Tag Archives: Kaaba

June 27, 2025 · 18:59

Something learned

That happens, even to me. Sometimes I learn something new. Yesterday it was through a story in the Al Arabiya (at https://english.alarabiya.net/News/saudi-arabia/2025/06/26/on-islamic-new-year-saudi-arabia-unveils-new-goldembroidered-kiswa-for-kaaba) where we are given ‘On Islamic New Year, Saudi Arabia unveils new gold-embroidered Kiswa for Kaaba’ with the byline “Made from 670 kg of silk and 150 kg of gold and silver threads, the new cloth is installed in a centuries-old tradition as fragments of the old Kiswa are gifted to world leaders and preserved in archives” it gives us “Saudi Arabia unveiled the new Kiswa, the black and gold cloth that covers the Kaaba in Mecca, on the first day of the Islamic New Year in a sacred tradition that dates back to the Prophet Mohammed.” As such this is a tradition that goes back a long time. I reckon that the event has been in place for over 1390 years and this is the first I hear of this? I know I had my mind on other things during primary school, but I was not that asleep and even after that I do not remember being told this, as such I reckon that many in the west didn’t know this. So not only were we told lies in school that the crusaders were there to fight of the saracens as they invaded to lands of Christ, now I learn that we were withheld a lot more than that? And there is a rather large setting. Consider the byline telling us “fragments of the old Kiswa are gifted to world leaders”, as such did no world leader in the west ever get this? I would imagine that Queen Elisabeth II got one, optionally Queen Juliana and/or Queen Beatrix as well. But I never heard this. So who is this event silenced? Consider that the new kiswa “The new Kiswa is made of 670 kilograms of natural black silk and 150 kilograms of gold and silver-plated thread. It features 68 Quranic verses embroidered with 24-karat gold-plated silver, all hand-stitched by skilled artisans using traditional Islamic embroidery techniques.” And I reckon that this should be shown in every newspaper on the planet, no matter if we are Christian, Buddhist or Hindu. This is an important world event and we aren’t told this. So, when was the last time that you were intentionally kept n the dark? I get that it might not make front page news in places like Munich, Rotterdam or London. But no mention at all? I reckon that if the internet has one job, it would be to inform the people. In addition we are given “It is produced annually at the King Abdulaziz Complex for the Manufacturing of the Kaaba’s Kiswa in Mecca, and its estimated cost is approximately $4.5 million (SAR 17 million).” I would state that the need for a YouTube video on this process is seemingly long overdue (that is if there is no taboo against filming the event. Not all religious tainted event welcome filmmakers. When in doubt, try to find film on the Vatican library (just saying).

And that part is now shown with “The Kiswa is replaced every year on the first day of Muharram – which falls on Thursday in the lunar calendar – in a carefully coordinated operation involving over a hundred specialized technicians. The installation is carried out using electric lifts and scaffolding to ensure that no part of the Kaaba is exposed at any time.” OK, I get that until the new year this is not shown, but after the new year. Could it be shown then? And we conclude this lesson with “To protect the Kiswa from damage during the Hajj pilgrimage, a white cotton covering known as the “Ihram of the Kaaba” is temporarily added to its lower portion. This barrier shields the cloth from being touched, torn, or stained as millions of pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba during the peak days of worship.” OK, I get that, but all of this is new to me and I reckon new to a lot of non-Muslims. So why were kept in the dark? It might be a Muslim thing, but as I see the news in Al Arabiya, I doubt there was a religious reason to keep us in the dark and this has been going on for over a thousand years (plus more then 300 years in change).

So, if my calculus is correct, every side gets cut into 14 pieces, which makes it one massive piece each. With the caption that the photograph has “The Kaaba’s Kiswa is replaced in an intricate ceremony.” I am merely given additional questions. None of this was known to me. I feel no guilt as I am not Muslim, but these elements give us a clear showing that the media is double guilty. To leave the people out of such an event is clearly the most near criminal event I have ever been a non-witness to. Even if people could not go to Mecca (non-Muslims are not allowed there). Is it so strange that no TV channel has muslims that could do this? The event is near boggling of unbridled proportions.

As such I feel I learned two lessons. The first of the event of replacing the kiswa, the second of the discriminating media of avoiding this event and my logic is sound. Because if no media was allowed, Al Arabiya wouldn’t have covered this either.

Have a great day.

The telling signs

That is at times the question. What one sees is not seen by all, there is no blame or shame in this. We can’t be looking in all directions, the simplest of reasons is that life is in front of you and we tend to look at life (for most of the time). As such I saw two articles pass by, well one actually (it makes sense soon enough).

The first one was the New Arab (at https://www.newarab.com/news/saudi-arabia-starts-work-huge-gold-kaaba-style-structure) handing us ‘Saudi Arabia starts work on massive gold ‘Kaaba’ style structure despite criticism’, my first setting was the word criticism. The word comes through 5 times including the title and three times it gives us “amid criticism that it resembles the Kaaba holy site in Mecca”, which is incorrect.

The Kaaba (as the pictures show me) is not an actual cube, I could be wrong as I have never been to Mecca for I am not a Muslim. The second setting is that the dimensions are off by a mile. This building will be 400 by 400 by 400 meters. I will hazard a guess that this structure could be seen from space, one of the few. The other part is that this would be a monumental achievement. As for the critique from social media, I let that be. I didn’t look into it and I reckon it will serve no purpose. The important setting for me (and initial worry) is seen with “The development will have retail, hospitality, leisure and office space facilities and is believed to be big enough to hold 20 Empire State Buildings in it when complete, Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) said.” You see, filling up 20 empire state building takes time and resources. That is beside the infrastructure needed. As my abacus dictates to me, that building alone would need to be fuelled and that takes at least a small nuclear reactor to do so. As I saw it there is an option if the outer walls have a second inner layer comprised of solar panels you will alleviate a lot of power requirements and even fuel more power to the city. I reckon someone looked at this at present, but it is the initial worry I see. That and getting water pumped to +400 meters. There are a few things, but the designers would have worked out these elements long before now. My mind is merely struggling with a building comprised of 64 million cubic metres. What is a fact is the massive achievements that Saudi engineers will make. A true world marvel. The previous achievement from that region was a near 5000 years ago (yes, they were the pyramids). That and the Neom structures will show the world that Saudi Arabia has made its match to anything else that was built on this planet.

I see a few other issues, but I will hold them. Not to sound stupid, but it might sound me anti-achievement and I refuse to be one of those negative people.

I wonder how spacious it will be on the inside. You see we think in (mostly) western dimensions and from the last 10 years we have seen buildings with a different approach. As such are all floors 18 feet high? There is a lot not known and I to some extent fear knowing to much in advance, but I am still curious. The other thing I wonder about is the impact it will have. Not impact as a social need, but the houses around the Mukaab. Depending on the position of their house, the Mukaab could now shield it from the blazing sun for at least part of the day. I wonder what will happen to these places. For now, we will watch (in awe) and see over the next 5 years how that building comes together. The other article comes later today.

Have a fun day

Stunting into stupidity

It started with an article in the Al Jazeera (at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/20/israeli-journalist-sneaks-into-mecca-triggering-online-backlash). The article gives us ‘Israeli journalist sneaks into Mecca triggering online backlash’, it gives a lot more and it gives us the man who topped the stupid bill (namely Gil Tamary) and the byline gives us “his report aired on Israel’s Channel 13 News had not intended to offend Muslim”, didn’t he? He wanted a showstopper, to be mentioned in history and he was utterly uninterested in the aftermath. He merely wanted to be first at the expense of everyone else. How did I get there? “Israel’s Channel 13 News aired a 10-minute report on Monday in which journalist Gil Tamary drove past the Grand Mosque that houses the cube-shaped Kaaba, the holiest shrine in Islam, and climbed the Mount of Mercy”, you see, the mount of mercy is a granodiorite hill about 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Mecca. This was all premeditated, and that was essential in making an article that would upset muslims, it was a stunt from beginning to end. The quote “The report was billed as a scoop and the journalist the first Jewish Israeli reporter to document the annual Muslim pilgrimage of Hajj.” Supports my point of view. You see, if the reporter was Muslim it was not that much of an issue, but Channel 13 news did not send a Muslim, did they?

You see only Muslims are allowed to visit Mecca, while non-Muslims cannot enter. The breach of this rule can result in a fine or deportation. And that rule has been in place before I went to primary school where we learn this. Gil Tamary needed a stunt, something to brag about over dinner for all time. He is the first non-Muslim to go to Mecca, a stunt too stupid to consider the impact of insult made to Muslims. Gil Tamary is an idiot, perhaps the biggest one in Israel, so that is the other stunt he can make claim on: “I am the biggest idiot in Israel”, but he will not try that path, will he? And in all this when we reconsider “The purpose of this entire endeavour was to showcase the importance of Mecca and the beauty of the religion, and in doing so, foster more religious tolerance and inclusion”, might optionally have been true if the film team would have been Muslim, if the reporter would have been Muslim. I saw Mecca, I saw the Hajj through the camera’s of Muslims. I spoke about it in ‘The media gets it this wrong?’ days before someone decided to sneak into Mecca. I never snuck into Mecca, people had covered their trip to Mecca, the trip of their lifetime and shared it with all others. Channel 13 had that very same option, but left it to the idiot of Israel (Gil Tamary) to make a fool of Channel 13 and to upset millions of Muslims. So if we see stories of upset Muslims if will be due to Gil Tamary a.k.a. the idiot of Israel. I feel angry, I feel angry that someone would disrespect any religion to such a degree. And you know what is even worse? When I seek ‘Gil Tamary’ I get: “5 results (0.29 seconds)”, the western media was willing (read: intent) to stay clear of this, the media who in large numbers would convict the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia lacking evidence, is not willing to go near this event. The media has become this warped! And no one is asking questions. No one is demanding evidence of such levels of misrepresentation.

So when will the media realise just how insignificant they have become? You see when other people will look at Arab News, Al Jazeera and other media and they see how misrepresented the news has become, what will they do? What excuse will they use?

I will let you ponder that part of the equation.

Tag Archives: Kaaba

Something learned

The telling signs

Stunting into stupidity

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