It’s been no secret that not everyone has appreciated the attitudes of the Saudi Mutawwa’ and other security forces. They were seen as the preservers of an order that valued a certain kind of austerity. However, there is much change underway in Saudi Arabian society. There appears to be an endorsement of new cultural energies which hew more closely to an ideal of facilitating “religious tourism.”

On this trip, I felt that I was observing an intentional shift toward providing an experience which combines worship and family-friendly, immersive experiences built around religious themes. At the Cave of Hira Cultural District there is now a lighted path and gondolas to take pilgrims to the place the Prophet (upon him be peace) initially received revelation. Once a place that passersby would merely point to and the particularly devoted would make unofficial hikes to, it is now a shopping center replete with gift shops, cafes, ice cream parlors, toy stores and pizzerias.

There are no longer carping religious authorities hanging around to tell those who wish to pray or visit the cave they are engaged in bid’ah (unsanctioned religious practice without precedent) and everyone is free to make their videos or take selfies. For me, I’ve always appreciated the immense challenge the Saudi Arabian government and its infrastructure endures as Custodians of the Haramayn. Organizing millions of people from throughout the world which hail from every background imaginable to come together for pilgrimage must be incredibly difficult. And for all of our griping about the things we don’t like about how they’ve done it, we must at least commend them for doing it. 

That being said, some of my reluctance to celebrate cultural changes that might commercialize or cheapen a devotional experience can be sensed through the tone of my writing–even if I too appreciate the more relaxed, less restrictive atmosphere. But I wouldn’t be so arrogant as to suggest that Saudi Arabians must deny themselves or their society developmental or cultural change to satisfy my desire for authenticity or nostalgia.

​Allah will protect His House.

However, as someone who loves Makkah and is acutely aware of the potentially corrosive effects of a Western-styled, hyper-consumerist culture (because I’m fully immersed in it everyday), my prayer would be that the Custodians of the Haramayn exercise caution.

​I don’t presume that caution would be expressed in completely halting developments that coincide with plans to diversify their economy and open their society. Rather, the question which confronts development is always ‘Who’s development?’ Indeed, it is the most ironic thing that a people would be denied the empowerment necessary to organically develop their society through the creation of their own cultural and commercial institutions. The predictable result, unfortunately, is that cultural development is subsequently outsourced.  Firms and individuals that don’t share our outlook or devotional focus are tasked with curating an experience of our sacred spaces. This warrants our attention if only because we are protective of Makkah and its hallowed precincts.  ​

Ustadh Ubaydullah Evans is ALIM’s first Scholar-in-Residence. He converted to Islam while in high school. Upon conversion, Ustadh Ubaydullah began studying some of the foundational books of Islam under the private tutelage of local scholars while simultaneously pursuing a degree in journalism from Columbia. Since then, he has studied at Chicagoland’s Institute of Islamic Education (IIE), in Tarim, Yemen, and Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, where he is the first African-American to graduate from its Shari’a program. Ustadh Ubaydullah also instructs with the Ta’leef Collective and the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) at times. As the ALIM Scholar-in-Residence, Ustadh Ubaydullah is a core instructor at the ALIM Summer Program. He teaches History of Islamic Law, Shama'il, and Aphorisims of Ibn Ata'illah along with other courses.​​​​​