Makkah News and Updates

10 March 2014 - 9 Jumada Al-Awwal 1435 H

MAKKAH — The Civil Defense in Makkah has claimed irresponsible contractors are responsible for a spate of building collapses in the areas evacuated for the expansion of the Grand Mosque, Makkah daily reported Sunday.

It said more than 110 buildings in the holy city had collapsed partially or completely last year.

Director of Civil Defense Col. Sami Al-Jadaani said most of the buildings that were cracked or collapsed had been evacuated.

He said the buildings were inside the central area where the expansion of the Grand Mosque was continuing or near the locations of development projects close to the ring roads.

“The areas that witnessed most of the building collapses were in the Al-Nikasa and Al-Rusaifa districts, where the bulk of demolition work is taking place,” he said.

Al-Jadaani said the engineering offices must also shoulder part of the blame because they are not properly monitoring digging and demolition work.

He said police and the municipality were directly following up work to break through big rocks while the Civil Defense was making early preparations to deal with any hazard.

The Civil Defense also said about 43 percent of the recent fires in Makkah were caused by electric shorts.

It said arson cases decreased to only 2 percent.

The Bahra area would be almost completely cut off during rain and floods, said the Civil Defense.

“We have continuous drills to deal with emergencies including fires, floods, rains, evacuation operations and rescues,” the Civil Defense said in a statement.

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index...20140310198168

10 March 2014

Merchants at the central market in Madinah, who usually experience high demand for dates during the Umrah pilgrimage season, are suffering a lower turnout of customers thanks to the advent of market brokers.

“Market brokers encourage customers to buy dates directly from date producing farms and not through our stalls and stores,” said Ahmad Al-Saidi, a store owner. “Pilgrims from all walks of life used to rush to the market, but many have since been persuaded to visit date farms before coming our way.”

“These brokers approach hotels and pilgrim residences in an effort to promote visits to these farms. They even make agreements with hotel managers and the owners of furnished apartments to take pilgrims on a tour of these farms,” he said. “The dates they see there are actually frozen and not fresh off the land.”

Khaled Al-Mitairfi, another store owner at the central market, said that these brokers are mostly foreigners. “Some brokers offer truck drivers commission to bring pilgrims to the farms,” Al-Mitairfi said.

Store owners have warned that some stores might be forced to shut down because of these brokers. “There is a lack of control on these farms. Illegal expatriates work in this sector without proper licensing,” he said. “Not only do these brokers threaten market revenue, they also pose a threat to customer health. Frozen dates are usually low quality because they are usually stored in refrigerators after being transferred from other farms.”

Stall owners have called on authorities to introduce measures to curb this phenomenon and put an end to their low profit margin ordeal.

Arab News toured the market, situated close to the Prophet’s Mosque, and found variations in the price of dates.

The price of Ajwah, a high quality date, ranges between SR45 and SR50 a kilogram. Anbarah, another high quality date, costs between SR40 and SR50 a kilogram. The Al-Safwi type costs around SR15 per kilogram. Umrah pilgrims also prefer Al-Siqi, which costs SR15 per kilogram.

“Pakistanis, Indonesians, Egyptians and Gulf residents buy their dates from the central market,” one store owner said.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/537716

 

Pilgrims caught cutting Kaaba threads
 

 

Kabaa cover medallion auctioned


A Kaaba cover medallion has been sold for 120,000 Turkish Liras.

12 March 2014

A number of Muslims from around the world come to Saudi Arabia on Umrah and Haj visas to fulfill their religious obligations but many of them stay back for various reasons without legal documentation.

Arab News spoke to some illegal pilgrims who overstayed their visit and are now in trouble with Saudi authorities due to violations of the immigration rules. Some of them ironically expressed their unawareness about any breach of law.

Amina Anwar came to Saudi Arabia with her husband almost 40 years ago. They were illiterate and didn’t understand the rules and regulations of the country. They acquired an iqama somehow but their sponsor was not supportive and eventually placed a final exit in the passport system without their knowledge. But in reality, they never boarded the flight to take them back home. Instead, they stayed on and had three children: A daughter and two sons. The girl was born at home and never had a birth certificate, national identity card or passport while one of the sons had a birth certificate but no national identity card or passport. The second son managed to leave the Kingdom and go back to their home country. Her husband meanwhile died leaving his family behind with an illegal status, no documentation and no choice.

A similar case is of Manthar Sarkar, who has been living in the Kingdom for the past 13 years. She came on an Umrah visa and decided not to go back home. She is now married with children and no documentation. Her youngest son fell sick and died in a local hospital and the family is now looking to bury the child but this is not possible without a no objection certificate (NOC) letter from the consulate and police station. However, as the family’s head has no legal papers himself, he will not be able to obtain the letter.

“Our family and friends advised us to leave the baby’s body at the hospital assuring us that the authorities will bury the body as we have no legal papers to fulfill the procedures. But the hospital told us to produce papers from the consulate and the police station. However, as none of us has an iqama, the consulate couldn’t do anything for us,” she said.

She further said that the hospital authorities later agreed to arrange papers for the burial of the child.

Another case Arab News came across is of a Sudanese family in a similar situation. They said that they had to surrender themselves and be taken to the Al-Shumaisi deportation center so they can be deported as there was no other option.

Arab News found that such cases where there is no proof of nationality or identification are very difficult to solve even for the consulates.

Arab News talked to Pakistan Consul General Aftab Khokhar whether there is any legal provision for people in such situations to obtain passports or documents from their consulates or embassies.

Aftab Khokhar said: “It’s a very difficult situation for consulates. However, people of any nationality should apply for a passport so that they have a legal document which proves their identity and consult with the consulate or embassy of their country.”

“It is also very important for the communities to advise people in such situations to acquire their travel documents and try to correct their statuses before it is too late,” he added.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/538851

13 March 2014

Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday that it would not stop members of the Muslim Brotherhood — listed among terrorist organizations in the Kingdom — from coming to perform Haj and Umrah.

“We have got special instructions from higher authorities on treatment of such people coming for pilgrimage,” said Lt. Col. Ahmed Al-Laheedan, director general of the Passport Department.

“Those who are banned from entering the Kingdom may be allowed to come for Haj and Umrah, if there are no specific instructions to prevent some individuals from entering the country,” he pointed out.

In such cases, the names of those individuals would be uploaded onto the computer system to prevent them from entering the Kingdom or arrest them on arrival. “We act according to the instructions we receive.”

Meanwhile, Adnan Mazroue, president of Taibah University, backed the Interior Ministry’s decision to take punitive action against those militants who go abroad to take part in civil wars and those who support terrorist organizations.

He commended the government’s efforts to promote moderation. “The measures taken by the government are aimed at reinforcing security and stability in the country.”

http://www.arabnews.com/news/539391

13 March 2014 - 12 Jumada Al-Awwal 1435

MADINAH – Foreigners from non-Arab countries attending Friday prayers at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah can now listen to the sermons in English and other languages.

Emir of Madinah Prince Faisal Bin Salman on Wednesday formally launched a program for simultaneous translation of Friday sermons at the Prophet’s Mosque, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Live English and Urdu translations of the Friday sermon began two weeks ago at the Grand Mosque in Makkah.

Speaking at the ceremony, Prince Faisal said the project was one of the noble initiatives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, who spares no effort to serve Islam and Muslims.

The prince cited the historic expansion of the two holy mosques currently under way in the two holy cities and the continuous upgrading of services as evidence of this.

Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, head of the Presidency for the Two Holy Mosques Affairs, attended the ceremony at the governorate headquarters.

Prince Faisal also opened the Prophet’s Mosque Academy and the Ziyarah Affairs Administration at the mosque.

Earlier, Sheikh Al-Sudais briefed Prince Faisal on the interpretation project and its goals.

He said the project came in line with the directives of King Abdullah to help millions of worshippers who do not speak Arabic to understand the message of Friday sermons in the two holy mosques.

“This is a major accomplishment and a qualitative change in services provided to worshippers,” he said.

On the Prophet’s Mosque Academy, Sheikh Al-Sudais said the academy would work to improve the performance of employees and spotlight the services being provided by the Saudi government to visitors of the Prophet’s Mosque. He said a separate administration for Ziyarah affairs was established to further upgrade the services.

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index...20140313198530

13 March 2014 - 12 Jumada Al-Awwal 1435

MAKKAH — Grand Mosque security forces have arrested the national of an Asian country for mugging Umrah visitors and stealing their money. Officers monitored the man and caught him red-handed. He discarded all the money in his possession as he tried to flee. He was found carrying SR4,192 and other currencies and was handed over to investigation bodies for further processing.

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index...20140313198436