August 5, 2005

THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN OF THE CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES THE LATE KING FAHD IBN ABDUL AZIZ. The implementation of the expansion projects at the Two Holy Mosques clearly reflects the keenness of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, to serve Islam and Muslims. The Kingdom has spent more than SR 70 billion to implement these gigantic expansion projects at the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah. This expenditure involved expropriation of estates and compensation to their owners, and development of the service network, tunnels and roads in the two Holy Cities. The total area of the expansion project at the Holy Mosque in Makkah amounts to 76,000 square meters. Following the implementation of the expansion projects, the Holy Mosque includes 18 entrances in addition to a main entrance called 'King Fahd Gate.' The area of the Holy Mosque and its surrounding areas and the roof has jumped to 356,000 square meters. The Mosque can now accommodate about 770,000 worshippers. Following its expansion, the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah, can accommodate more than 730,000 worshippers and more than one million worshippers during the peak hours. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz Al Saud said "Spending on the Holy Places will be unlimited in accordance with their status in our hearts as Saudis and in the hearts of Muslims throughout the world." Each year, in one of the great assemblies of humanity, some two million pilgrims gather in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform pilgrimage (Hajj). The origin of this tradition goes back into the distant past, to pre-Islamic times, when God instructed the Prophet Abraham to build a house, the Kaaba, in Makkah and the Archangel Gabriel gave Abraham a Black Stone, thought to be a meteorite, which is set in the northeast corner of the Kaaba. Towards the end of the fifth century, Quraysh, a tribe which had settled in the Makkhan valley, took control of the Kaaba. Quraysh prospered in trade and the prestige of the Kaaba brought many Arabs to the city on the annual Hajj. Yet, Prophet Abraham's message for Monotheism was gradually forgotten and pagan idolaters violated the sacred Kaaba. Only a few visionaries kept the faith, until Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him, born circa 570 AD, returned from the Hijrah in 629 AD to destroy the pagan idols in the Kaaba. The Mosque and the city then prospered as the center of Islam's remarkable spread. The role of the monarchy in serving the Holy Places and facilitating pilgrimage has always been of paramount importance to the Saudi Royal Family. During his reign, King Fahd's father, King Abdul Aziz, made clear in no uncertain manner that attacks by brigands on pilgrims would not be tolerated and, within available resources, every effort was made to ensure the safety and comfort of pilgrims. In King Fahd's reign, this tradition has been maintained and, with the benefit of increased revenues, a program of expansion and refurbishment on an unprecedented scale has been implemented. Of all the projects with which King Fahd is personally identified, none has been closer to his heart than the expansion of the Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah and to emphasize the monarchy's commitment, and his own, to this responsibility, in 1986 King Fahd adopted the title of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in preference to the title of His Majesty. The religious center of the Holy City of Makkah is the Holy Mosque (Al-Masjid Al-Haram) and the well of Zamzam, located inside. The present Haram, meaning "sanctuary", dates from 1570 AD, and takes the form of a central quadrangle surrounded by stone walls. Around the inner sanctuary is a marble pavement, the El Mataf. The holiest shrine of Islam, the Kaaba, is situated at the heart of the Holy Mosque's central courtyard. The tradition of expanding the Holy Mosque dates back to 638 AD when the increasing number of conversions to Islam led the second Caliph Omar Ibn Al Khattab to develop the site. When King Abdul Aziz established the modern Saudi State, one of his primary concerns, like that of the early Caliphs, was his role in overseeing the well-being of the pilgrims undertaking the annual Hajj. Aware that the Holy Mosque could not support the growing numbers of worshippers, he initiated a refurbishment and expansion program. 1988, King Fahd laid the foundation stone for the third Saudi expansion of the Holy Mosque in Makkah and so initiated an expansion of the Holy Mosque which in scale and grandeur was unprecedented. Work began in 1989. There were many difficulties to be overcome. The work had to be carried out with minimum disruption to the movement of pilgrims and the normal life of the Holy City of Makkah. The area designated for the expansion contained a number of utilities water, electricity and telephone services, which had to be removed and replaced elsewhere without interrupting supplies, disrupting the commercial activities of the city or impeding the progress of pilgrims. The extension of the Holy Mosque had to be joined to the existing structure in such a way that the existing structure was undamaged and the old and new structures merged seamlessly with each other. The development of the Holy Mosque site has incorporated an expansion of the western wing of the existing Mosque, and a subsequent enlargement of the building to hold more than a million worshippers during the Holy Month of Ramadan, and during Umra and Hajj. The expansion project includes over 71,750 square yards [60,000 sq m] of prayer area on the enlarged roof, in addition to another almost 103,000 square yards [86,000 sq m] in the surrounding plaza. Two towering minarets have been added to complement the seven existing whitened stone structures, the latest additions carefully matching the former in architectural style. An elaborate new entrance and eighteen other gates have also been built. Other exquisite decorative work, specially commissioned by King Fahd, adorns a series of 3 domes running parallel to the main gate structure and close to 500 marbled columns on the ground and first floors. New prayer halls on the ground and first floors are complete and ready to accommodate the millions who now make the journey of a lifetime to the Holy City of Makkah, and a sophisticated broadcasting network has been installed to cope with the additional requirements. Indeed, the safety and comfort of the pilgrims has become a major concern for the authorities, necessitated by their sheer volume in recent years. The newly laid floor tiles were made of specially developed heat-resistant marble, and further to ensure the comfort of worshippers the whole structure is cooled by one of the world's largest air-conditioning systems. To facilitate the movement of worshippers to the newly developed roof area of the Holy Mosque during the busiest seasons, additional escalators have been incorporated alongside a number of fixed stairways in the northern and southern sides of the building. To accommodate the escalators, two buildings were constructed. Each building had two sets of escalators. These, added to the escalators installed elsewhere in the Holy Mosque, bring the total number of escalators to 56, with the capacity to handle 105,000 people an hour. In order to reduce traffic congestion around the Holy Mosque, the development project has involved the construction of a new tunnel for vehicles in the vicinity of Alsouk Alsaghir. Free car parks, with a 12,000-vehicle capacity, have been provided for pilgrims so that they may leave their cars and travel from the car parks to the Holy Mosque by bus or taxi in ten to twenty minutes, depending on the volume of traffic. Pedestrian routes and tunnels have also been carefully planned and laid out to ensure the safety of the worshippers. Other improvements resulting from King Fahd's generous patronage have included a newly laid drainage system. (Flooding and drainage problems had beset the Holy City of Makkah and its Holy Sites since the pre-Islamic period.) The Holy City of Madinah is a pilgrimage city second only to the Holy City of Makkah, and is the city to which the Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him, and his followers migrated in 622 AD (the Hijrah). According to Islamic tradition, when Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him, made the Hijrah, with the first Muslim community, his first act on arrival in the Holy City of Madinah was to locate a suitable piece of land for the enclosure that was to become his Holy Mosque. The Mosque was erected as a combined effort by all the Muslim followers of the Prophet, and its basic design is said to have survived ever since as a model for all subsequent Mosques. The Prophet's Mosque contains the tomb of Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him, and is therefore one of Islam's most sacred shrines. The first two caliphs, Abu Bakr and Omar, are also buried there. The Mosque was rebuilt by the third Caliph, Othman, in 64950 AD, using stone to replace the early wooden structure, and the site was later expanded greatly by the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid in 707 AD. Much of the early structure was destroyed by the great fire of 1256 AD, however, and the oldest parts of the Mosque standing today reflect successive waves of Ottoman building work. The expansion and development plans formulated by King Fahd for the Prophet's Mosque in the Holy City of Madinah were just as ambitious as those for the Holy Mosque in Makkah. Before the expansion was implemented, although the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah received each year approximately the same number of worshippers, its area was little more than one tenth of the Holy Mosque in Makkah. King Faisal had added some areas for prayer on the western side of the Prophet's Mosque where pilgrims could pray out of the glare of the sun but these arrangements were temporary and insufficient to meet the ever-growing need. Determined to provide the Prophet's Mosque with space and facilities commensurate with its importance as of one of Islam's two holiest sites, King Fahd gave orders for what must be the greatest Mosque expansion program in the history of Islam. The project was launched by King Fahd in 1985. Before the expansion could begin, it was necessary to prepare the area on which the extensions were to be built. This operation alone involved a Herculean effort. Almost 400 buildings had to be demolished. Because the site was holy and the engineers were determined to avoid any possibility of damage to the existing Mosque, explosives were not employed. Instead, the supporting posts of each building were weakened and then ripped out by bulldozers. The resultant rubble, estimated to have been 654,000 cubic yards [500,000 cu m], was used to landfill areas on the outskirts of Madinah in preparation for further expansion of the city. The land designated for the expansion of the Prophet's Mosque, even when cleared, was far from ideal and, before building could commence, it was necessary to pile-drive some 8,500 steel-encased stakes to a depth of between 100 and 160 feet [3050 m] into the ground down to the bedrock in order to ensure the extensions would be able to withstand any eventuality and would be strong enough to support an additional floor if, at a later date, such a further development is deemed necessary. By the middle of 1990, the main building had been finished and, by April 1994 the entire project had been completed. The total area, including the ground around the Mosque, now stood at 478,803 square yards [400,327 sq m], of which King Fahd's expansion accounted for 460,000 square yards [384,000 sq m]. The area could now accommodate in excess of one million worshippers at the busiest times. A unique feature of the expansion project was the development of the twenty-seven main plazas. Each plaza is now capped by a state-of-the-art sliding dome, which can be rapidly opened or closed according to the weather and can be used in unison or separately as required. Elaborately carved stone friezes decorate the domes, and the plazas have been paved in decorative geometrically patterned marble tiles. The project also necessitated the building of six additional minarets, the most powerful visual sign of the Mosque, each 354-foot [105 m] construction crowned with a 4-ton gold-plated crescent. The development of the surrounding open areas and the seven newly constructed entrances ensure the smooth passage of pilgrims into the Prophet's Mosque. Indeed, the designers of the entire project have masterfully considered every eventuality of the existing and future capacity of the Mosque, and all this within the strictures of the existing architectural pattern. The building extensions have therefore been fitted out with a suitable number of staircases and escalators. The designers have added an extension to the roof area for praying purposes, whilst also allowing for the possibility of adding another floor to accommodate worshippers in the future. Like the splendidly redeveloped Holy Mosque in the Holy City of Makkah, the Prophet's Mosque is now fully air-conditioned. The comfort of worshippers has been further enhanced, however, by an ingenious method of natural ventilation. A series of domes, 27 in number, have been installed. These domes can be opened or closed, according to weather conditions. In the inner courtyard, twelve enormous mechanically operated teflon umbrellas, six in each court of the Mosque, have been developed by King Fahd's architects to protect from and withstand the high temperatures. The Prophet's Mosque project also includes provision of extensive car parking facilities and the construction of a new dual carriageway, the Bab Alsalam Road, linking Madinat Alhujaj on the western side of the Holy City of Madinah to the site of the Mosque. A series of service tunnels, drainage systems and supply networks now also criss-crosses the area. In fact, the magnitude of support services made it necessary to construct a vast basement complex in which to accommodate the service equipment and wiring needs, as well as various other maintenance works. The reconstructed main gate leading into the Mosque site, the new King Fahd Entrance, is situated on the northern side, and is topped with a profusion of domes and minarets on both sides. The exquisite decorations and architectural touches here and elsewhere are in complete harmony with earlier building work on the site, and they feature wonderfully crafted golden grilles, cornices, pillars, brass doors and marble works, as well as special ornately carved pigeonholes for the Holy Quran. Further enhancements include a public address system operational throughout the Mosque and surrounding areas; a closed circuit television system as part of the safety measures; an advanced fire-warning and fire-fighting system; a cold water drinking system; the provision of adequate washing facilities; a backup electrical system to be used in the event of any problem with the main electrical system; and extensive free parking facilities. The renovated Prophet's Mosque in the Holy City of Madinah inspires awe in all who visit. As King Fahd himself so eloquently expressed it: "With the help of God, the Government and people of Saudi Arabia have been able to turn dreams into reality. Who could have believed that the expansion of the Prophet's Mosque would equal the area of the city of Madinah in ancient times and that we would accommodate such huge numbers of worshippers and visitors?" A primary purpose of the expansion of the Two Holy Mosques was to meet the needs of the ever-increasing numbers of pilgrims. Below are the figures for the numbers of pilgrims arriving in the Kingdom from abroad between 1970 and 2000, showing their mode of travel. The total number of pilgrims performing Hajj in 2000 was 1,733,785 (Ministry of Hajj Information Committee, March 2000). This figure includes pilgrims from inside as well as those from outside the Kingdom. In 2001, there were 1,363,992 pilgrims from abroad performing Hajj, bringing the total number of pilgrims for 2001 to 1,804,800. Each year, the Kingdom harnesses all its resources to facilitate the pilgrimage to the Holy Places. Minutes of the weekly council meetings, chaired by King Fahd or his deputy, show a preoccupation with the Hajj and a determination to spare no effort or expense in making the Hajj as safe and secure as possible. King Fahd's concern for the welfare of pilgrims is evident at a personal level, as much as in the vast expansion projects. There are innumerable instances where King Fahd has intervened personally to help pilgrims in the performance of the Hajj. In April 1999, a group of 162 guest pilgrims left the Kingdom on completion of their Hajj which had been financed at the personal expense of King Fahd. Again in 2000, King Fahd issued instructions that some 1,500 Muslims (amongst them, 160 from Europe and the United States and a further 300 from Kosovo) should be invited to perform Hajj at his own expense. An all-encompassing master plan for the development of the myriad of Holy Sites in the Kingdom has been charted by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs. The plan effectively calls for the wholesale transformation and modernization of services in Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat in the coming decade. The development plan will naturally aim to retain the traditional characteristics of the Holy Sites, as has been accomplished to great effect at the Mosques in the Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah. The Madinah-based Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for Printing the Holy Quran is further evidence of King Fahd's conviction that it is his duty to assist the pilgrims who visit the Kingdom. In a determined program to make the word of Islam as accessible as possible, for the Hajj in 2000, King Fahd instructed that every pilgrim should be given a copy of the Holy Quran on completion of the Hajj rituals. In the Holy City of Madinah stands the King Fahd Complex for Printing the Holy Quran. The Complex is a unique publishing venture. It was opened by King Fahd in 1984 with the aim of printing and distributing copies of the Holy Quran to as wide an audience as possible. It produces the Holy Quran in Arabic and, in translation, in many other languages. It produces the Holy Book as a whole and in sections. When operating a single-shift system, the Complex is able to produce 10 million copies of the Holy Quran each year. On a three-shift operation, the Complex is able to produce 30 million copies. Since its inauguration, the Complex has produced more than 60 editions, amongst them copies of the Holy Quran in full, sections of the Holy Quran, translations of the Holy Quran, recordings of verses of the Holy Quran, books on the prophetic tradition and biographies of the Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him. The Complex has so far printed the meanings of the Holy Quran in several languages including Albanian, Bengali, Bosnian, Chinese, English, French, Greek, Indonesian, Kashmiri, Korean, Macedonian, Persian, Somalian, Spanish, Tamil, Thai, Turkish and Urdu. Translations of the Meanings of the Holy Quran into many other languages are under way. By the year 2000, the Complex had printed 138 million copies of the Holy Quran which had been widely distributed inside the Kingdom (through the Two Holy Mosques, other Mosques and Government and religious institutions) and abroad (through embassies, overseas information offices and Islamic organizations). The Complex also produces recordings of the Holy Quran, read by the most respected readers within and outside the Kingdom, in video and audio form. In a further and much needed initiative designed to make the teaching of Islam as widely and easily accessible as possible, the Complex produced a Braille version of the Holy Quran so that every blind Muslim, anywhere in the world, can have ready access to the Word of God. In fulfilling the wishes of King Fahd, the Complex has become much more than a printing and distribution operation. It is a preeminent study and research facility for all aspects of the Holy Quran and stands as an authority on the Book of God and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him. More than 165 million copies of Quran were printed up to Safar, 1422 AH at Madinah-based Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Complex for Printing of the Holy Quran. A report of the Complex said out of these copies, as many as 142 million copies of the Holy Quran were distributed throughout the world. In realization of its pioneering role in the service of Islam and Muslims, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia decided to establish the Complex. The foundation stone of the Complex was laid by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz in Muharram, 1403 AH. He inaugurated the Complex in Safar, 1405 AH. The Complex is spread over an area of 250,000 square meters. It includes a mosque, administrative offices, the printing press, stores, a clinic, a library and restaurants as well as other utilities. In addition to printing the copies of the Holy Quran, the publications of the Complex includes translation of the Meanings of the Holy Quran and Books of Sunnah (the Prophet's teaching) and the biography of the Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be On Him). Arrangements are underway to increase and diversify the production of the Complex. The Complex is planning to print copies of simplified interpretation of the Holy Quran. As many as 1,700 people including Ulama (Islamic scholars), members of the staff of the universities, technicians, administrators and labors are working at the Complex. The Saudis constitute about 70 percent of the total number of the personnel of the Complex. The Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance undertakes supervision of the Complex. The committees of the Complex include the Scientific Committee, which undertakes the responsibility of revision of the Holy Quran and the Committee of the Recorded Items. About two million people have so far visited the Complex, which constitutes a remarkable Islamic edifice. Under the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Complex has been providing each pilgrim with a set of the publications of the Complex including the Holy Quran at the exit points in the Kingdom. The wholehearted commitment of King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz and the Saudi Royal Family to their acknowledged special responsibility for preserving Islam's Holy Mosques in the Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah has effectively ensured that more Muslims than ever before are now able to make the annual pilgrimage. Moreover, the spectacular development of the Kingdom's airport and hotel facilities has kept pace with the work at the Two Holy Mosques, ensuring the further well-being and comfort of pilgrims. The development and enhancement of the Two Holy Mosques has ensured that the Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah are able to cope with the millions who make the annual Hajj, as well as the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who visit the Kingdom every month in order to perform the minor pilgrimage (Umra). And we should note that the expansion projects have not been solely confined to the Two Holy Mosques. Other Holy Sites have also benefited from King Fahd's generous patronage. As the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is and has always been following the rules of Islamic Shariah it ranks top in the list of the countries of the world which extend foreign aid in terms of their gross domestic product (GDP). The Kingdom extends aid to the Arab and Muslim countries and helps them to implement agricultural and economic projects as well as to build schools, universities and hospitals and clinics and other beneficial public utility facilities. During the period from 1973 to 2000, the Kingdom provided SR 285 billion in foreign aid. This figure constituted four percent of the Kingdom's GDP, the highest rate so far compared to assistance extended by other countries. As many as 73 developing countries benefited from the Kingdom's foreign aid program. At the third Islamic Summit Conference, held in the Holy city of Makkah from January 25-28, 1981, the Kingdom announced allocation of $100 million for implementing projects of digging wells and rural development in the countries of the African Sahel region which are facing drought and famine. At the sixth Islamic Summit Conference held in Dakar in 1992, the Kingdom waived the debt of eight African Muslim countries, debt which amounted to $310 million. In addition, the Kingdom has been extending soft loans and non-repayable grants to some Arab, Muslim and other friendly countries. Throughout its own development, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been mindful of the Muslim obligation to cooperate with those less fortunate and of its responsibilities in the community of nations, especially in the Arab world and amongst the less developed countries. King Fahd, throughout his time as Crown Prince and King, has accepted this responsibility unequivocally. Although a relatively young country, Saudi Arabia has quickly understood the reality of interdependence, which exists between one nation and another. The Kingdom is, of course, particularly involved with the industrialized nations of the West, supplying much of these countries' energy requirements and importing much of the West's technology. But there is also an interdependence, both moral and economic, between rich nations and poor. This belief in a global community in which the interests of all peoples (rich and poor, developed and developing, producer and consumer) should be taken into account, underpins King Fahd's views in many areas, including the provision of aid. In the twenty years from 1973 to 1993, despite considerable variations in national revenues and many competing demands, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia provided 5.5% of its Gross National Product in overseas aid. Given that the United Nations has suggested 0.7% as the lower limit for donor countries, the Kingdom's contribution has been outstanding. The most important channel for Saudi Arabian aid is the Saudi Fund for Development which was established by Royal Decree in 1974 and began operations in 1975. At the time of its inception, the Fund's capital amounted to SR 10 billion; however, because of the developing countries' increasing need for assistance in order to implement development projects, the Fund's capital has been augmented twice, and now totals SR 25 billion. Underlying the Fund and its objectives is the conviction that, by assisting less fortunate countries to develop with grants and soft loans, the Kingdom is helping to realize the ideal of a global community in which self-interest co-incides, and is seen to coincide, with the interests of the planet as a whole. In addition to the moneys, which the Saudi Fund for Development has been able to make available, the Kingdom is a major contributor to a number of other regional and international financial institutions established to provide aid to the developing world. King Fahd's approach to foreign aid has always been to provide as much as possible whenever it is needed. Even when oil revenues have plummeted and subjected the Kingdom to economic difficulties, King Fahd has overseen a continuous program of substantial overseas aid. The immediacy of response to need is another aspect of King Fahd's approach to aid that is distinctive and worthy of note. Whenever natural or man-made disasters afflict a population, whether in the Arab, the Islamic or the wider world, King Fahd's response has been immediate. By the time the world has heard of the latest incident, the relief planes are on the tarmac at one of the Kingdom's international airports. Whether it is an earthquake in Algeria, Egypt or India, or drought in Africa, or ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, or the suffering of the Palestinians in their occupied homeland, King Fahd issues instructions for the aid to be assembled and dispatched.