Islams holy relics being demolished in Mecca 

Jerome Taylor 


The authorities in Saudi Arabia have begun dismantling some of the oldest sections of Islams most important mosque as part of a highly controversial multi-billion pound expansion.
Photographs obtained by The Independent reveal how workers with drills and mechanical diggers have started demolishing some Ottoman and Abbasid sections on the eastern side of the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca.
The building,which is also known as the Grand Mosque,is the holiest site in Islam because it contains the Kaaba the point to which all Muslims face when praying.The columns are the last remaining sections of the mosque which date back more than a few hundred years and form the inner perimeter on the outskirts of the white marble floor surrounding the Kaaba.
The new photos,taken over the last few weeks,have caused alarm among archaeologists and come as Prince Charles a longterm supporter of preserv- flew into Saudi Arabia on Friday for a visit with the Duchess of Cornwall.The timing of his tour has been criticized by human rights campaigners after the Saudis shot seven men in public earlier this week despite major concerns about their trial and the fact that some of the men were juveniles at the time of their alleged crimes.
Many of the Ottoman and Abbasid columns in Mecca were inscribed with intricate Arabic calligraphy marking the names of Prophet Muhammads companions and key moments which is believed to have been ripped down is supposed to mark the spot where Muslims believe Prophet Muhammad began his heavenly journey on a winged horse,which took him to Jerusalem and heaven in a single night.
To accommodate the ever increasing number of pilgrims heading to Mecca and Medina each year,authorities have embarked upon a massive expansion project.Billions of pounds have been poured in to increase the capacity of the Masjid al-Haram and the Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina which marks where Prophet Muhammad is buried.King Abdullah has put the prominent Wahabi cleric and imam of the Grand Mosque,Abdul Rahman al-Sudais,in charge of the expansion while the Saudi Binladin Group one of the countrys largest firms has won the construction contract.While there is little disagreement over the need to expand,critics have accused the Saudi regime of disregarding the archaeological and cultural heritage of Islams two holiest

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S Arabia wants to end anonymity for Twitter users 

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia may try to end anonymity for Twitter users in the country by limiting access to the site to people who register their identification documents,the Arab News daily reported on Saturday.
Last week,local media reported the government had asked telecom companies to look at ways they could monitor,or block,free internet phone services such as Skype.
Twitter is highly popular with the citizens if the country and has stirred broad debate on subjects ranging from religion to politics in a country where such public discussion had been considered at best unseemly and sometimes even illegal.Earlier,a security spokesman described social networking,particularly Twitter,as a tool used by militants to stir social unrest.
The countrys Grand Mufti,Saudi Arabias top cleric,last week described users of the microblogging site as clowns wasting time with frivolous and even harmful discussions,local newspapers reported.
A source at (the regulator ) described the move as a result of the successful implementation of (its) decision to add a users identification numbers while topping up mobile phone credit, Arab News reported.
That would not necessarily make a users identity visible to other users of the website,but it would mean the Saudi government could monitor the tweets of individual Saudis.REUTERS

 
WINGS CLIPPED: Musharraf 

 
FAMILY DRAMA: Zardari with son Bilawal 

 
STAR WARS 

Principal dead in strike on Pak school 

Karachi: A man armed with a gun and grenades attacked a school in southern Pakistan during a prize distribution ceremony on Saturday,killing its principal and wounding six children before fleeing.
Police officer Nasir Mehmood said the attacker struck as dozens of children were gathered outside at their private school to receive the results of their annual exam.TV showed panicked relatives of the wounded children,who were between the ages of 8 and 10,crying outside the school in Ittehad Town.AP

Karzai in Qatar for talks with Taliban 

Doha: Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in Qatar on Saturday to discuss Taliban militants opening an office in the Gulf state for peace negotiations that could end more than a decade of war.
Karzai was welcomed at the airport by Qatari minister of state for foreign affairs Abdullah al-Attiyah,the Gulf states official QNA news agency said,without giving any further details on his talks schedule.Until earlier this year,Karzai was opposed to the Islamist extremists having a meeting venue in Doha as he feared that his government would be frozen out of any negotiations.
The militants refuse to have direct contact with Karzai,saying he is a puppet of the United States,which supported his rise to power after the military operation to oust the Taliban in 2001.AFP

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MATCH MADE 

Malabar royals to claim Rs 5,000 crore from Saudi govt

T P Nijish, TNN | Apr 23, 2013, 01.44 AM IST

MALAPPURAM: Forty-five descendants of theArakkal family, erstwhile rulers of the Malabar coast, will jointly stake a claim for Rs 5,000 crore due to them as compensation from the sultanate of Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi government had stipulated a compensation amount of Rs 400 crore in 1971 after demolishing a bungalow built by Mayin Kutty Keyi, married to Arakkal Beevi of the Arakkal family, in Mecca to provide shelter to Hajis from Kerala.

Keyi Rubath was constructed at Haram Sherief near Ka'aba in 1848. It was demolished by Saudi government in 1971 as part of the Haram extension. The government had fixed 1.4 million Saudi riyal as compensation but the amount was not released since the Saudi government was not convinced about the claimants.

Till the successors were traced, the government decided to invest it in Auqaf department. A main reason that delayed the disbursal was the row between the Arakkal and Keyi families. Both families approached the Saudi government several times claiming to be Keyi's real heirs but all their applications were rejected.

The Keyi family, citing that Mayin Kutty Keyi had no relation with the Arakkal family when he had purchased the property, claimed that they were the real inheritors. But the Arakkal family argued that Mayankutty Keyi, subsequent to his marriage with Arakkal Beevi, had accepted the title 'Ilaya' and hence they were the legal heirs. The Arakkal family also cited 'History of Keyis in Malabar' written by A P Ummer Kutty Ilaya in 1938, which stated that Mayin Kutty Keyi and Arakkal Muthubeevi had five children. In a memorandum submitted to Saudi officials, they pointed out that the Shariah follows only the marumakkathaya (matriarchal) system. Both families had pressurized successive Kerala governments to press claims on their behalf. Later, the Keyi family withdrew their claim.

The Indian consulate in Saudi Arabia has now asked Arakkal family to appoint a legal advisor to submit a list of legal claimants. The direction follows a detailed examination of documents submitted by the Arakkal family. A list of 45 people who are the successors of the Arakkal Beevi will be submitted to Saudi government through a representative to be appointed with the help of the Indian consulate.

A consulate letter advised the nomination of a "Mutawalli (legal advisor) in India. Thereafter the Mutawalli should select a suitable Saudi national as Nazir (representative). The Nazir thus selected will be authorized to pursue the case and claim the amount from Auqaf department."