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YOUSUF MUHAMMAD
Tuesday 25 September 2012
MADINAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah laid the foundation stone for the largest expansion of the Prophet’s Mosque here yesterday. The new project will increase the mosque’s capacity to more than two million worshippers.
King Abdullah arrived here last night from the Moroccan city of Casablanca and was received at Prince Muhammad International Airport in Madinah by Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense.
Other dignitaries who were present at the airport to receive the king were Interior Minister Prince Ahmed, Chief of the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment Prince Turki bin Nasser and Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khaled bin Sultan.
Addressing the stone-laying ceremony at the mosque’s courtyard, Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, chief of the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques, commended King Abdullah for launching the largest expansion of both Haram mosques in Makkah and Madinah.
The new expansion project, ordered by King Abdullah, would be carried out in three phases. The first phase will increase its capacity to more than 800,000 worshippers while the second and third phases will give room for more than a million worshippers, media reports said.
“Altogether the new expansion will create an additional space for 1.2 million worshippers by 2040,” Al-Madinah Arabic daily reported, quoting informed sources.
A number of hotels and buildings in the area would be demolished to create enough space for implementing the huge expansion project. The newspaper put the total amount to be paid to property owners in compensation at SR 25 billion.
In order to carry out the expansion, the Madinah Development Authority will have to remove 23 hotels from the central area around the mosque, one report said, adding that the removal of those hotels would create a shortage of 4,760 rooms to accommodate those who visit the mosque.
The MDA has played down the effect of losing such a large number of rooms, saying 21 new hotel projects would be completed this year to make up for the shortfall.
Madinah Gov. Prince Abdul Aziz bin Majed said King Abdullah would inaugurate a number of health, educational and social projects in the city during his current visit.
“King Abdullah’s visit reflects the cohesion between the Saudi leadership and people and his desire to enhance the prosperity of citizens in the region,” he added.
Madinah residents have expressed their happiness over King Abdullah’s visit. “We have been looking forward to this royal visit,” said Adnan Al-Mazroue, president of Taibah University. He praised the king for implementing a large number of welfare and development projects in various parts of the country.
http://www.arabnews.com/king-launche...%80%99s-mosque
25 September 2012 - 09 Thul-Qedah 1433 H
JEDDAH — Investors are in the process of forming an integrated company for transportation of local Umrah performers and pilgrims. The company’s initial fleet will consist of 500 buses and is meant to provide services at competitive rates between Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah.
Saad Al-Qurashi, member of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Makkah and head of the Transportation Committee attributed the reason behind the increase in transportation expenses last year to the fluctuations in the rate exchange and oil prices.
He said this has affected the price of fuel adding that political upheavals in Syria also impacted the prices as more than 2500 buses enter the Kingdom yearly come from Turkey and Egypt. Those who work in the transportation sector were forced to detour their buses through Iraq and that the Iraqi authorities charged them more than Syria, a local newspaper quoted him as saying.
Al-Qurashi said owners of buses this Haj season may resort to shipping their vehicles by sea to avoid crossing through Syria, a step that would increase the operational costs. He said the domestic Haj pilgrims also bear other fees as operators pay SR250 for every internal domestic to use the Mashaer Train pointing out that the train fees are still high. Eventually this is reflected on the final bill.
The ministry is expected to start issuing license to the companies effective next week.
Al-Qurashi said being a transportation company they will be able to rent their buses any time as per market requirement.
The transportation committee at the chamber is leading an initiative to form an alliance of businessmen to secure SR200 million to buy 200 buses in the first stage.
The estimated the number of the Umrah performers and visitors carried by the buses in this year’s Umrah season was five million on 9,500 daily trips.
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index...20120925137379
24/09/2012
400 Nigerian detained in Saudi Arabia for coming for the pilgrimage without a chaperone - 400 Nigerians were arrested and detained by the Saudi authorities to be gone on pilgrimage to Mecca without being accompanied by their husbands, their fathers or their brothers, reported Monday the local newspaper, Daily Trust. According to the newspaper, on arrival at Jeddah on Sunday, the women were separated from males and pilgrims detained by Saudi authorities.
It was requested that each of these women allowed to present his companion (Muharram), usually the husband, father or brother.
Those who did not were detained and are are at risk of being returned to Nigeria.
The spiritual leader of Nigerian Muslims, the Sultan of Sokoto Muhammadu Sa'ad in charge of organizing the pilgrimage to the holy places of Islam, have reacted angrily to the incident, calling it 'insult to Nigeria and for the millions of Muslims in this country. '
'They never asked this question and have never required that women in pilgrimage be accompanied by a '' Muharram ''. They have not asked this condition for their visas. Instead, they were issued visas in good and due form to the arrival to harass them, arrest and threatened to deport when they arrived at the holy places. How can they do such a thing?
'The President of the National Commission pilgrimage assured me that the Saudis have never spoken of this condition at all meetings they have had together. This is very unfortunate. We have done a lot over the years to improve the organization of the pilgrimage and we do not deserve this humiliation, 'he said.
http://www.afriquejet.com/pelerinage...092445775.html
ARAB NEWS
Wednesday 26 September 2012
JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has ordered that works for the expansion project of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah should start immediately in order for it to be completed in less than two years.
The king stressed the significance of the completion of the project at its earliest considering the greatness of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf said.
The mosque building will sprawl over an area of 614,800 square meters or 1060 X 580 meters while the combined space of the mosque and plazas will be 1,020, 500 square meters or 1300 X 785 meters, which can accommodate 1 million worshippers inside the mosque and 800,000 worshippers in the plaza, Al-Assaf said, shedding more light on the new expansion at the Madinah mosque for which the king laid the foundation stone on Monday.
When completed, the mosque will have two major minarets in addition to smaller minarets at four sides. The Central Zone surrounding the mosque will triple in size compared to present area with greater room for residences, shopping areas, utility and security and will be surrounded a new ring road.
While the first phase of the expansion will facilitate more than 800,000 worshippers, the second and third phases will give room for more than a million worshippers, media reports said.
Altogether the new expansion will create an additional space for 1.2 million worshippers by 2040.
The project will remove 23 hotels from the Central Zone (the area around the mosque), which is feared to create a shortage of 4,760 rooms to accommodate those who visit the mosque. On the other hand, 21 new hotel projects would be completed this year to make up for the shortfall, according to local media reports, according to a local newspaper report.
“The Central Zone will undergo near total reconstruction including the expansion of existing utilities to cope with the increasing number of pilgrims and visitors to the mosque in the coming years. Currently the present space in the mosque and surrounding squares is put at 550,000 to 780,000,” the report added.
The plazas in the eastern and the western sides of the mosque will be developed. The buildings surrounding the plazas will be built matching the urban development and in line with the rich Islamic cultural history of Madinah.
The project, which aims to accommodate 1.2 million worshippers by the year 2040, will also develop the surrounding buildings known as Al-Ruwaq, which will serve as a gateway between the city and the mosque. The common and community plazas will be developed to fulfill their role as the social and spiritual hub of the city.
The comprehensive plan for the development of the mosque also demands the acquisition of all needed private properties under the public sector
ownership.
The comprehensive plan for the project also recommended that existing hotels in areas of reconstruction should be allowed to operate until actual work begins in their locations. This is to avoid inconvenience to pilgrims. The expansion to the northern side requires 12.5 hectares of land while its compensation of SR2.16 billion at the rate of SR400,000 per square meter will have to be paid to property owners. The total property compensation for the project is estimated at SR 25 billion.
The development of the Central Zone will have to consider the desire of visitors to the mosque to stay close to the mosque so that they can walk to the mosque for every prayer.
The design of the project will also preserve the status of the mosque as a symbol of Islam and its culture.
The plots to be acquired for northern plaza are near the Jabal Salae.
The proposed new ring road, Shari Arid Al-Janobi, which requires land worth SR2.8 billion, will be constructed at an estimated cost of SR972 million.
There will also be a number of pedestrian bridges and underpasses to help pedestrians in huge numbers to cross the new road.
The development of the Central Zone will also allow for increased private investment in the housing, shopping and hospitality sectors.
The project’s comprehensive plan also aims to develop the unplanned neighborhoods close to the Central Zone including new utility infrastructures and start work on a priority basis determined by the plan. There should be a public sector mechanism to buy property and get rid of or refurbish buildings that do not match the development plan.
King Abdul Aziz ordered the expansion of the Prophet’s Mosque with the addition of 6,024 square meters in 1950 while the expansion of 40,440 square meter was ordered by King Faisal in 1974. King Khaled allocated the land south west of the mosque for the worshippers’ service in 1997 and during the reign of King Fahd, the mosque’s space reached 384,000 square meters.
The Prophet (pbuh) built his mosque in the first year of Hijrah (622 AD) and undertook its first expansion in 7th Hijri year (629 AD) after his return from a campaign in Khaybar. The second Caliph Umar bin Al-Khattab and third Caliph Uthman bin Affan also expanded the mosque, followed by Umayyad King Waleed bin Abdul Malik in 706 AD.
http://www.arabnews.com/prophet%E2%8...fter-expansion
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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