Does this mean that non-Muslims will now be allowed in Medina? Probably not, as “Haram” means “forbidden” as well as “sacred,” but the new signs play better for foreigners. Also, there is no word on the “Muslims Only” signs on the road to Mecca having been removed. So is this just a cosmetic change, or evidence of a genuine movement toward reform? Time will tell.
“Saudi removes ‘Muslims only’ signs from highway to Madinah,” Middle East Monitor, May 5, 2021 (thanks to David):
Saudi Arabian authorities appeared to have replaced the “Muslims only” phrase from traffic signs leading to the Prophet’s Mosque in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, Islam’s second holiest site after Makkah.
Images have been shared on social media purporting to show that at least one of the highway signs now reads “Haram area” in reference to Madinah’s Haram or sacred site.
Many Saudi netizens have praised the new signs, claiming that it shows the ultra-conservative kingdom’s growing sense of tolerance towards non-Muslims, who are strictly prohibited from entering the vicinity of the holy sites. In Madinah, only Muslims are allowed within the Nabawi Square where the mosque is located.
Others have also argued that it may help to promote Saudi as a popular tourist destination aimed at people from different cultures and backgrounds – an aspiration of Saudi’s Vision 2030 programme initiated by Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman and which seeks to steer the country’s oil-based economy towards alternative industries, including tourism and information, communications and technology….
CogitoErgoSum says
How do they know whether a person is Muslim or not? Do they require some kind of certificate and
then check for proof of circumcision (for both men and women)? What is the penalty for Infidels who enter the Muslims only zone?
Mario Alexis Portella says
You need to get a visa and recite the shahada: “I bear testimony that there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger.” https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293993-i4536-k10389361-URGENT_VISA_Advice_Required_Double_entry_on_Umrah_Visa-Mecca_Makkah_Province.html
Infidel says
And reciting the shehada makes you a muslim, if you weren’t one already
Check Burry says
I for one will not go to any of these M states, consider this before you book your next trip.
jimjfox says
+++
gravenimage says
Saudig Arabia says you have to “show proof”–so that implies something more official than just saying the Shehada.
Non-Muslims are deported.
JCA Reid says
Muslims shouldn’t be using what are called, metalled roads or motor cars. After all, they are the inventions of those devillish kuffars!
DavidR says
So what happened before? Did they have special halal dogs trained to sniff out anybody who didn’t smell of Muslim? Body language experts? Halal psychics?
mortimer says
The prohibition to keep kafirs from entering Medina and Mecca is unchangeable. Something funny is going on.
gravenimage says
This has been different for some time, Mortimer. I have not been able to find out exactly how back this dates.
somehistory says
Tourists do not always know the language of the country they wish to visit. How are tourists of non-mozlum extraction supposed to know what the signs mean?
And what would it take for a non-mozlum to wish to go to such as place as a “tourist” when there are so many other….non-mozlum places to spend one’s money?
The places where it is safe to travel in the entire world, are fewer and fewer, so why spend money going where one must be oh-so-very-careful not to step on the extra-sensitive toes of mozlums and have one’s head cut off or have to climb steps to be hanged?
Forget it, saudi…not interested. Wouldn’t want to see the idolatrous stone for any reason, or your acres of sand.
Infidel says
somehistory, the signs in question are in English, not just Arabic
I normally don’t have good things to say about any muslims. I do however make an exception for MbS, if not his countrymen, and I think the above signs, coupled together w/ recent moves to teach Saudis basics about other cultures, is a shift in that direction
I wouldn’t go to Saudi Arabia either, but it wouldn’t be last on my list of muslim countries to not visit: almost every other muslim country except maybe Emirates and Oman would fall below it
somehistory says
Thank you, Infidel, for the information about the sign in English.
There are at least 57 countries that I would not visit…the entire mozlum world is on my do not go list.
I once thought England would get some of my money…my younger brother won a trip there as a work bonus and he and his wife loved it…but that was before it became so bent over to mozlums.
Some of my ancestors came from France, some from Germany and others from Scotland and Ireland. I would have loved to have seem them, but wouldn’t dare go now, cause I refuse to bend over for islam. I would be jailed for sure.
Infidel says
Somehistory, I wouldn’t visit those either, and I’d give all of Europe a hard pass. Although I did use both Vienna and Zurich airports as transit while flying to and from India.
Although one thing – some 7 members of the OIC are not muslim countries at all – countries like Guyana, Suriname… I wouldn’t strike those off my list, since mohammedans are just 5% or so of the population
somehistory says
The governments of other countries don’t supply all different kinds of signs for nearly every language or worry about translating as much as America does.
It can’t be that they really expect everyone to be familiar with their strict rules…i don’t ever refer to what islam demands as law…so really, it would have to be a really informed person or a really stupid one that would venture there. One informed would be willing to comply.
Why do those three belong to the oic if they are not mozlum majority or moxlum ruled? Or at least, a large portion of the population?
Infidel says
Somehistory, those 7 countries probably just wanted to belong to a club, and send a token muslim as their envoy to the OIC. But they’re about as islamic as Liz Warren is Cherokee
somehistory says
Infidel,
that seems incredibly stupid. The oic is for the “islamic” commission or council, cooperation, , or some such…can’t remember which came first.
But if they are working for “islamic” a.k.a. islam to have more of a place, they are working against remaining a country of a small number of mozlums. Once mozlums gain a foothold, they don’t settle in and let up on the increase…they settle in and keep on pushing for a takeover. and I am aware that you know this.
gravenimage says
And there is a checkpoint before entering the Mosque. Infidels can’t just wander in by accident.
somehistory says
Of course, but that was not what I was thinking. mozlums seem to enjoy so much finding a breaking of their rules by infidels. Being stopped by a guard and questioned would be a very unpleasant experience.
If an infidel were to approach, thinking in error that he could go in…since it no longer says mozlums only…he could instantly be in trouble.
It seems a sort of trap for the uninformed. And, it won’t bother me personally because, as I wrote, I wouldn’t ever wish to go to that country…for any reason. It has never appealed to me. A lot of hot sand, camels, and such things, distasteful in the extreme. But others may think it would be an interesting place.
Infidel says
I’m w/ the Saudis on this one: I see no reason for any non-muslim to enter a mosque, unless s/he is converting. Had we been discussing a western country like France where police need to enter mosque to investigate what’s going on, it would be something else, but other than that, houses of worship are just that, and not tourist spots for people who don’t belong to those faiths. And I maintain the same thing about churches, synagogues, temples and so on
gravenimage says
Christians and Jews and other non-Muslims don’t arrest, assault, and murder people not of their faith who enter their places of worship–nor would many want to.
Quazgaa says
Actually, one can find on the net some testimonies from non muslims who visited mecca while pretending to be muslims…makes for an interesting reading..
BlackSabbath says
You can watch what is inside Kaaaabbaaaa (I don’t know how many a’s go in there) because David Wood was there and made a video. He did not have to say “shahaaaahahahada”. That kaaabbaaa was a pagan/sanatan city with 360 temples that mo destroyed and established himself as a self-proclaimed prophet without a single prophecy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29U-ZSqJPHM
gravenimage says
Non-Muslims have taken their lives in their hands entering Mecca.
I believe the first–at least the first to tell about it–was Sir Richard Burton in 1853. A *very* brave man.
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/mecca.htm
Beneath the Veil of Consciousness says
Muslim Only Highway. How about Highway to Hell or Dead End Highway?
BlackSabbath says
Oil economy is going down the drain. Saudis want to make some money off the tourism. So they are trying to open Mecca and Medina up for normal people. Eventually these will become big casino cities like Las Vegas.
Infidel says
You’re right about the oil economy ending, since the price of oil doesn’t even justify drilling – although I’m not sure that inflation won’t address that. But from the development of Neom, it seems that MbS wants to transform his country into a tech centric country w/ AI and other technologies forming the basis of their economy. I don’t quite see casinos, but I do see an attempt to soften the Saudi population and dilute the influence of islam on them. MbS does have the power, and he has time on his side: let’s see how far he succeeds
BlackSabbath says
MBS should be given credit for his steps towards modernization of Arabia. However, to make a country tech centric and AI based, it takes long term approach and changing education curriculum. Majority of the workers in Arabia, Qatar, UAE, and Bahrain are foreigners, and constitute 100% of the actual workforce. Bahrain and Qatar’s 13% are citizens of the country, the rest of them are foreign workers. The citizens of Arab countries live off government salaries and do not do actual work. They only study Qoran and other related islamic rubbish. To make country organically high-tech, it will take many generations. Casinos are quick ways to get short term economic boost, with long term disaster. Even American cities run by democrats such as Chicago, which are practically bankrupt, are going for Casinos as a way to stay afloat.
Infidel says
MbS has already started changing the education curriculum. A few days ago, on YouTube, I read about a farman that he issued requiring schools to teach the essence of other cultures and religions, like basic concepts of Buddhism and Hinduism. That’s a far cry from the Saudi practice of teaching their people that these religions were foundations of ignorance. On top of that, the Saudis are making English compulsory for all students below a certain age: their goal being to make that country more compatible w/ at least the West. Of course, they’d have to de-islamize quite a bit to get there
The foreign workers in these countries – I dunno about others, but Indian expats in the Emirates (again, dunno about KSA) attend schools that follow the Indian curricula. If it’s anything similar to Saudi Arabia, then the foreign expats ain’t their issue here. But if Saudi Arabia is really serious about doing this, and does it long term, they can then stop importing non-muslims from East Asia to do their work, and have their own people do it, instead of lying by the beaches or playing video games. I have a suspicion that the way MbS managed to sell this to his country’s governing shuras was to warn them that Arabs – and even muslims – would become a minority in their own country to the point that they’d completely lose it, particularly in this era of wokeness, if they didn’t reform
gravenimage says
Saudi Arabia: ‘Muslims Only’ highway signs removed from highway to Medina
……………….
This is not actually new. Non-Muslims have been able to enter Medina so long as they don’t set foot in the Masjid al Nabawi (Prophet’s Mosque).
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/middle-east/saudi-arabia/medina-for-non-muslims
If a non-Muslim does gain entrance to the Mosque, they are immediately deported.
Infidel says
On this one, I’m w/ them. Muslims have no business entering churches, temples, synagogues… unless they wish to convert. Similarly, non-muslims have no business entering mosques either, unless they wish to convert. I only wish muslims would just as seriously keep non muslims out of their other mosques, not just masjid al nabawi or masjid al haram
These are religious places: don’t enter them except to pray or worship
somehistory says
Of course, but that was not what I was thinking. mozlums seem to enjoy so much finding a breaking of their rules by infidels. Being stopped by a guard and questioned would be a very unpleasant experience.
If an infidel were to approach, thinking in error that he could go in…since it no longer says mozlums only…he could instantly be in trouble.
It seems a sort of trap for the uninformed. And, it won’t bother me personally because, as I wrote, I wouldn’t ever wish to go to that country…for any reason. It has never appealed to me. A lot of hot sand, camels, and such things, distasteful in the extreme. But others may think it would be an interesting place.
Andrew Blackadder says
The practice of Apartheid is common within islam and yet certain idiots think Israel is an Apartheid State, when in fact there are Arab muslims in EVERY sector of Israeli society, how many non muslims are high up in islamic societies, Israel has muslims in their Government, Judges,Lawyers, Police Force, Military Generals, how many non muslims are in the Government of Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Somalia, Egypt, Morocco,Saudi,Kuwait,UAE… need I go on?.
Infidel says
Andrew, Malaysia’s Bhumiputra system is identical to apartheid, except that it’s done by muslims against non-muslims. Don’t fall for the ‘sons of the soil’ propaganda: Dayaks and Orang Aslis ain’t covered by Bhumiputra like Malays are, while Hui Chinese, who are muslim but not native to Malaysia, are covered by this. Which proves what one suspects – that it’s an Aparrtheid system that favors muslims (as opposed to South African Whites)