Destruction of early Islamic heritage sites in Saudi Arabia

In 1801 and 1802, the Saudis under

The Cemetery after the 1926 demolition. The Prophet's Mosque in far background, view towards west.

Panorama showing the cemetery, with the Qiblah being behind the photographer, view towards north.

On 21 April 1925 the mausoleums and domes at

As the annual hajj continues to draw larger crowds year after year, the Saudi authorities deemed it necessary to raze large tracts of formerly residential areas around the two important mosques to make way for pilgrimage-related infrastructure. In 2010, it was forecast that developers were going to spend an estimated $13 billion on the largest expansion project in the city's history.^[15]

While there is widespread agreement for the need of facilities that can accommodate greater numbers of pilgrims, the development of upscale hotels and condominium towers, restaurants, shopping centres and spas^[16] has caused some to criticize the over-commercialization of a site which many consider to be a divinely ordained sanctuary for Muslims.

The rapid influx of capital investment in Mecca and Medina leads many to believe that money and economic growth are the ultimate reason for Saudi authorities. Critics argue that this monetary focus works with Wahhabi state policy that imposes a massive cultural and social deletion within the Holy Cities,^[17] erasing any elements that encourage practices counter to the Wahhabi creed.

According to The Independent, the House of Mawalid where Muhammad is said to have been born is about to be replaced by a huge royal palace, as a part of a multibillion-pound construction project in Mecca which has resulted in the destruction of hundreds of historic monuments.^[18]

The Saudis are turning Diriyah, the demolished capital of the First Saudi State, into a major tourist attraction.^[19][20]

Destroyed sites

Below is a complete list of destroyed sites:

Mosques

• The Mosque of al-Manaratain.^[8]
• Mosque and tomb of
  Sayyid Imam al-Uraidhi ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq, destroyed by dynamite on August 13, 2002.^{[citation needed}
  ]
• The Mosque of Abu Rasheed.[21]
• Salman al-Farsi Mosque, in Medina.^[21]
• Raj'at ash-Shams Mosque, in Medina.^[21]
• Mosque and tomb of Hamza at Mount Uhud.

Cemeteries and tombs

• The tombs at
  Jannat al-Baqi
  in Medina, leveled.
• Jannat al-Mu'alla, the ancient cemetery at Mecca.^[21]
• Grave of Hamida al-Barbariyya, the mother of Imam
  Musa al-Kadhim
  .
• Tombs of
  Hamza and other casualties of the Battle of Uhud were demolished at Mount Uhud.^[21]
• Tomb of Eve in Jeddah,^[21] sealed with concrete in 1975.^{[citation needed]}
• Grave of Abdullah, the father of Muhammad.

Historical religious sites

• Bayt al-Mawlid ("House of the Birth"), where Muhammad is believed to have been born in 570. Originally turned into a library, it now lies under a rundown building which was built 70 years ago as a compromise after Wahhabi clerics called for it to be demolished.^[22]
• The house of Khadija, Muhammad's first wife. Muslims believe he received some of the first revelations there. It was also where his children
  Abd-Allah ibn Muhammad were born. After it was rediscovered during the Haram extensions in 1989, it was covered over and it was made into a library.^{[citation needed}
  ]
• A Hilton hotel stands on the site of the house of Islam's first caliph, Abu Bakr.^[23]
• House of Muhammed in Medina, where he lived after the migration from Mecca.^[21]
• Masjid Al-Haram of Mecca.^{[citation needed}
  ]
• Qubbat al-Thanaya, the burial site of Muhammed's incisor that was broken in the Battle of Uhud.^[8]
• Mashrubat Umm Ibrahim, built to mark the location of the house where Muhammad's son, Ibrahim, was born to Mariah.^{[citation needed]}
• Dome which served as a canopy over the
  Well of Zamzam.^[21]
• Bayt al-Ahzan of Sayyida Fatima, in Medina.^[21]
• House of
  Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, in Medina.^[21]
• Mahalla complex of Banu Hashim, in Mecca.^[21]
• House of Ali where Hasan and Husayn were born.^[21]
• House of
  Hamza.^[24]