Comments on: Another Great Idea I’m Afraid Will Never Happen.

By: Dede

Dede — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:00:59 +0000

Great. May Allah bless this idea.

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 18 May 2006 11:16:39 +0000

Who would govern Mecca in such a scenario? With the Vatican, the answer is obvious.

By: David

David — Wed, 17 May 2006 17:46:52 +0000

A concern I have with this is that it lends support to the idea that Jerusalem should be under anything but Israeli control.

Israel does just fine at making sure that people of all faiths can get to their holy sites and remain unmolested. When Jerusalem was under Jordanian rule (48-67), Jews were banned from the city, and Jewish gravestones were torn up and used as toilet-covers.

By: ford4x4

ford4x4 — Wed, 17 May 2006 15:42:25 +0000

Very interesting and informative post, Amba

By: Joshua

Joshua — Wed, 17 May 2006 13:52:42 +0000

Even if this were to happen, I have my doubts that it would do much good for Islam.

The problem is that even an independent or internationalized Mecca would still be surrounded on all sides by Saudi Arabia. To get into Mecca, one would have to either travel through Saudi territory or fly through Saudi airspace, and the Saudis would still have control over who gets to do those things. The same is true for the necessities of life that have to be transported into Mecca. So, Mecca would still be functionally dependent upon Saudi Arabia, in the same manner that the Vatican is functionally dependent upon Italy. The whole of Arabia (or at least a chunk of it extending from Mecca to, say, the Persian Gulf coast) would have to be internationalized to prevent this.