empire ruled the Hijaz, was of no particular religious value, and probably of limited historical value–except, of course, for Ottoman historians. This, too, was done to put up hotels and residences, especially for Hajj pilgrims and visitors. Greed, certainly, but not necessarily stupid.
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