CULTURAL GENOCIDE AND CULTURAL CLEANSING:CASE OF KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA

" Culture and heritage are not about stones and buildings, they are about identities and belongings. They carry values from the past that are important for the societies today and tomorrow. We must safeguard the heritage because it is what brings us together as a community; it is what binds us within a shared destiny"  Irina Bokova (1)

 

 

 The two images above are graphic representations of the problem I want to highlight in this post. The image below is the image of Baqee cemetery as it was before it was vandalized by the Wahabi, Saudi regimen. The image above is it's current status not only demolished but chained and guarded. This is classical example of "CULTURAL GENOCIDE" which continues till today unabated.

WHAT IS CUTURAL GENOCIDE: 

Genocide is generally understood as destruction with the intent to destroy a racial, religious, ethnic or national group. This definition emphasizes the physical elimination of the group which is the target of the genocide. However in practice genocide is a multi-dimensional phenomenon and one component of this is destruction of the cultural heritage which may be both tangible or non-tangible. This component is what consists of "cultural genocide" sometimes also referred to as "ethnocide". Act of genocide may have both physical as well as cultural dimensions but occasionally it may comprise of only cultural dimension but this in no way diminishes the gravity of the crime. The exact definition as to what constitutes cultural genocide is a matter of debate but in practical terms " it involves the eradication and destruction of cultural artifacts, such as books, artworks, and structures, and the suppression of cultural activities that do not conform to the destroyer's notion of what is appropriate.   ". 
As is clear from the above discussion cultural genocide is a composite of two activities, physical destruction of cultural structures which constitutes what is known as "tangible cultural heritage" and prevention and suppression of cultural activities the so-called "intangible cultural heritage". The other important aspect is the motive which may be religious (iconoclasm) which the destroyer considers inappropriate. What the destroyer is trying to achieve is to achieve what is known implementing Year Zero.In this the past and its associated culture is deleted and history is "reset".
If we now apply this definition to what Saudis have done we will at once come to understand that this is fulfills the text book definition of cultural genocide as is evident from the above images.
1} They physically dismantled the structures which had been present their for centuries and were a result of consensus amongst the various authorities who managed the affairs of the city from Abbasids, to Memluks, Fatimids, Ottomons. 
2} There is a continuous  genocide of intangible cultural heritage going on in the form of preventing Muslims from performing cultural and religious rites at the sites by denying them access to whatever little remains of the original structure as is evident from the first image.
3} And as far the motive, it is exactly the one mentioned in the above definition. The Saudis following the Wahabi doctrine consider these as inappropriate amounting to polytheism. It is interesting to note that Saudis proudly call themselves Salafis which means the first ones. So what they intend to do is to implement Year Zero by reseting history. 
Thus as is clear this is nothing but cultural genocide. Destroying cultural heritage of any nation amounts to cutting their roots. In Milan Kundera’s words: “the first step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory. Destroy itsbooks, its culture, its history.(2)

 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:

Before we proceed further it is important to know the historical context of  this whole issue. The Arabian Peninsula has been called the cradle of Islam. It is from here that Islam started and spread to a large part of the world and at one point of time became one of the largest empires known in the history of mankind. To be more precise the religion of Islam started in Mecca where the Prophet started his mission. After about 10 years of preaching in Mecca he finally decided that Mecca had become completely barren towards the teachings of Islam and decided to migrate to a nearby city known by the name of Yathrib now identified as Medina. He was received with great enthusiasm in the city and set up the first Islamic state. After a series of battles he succeeded in subduing almost whole of the Arabian Peninsula before his death. The part of the Arabian Peninsula in which Mecca and Medina is situated is traditionally known by the name of Hejaz. Hejaz has always enjoyed important place in Islamic world for obvious reasons. It's historical and cultural importance being the birth place of Islam. The presence of two of the most important monuments, The Holy Kaaba and The Prophet's Mosque in Mecca and Medina respectively. The importance can be known from the fact that the word "Mecca" has become the symbol of importance and centrality in English language. Whenever one has to point to the importance of any place word Mecca is used. Like we say Lords is "Mecca of cricket". The other importance of Hejaz is that Mecca and Medina are focal points of annual Hajj pilgrimage. Every Muslim who can afford is obliged to perform pilgrimage to Mecca once in his life time. This has given tremendous importance to Hejaz. This religious significance has throughout the history of Islam become linked to political importance. Imam Ali (A.S) was the first Caliph who moved the political capital of Islamic Empire out of Hejaz to Kufa when he became Caliph. Since then Hejaz has never been the center of political Caliphate. However even though the center of power moved away from Hejaz it's importance continued. No one claiming Caliphate could find legitimacy without bringing Hejaz in his sphere of influence and being seen as the ruler of the Holy Cities and the organiser of Haj. Thus Hejaz almost always remained the part of various Muslim Caliphates and Sultanates which arose in the history of Islam. The Ummayads, Abbasids, Memluks, Fatimids, Seljuq, Ottomons directly or indirectly controlled the affairs of Hejaz. The control of Hejaz and arranging Hajj have always remained symbols of prestige and legitimacy for Muslim Caliphs. 

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REFERENCES:

(1) Address by Irina Bokova  on the occasion of the ICOMOS Gala to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the World Heritage Convention, 2 December 2012
(2)  Milan Kundera, 1981, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting.