MEDINA, ISLAM'S SECOND HOLIEST CITY, IN SEARCH OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000164 SIPDIS NEA/ARP, IO, DRL, IRF E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/28/2014 TAGS: ECON KISL OPDC PREL SA OIC SUBJECT: MEDINA, ISLAM'S SECOND HOLIEST CITY, IN SEARCH OF U.S. BUSINESS TIES REF: 09 JEDDAH 0085 Classified By: CG Martin R. Quinn for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: During a rare ConGen visit to Medina, Islam,s second holiest city and one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the Kingdom, local officials expressed unexpectedly strong interest in establishing business ties and partnerships with U.S. firms. A tour of the city,s Islamic sites, including the historic Prophet,s Mosque, revealed ongoing disputes between the Shi,a community and the SAG. END SUMMARY. FEELING BYPASSED BY US TRADE DELS ¶2. (SBU) During April 12 visit, Salih Bin Roeaished Al-Suahaimi, Chairman of the Board of the Medina Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and several board members articulated strong interest in building business relationships with U.S. companies and expressed disappointment that recent U.S. trade delegations had visited the Kingdom without stopping in Medina. Asked how it would be possible for an American delegation to visit the holy city with entry forbidden to non-Muslims, Al-Suahaimi explained that the Haram (the sacred area closed to non-Muslims) does not extend over the entire Medina city limits. Many facilities and hotels on the city outskirts house venues where a non-Muslim U.S. trade delegation could meet with Saudi counterparts and talk business. KNOWLEDGE CITY ¶3. (U) Chamber members had ideas about what they believed could be profitable business ventures. One discussed developing partnerships with U.S. firms that have the ability to help Medina companies make use of resources currently wasted, such as the wood from date palm trees. Other Chamber members stressed the importance of pushing ahead to forge partnerships now as the city builds an economic hub known as Knowledge City. This $7 billion project is the third of six economic hubs the Kingdom plans to construct. Officials hope the Medina hub will serve as a catalyst for the region,s economic development in knowledge-based industries. According to the Chamber, part of Knowledge City will be located near the airport, outside the limits of the Haram, in order to accommodate non-Muslim business visitors. The promise was made to relay the discussion and schedule a follow-up meeting with the US Commercial Service. ¶4. (SBU) A courtesy call was paid on Medina Governor, Prince Abdul Aziz bin Majid Al Saud, who in a brief welcome reviewed current development plans for Knowledge City and addressed Medina's historic position as a religious site. TRANQUILITY OF MEDINA'S HARAM ¶5. (SBU) Compared to Islam,s holiest and more bustling city of Mecca, the atmosphere of Medina is remarkably tranquil. The city is clean and modernized in contrast to the old, worn, run-down streets of Mecca. At its heart is the second holiest place of worship for Muslims, the Prophet,s Mosque, occupying a site originally the Prophet,s house and Islam,s first seat of government. Today, the Mosque encompasses the Prophet,s Tomb. ¶6. (U) The massive Prophet's Mosque accommodates nearly 300,000 worshippers at once. Unlike the Haram in Mecca, where the atmosphere is tense as pilgrims labor to complete what can be physically taxing rituals, the atmosphere of the Prophet,s Mosque is serene. Throughout the day worshippers are scattered throughout the site, reading the Quran, saying prayers, and even taking naps. ¶7. (U) Like the Haram in Mecca, the Medina Mosque has marble floors and hundreds of marble columns connected to stone archways. At points in the Mosque the arches appear to run endlessly in all directions. The older portion of the structure has more colorful decorations and contains the area known as the Ar-Rawdah An-Nabawiyah(the Garden of the Prophet) housing the tomb of the Prophet. The tomb lies under the Mosque's highly visible and distinctive green dome, surrounded by walls on three sides and a green fence on the fourth. This area of the Mosque is usually crowded with worshippers since Islamic tradition holds that prayers performed there are never rejected. Religious police are positioned throughout the Mosque, including at the fence shielding the Prophet,s grave, which ensures that worshippers do not offend against Sunni/Wahhabi rules discouraging veneration of tombs. CLASH WITH SHI'A WORSHIPPERS ¶8. (C) In the courtyard directly outside the Prophet,s Tomb an altercation was witnessed between the Mutawwaiin(CVPVC religious police) and three Shi'a worshippers. The worshippers, facing the Prophet,s Tomb, began chanting prayers written on sheets of paper. Seconds after the chanting began, religious police snatched the papers from their hands. A shouting match ensued, lasting briefly before JEDDAH 00000164 002 OF 002 authorities obliged the Shi'a worshippers to move along. ¶9. (C) Khaled Albahiya, the owner of a small company conducting city tours of historic sites, claimed that over a period of 20 years the number of religious sites in Medina had shrunk from about 10,000 to barely half that number today -- a direct result of the SAG's unwillingness to protect historic Islamic sites due to fear they will become Shi'a shrines. Sites include a farm once owned by the Prophet, several wells used during the Prophet's era and a number of homes that at one time belonged to companions/contemporaries of the Prophet. Albahiya noted that while King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz halted the destruction of historic sites and ordered their preservation, only one well had a gate and none had signage or even security guards. OPPORTUNITIES FOR US BUSINESS IN MEDINA ¶10. (SBU) COMMENT: A Medina visit allows a rare glimpse into the activities and culture of a city of historic importance, not only to the Kingdom, but to Muslims throughout the world. The heavy volume of projected development, including the $7 billion Knowledge City project, should provide opportunities for U.S. business to explore alliances. While the typical U.S. trade delegation would be restricted to the city outskirts, perhaps never seeing their Saudi counterparts, headquarters, a trade delegation of Muslim American business executives, able to enter the holy precincts, could well generate more commercial traction. ¶11. (C) However promising the commercial prospects, tensions appear to persist between SAG officials and Shi,a pilgrims. If recent clashes at Baq,i cemetery (reftel) are an indication, the fabled tranquility of Medina could be in jeopardy. END COMMENT. QUINN