TURKEY
Turkish Mayor Builds "Mini-Mecca Theme Park" 22 Apr 2015
Hurriyet Daily News has an odd little story from the Uskudar district of Istanbul, where the mayor has constructed a miniature replica of Mecca, Islam’s holy city. It is essentially a theme park of Mohammed’s life and times, with replicas of “the Kaaba, Prophet Mohammad’s house, the Hira cave, the Sevr cave, the Muallaq Stone, the Zamzam well and an elephant statue.”
“In these days that we say ‘Happy birthday’ to our master, we wanted to experience the feeling of Kaaba in our city,” Mayor Hilmi Turkmen declared, referring to the traditional Islamic pilgrimage to visit the real, full-sized Mecca.
One of the reasons this is so unusual is that Islam generally has serious problems with idolatry, as famously displayed in the prohibition against depictions of Mohammed. Different branches of Islam place varying degrees of emphasis on avoiding idolatry. The murderous fanatics of ISIS take it to the extreme of destroying mausoleums inside mosques, because supposedly the presence of the honored dead would distract the faithful from worshiping Allah. At first glance, the construction of a perky little Disneyworld version of Mecca would seem troublesome to many Muslims, especially since the Mayor openly describes it as a scale-model substitute for making the actual pilgrimage.
Criticisms have been raised, but evidently many Turkish Muslims are comfortable with the idea because a much cheesier knockoff has already appeared in another district of Istanbul. “The Tuzla Municipality’s ‘Hijra Walking Track’ features newer, and apparently lower budget, replicas of the Kaaba, the Sevr cave and some novelties such as the lookalikes of two hills in the real-word Mecca, as well as a traffic sign that reads the distance to Madina right next to a cardboard camel,” writes Hurriyet.
They’re not kidding about the lower budget of this second mini-Mecca. This is what its version of the Sevr cave looks like:
The exhibits “triggered an avalance [sic] of criticism on social media, not only from secular opposition, but also from some conservative voices, too,” resulting in the removal of some decorations from the lower-budget display, according to Hurriyet. At least one protester turned up at Mayor Turkmen’s display dressed like an authentic Mecca pilgrim, although it is not clear from the report if he was irate about the mini-Mecca or trying to make some other statement.
Further problems for model Mecca are reported by the BBC, which says Turkey’s highest religious body, the Diyanet, has declared it “a great sin” to imitate the sacred sites for any purpose except serious practice for a real journey to the actual Mecca.
On the other hand, there have been some good-natured jokes about how the Istanbul theme park could be a money-maker for Uskudar, as it could draw plenty of Muslims who do not want to make the more difficult and expensive journey to Saudi Arabia. The Turkish satire magazine Le Man even published a front-cover cartoon making this jest, with a pair of men discussing how much easier and more convenient it was to make the Hajj pilgrimage to Uskudar.
‘Replica Mecca’ in Istanbul raises eyebrows April/21/2015
A district mayor in Istanbul from Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has raised some eyebrows by constructing the replicas of Islam’s holiest places and objects, yet the building idea seems to have spread elsewhere.
The Üsküdar municipality in the Asian side of Istanbul inaugurated the “Village of the Age of Happiness” on April 19. The Age of Happiness is an Islamic term that refers to the time of Prophet Mohammad, whose birthday according to the Western calendar is currently been celebrated with public events.
The venue includes replicas of the Kaaba, Prophet Mohammad’s house, the Hira cave, the Sevr cave, the Muallaq Stone, the Zamzam well and an elephant statue.
“In these days that we say ‘Happy birthday’ to our master, we wanted to experience the feeling of Kaaba in our city,” Mayor Hilmi Türkmen said, according to semi-official Anadolu Agency.
The venue, which will open to public visits for a week, triggered an avalance of criticism on social media, not only from secular opposition, but also from some conservative voices, too.
Meanwhile, a protester who attempted to make “Hajj pilgrimage” at the replica Mecca was detained on April 20.
“I am a performance artist. The police usurped my right to travel and discriminated against me for what I wear,” protester Cihat Duman told in a series of tweets after he was detained while wearing the Hajj clothing in Üsküdar.
The controversy, however, did not stop another municipality on Istanbul’s Asian side to inaugurate a similar venue on April 21.
The Tuzla Municipality’s “Hijra Walking Track” features newer, and apparently lower budget, replicas of the Kaaba, the Sevr cave and some novelties such as the lookalikes of two hills in the real-word Mecca, as well as a traffic sign that reads the distance to Madina right next to a cardboard camel.
Private Cihan news agency reported on April 21 that the Tuzla municipality removed several decorations from the walking track after Turkish media reports about the inauguration stirred a fresh controversy.
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Replica of Kaaba
removed in secrecy ____________________________________
Replica of Kaaba in Üsküdar removed in secrecy A replica of the Kaaba constructed by the AK Party-ruled Üsküdar Municipality on the Asian side of Ä°stanbul.
April 23, 2015, Thursday
A replica of the Kaaba, Islam's most sacred place, constructed by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party)-ruled Üsküdar Municipality on the Asian side of Istanbul on April 19 was secretly removed by municipal workers at midnight on Wednesday.
During the removal of the replica of the Kaaba, municipal officials parked vehicles in front of the Bağlarbaşı Congress and Culture Center, where the replica was located, to prevent people from taking photographs.
The replica was dismantled by workers and its pieces moved to the municipal building on trucks.
The replica of the Kaaba was opened to visitors on April 19 and was due to remain open until April 30 but was removed upon strong reactions from the public, opposition movements and Turkey's top religious body.
Üsküdar inaugurated the model of the Kaaba in honor of Holy Birth Week, which refers to the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, whose birthday according to the Western calendar is being celebrated with public events throughout the week.
The Religious Affairs Directorate released a statement this week regarding the model, saying it was a great sin to try to perform the ritual of tawaf, or circumambulating the Kaaba, as though the model was real.
“The replica of the Kaaba should only be used to teach [prospective pilgrims] how to act [during hajj]. It is a great sin to try to circumambulate this mockup while thinking one is fulfilling a religious duty,” the directorate said in the statement.
http://www.todayszaman.com/national_...cy_378744.html ÜSKÜDAR'DAKÄ° KABE GÄ°ZLÄ°CE KALDIRILDI = Kaaba secretly removed in Üsküdar The directorate also criticized a local mufti's office in the central Anatolian province of Tokat
for cutting a cake modeled after the Quran to celebrate Blessed Birth Week. The mufti of Tokat's Zile district Arif Kılıç cut a Quran cake during the celebrations for the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad and distributed it among the participants of the event. Meydan daily shared on Monday a screenshot of the report of the event from the mufti's office's website. In an article titled “Blessed Birth Week cake,” the mufti's office said Kılıç marked Blessed Birth Week by cutting Blessed Birth cake at a Quran course for women on April 15 with the mufti's office personnel and students in attendance.
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has also criticized the replica of the Kaaba, accusing the AK Party government of exploiting religious values for political gains ahead of general elections scheduled to take place on June 7.
Posting tweets on his official Twitter account on April 21, Bahçeli said that the Turkish nation will not forget or forgive slanderers who exploit religion for politics. “Let God forgive them! They do not know what they do,” Bahçeli said in his tweet.
http://www.todayszaman.com/national_...ns_378688.html
The directorate also criticized a local mufti's office in the central Anatolian province of Tokat
for cutting a cake modeled after the Quran to celebrate Blessed Birth Week.