The last ten years have seen an increase in the demolition of sites in Mecca and Medina.

Criticism of policy regarding religious heritage sites The last ten years have seen an increase in the demolition of sites in Mecca and Medina. As the annual Hajj continues to draw larger crowds year after year, the Saudi authorities have deemed it necessary to raze large tracts of formerly residential neighborhoods around the two mosques to make way for tourism-related infrastructure. Opposition to the phenomenon discussed in this stub has been limited but vocal. While many believe that the loss of the old-world character of the two cities is the inevitable result of progress and much needed modernization, others worry that the anonymous steel and concrete façade that is reshaping the sites is detracting from the cities’ spiritual purpose. With nearly 20 million pilgrims expected to visit Mecca in the coming years^[when?], developers are forecasted to spend an estimated $13 billion on the largest expansion project in the city’s history. While there is widespread agreement for the need of facilities that can accommodate greater numbers of pilgrims, the development of upscale hotels and condominium towers, restaurants, shopping centers and even two luxury spas.^[9] has caused some to criticize the over-commercialization of a site which many consider to be a Divinely ordained sanctuary for Muslims (the very meaning of the Arabic word “Haram” is “sanctuary”). The rapid influx of capitalist investment in Mecca and Medina leads many to believe that money and economic growth are ultimately the bottom line for Saudi authorities. A proposition which critics argue works hand in hand with Wahhabi state policy that looks to impose a massive cultural and social deletion within the Holy Cities, erasing any elements that give way to practices that go against the Wahhabi creed. Destroyed sites  In 1801 and 1802, the Saudi Wahhabis under Abdul Aziz ibn Muhammad ibn Saud attacked and captured the holy Shia cities of Karbala and Najaf in Iraq, massacred parts of the Muslim population and destroyed the tombs of Husayn ibn Ali who is the grandson of Muhammad, and son of Ali (Ali bin Abu Talib), the son-in-law of Muhammad. (see: Saudi sponsorship mentioned previously) In 1803 and 1804 the Saudis captured Makkah and Medina and destroyed historical monuments and various holy Muslim sites and shrines, such as the shrine built over the tomb of Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad, and even intended to destroy the grave of Muhammad himself as idolatrous, causing resentment throughout the Muslim World. Below is an incomplete list of destroyed sites Mosques  The mosque at the grave of Sayyid al-Shuhada’ Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib. The Mosque of Fatima Zahra. The Mosque of al-Manaratain. Mosque and tomb of Sayyid Imam al-Uraidhi ibn Ja‘far al-Sadiq, destroyed by dynamite on August 13, 2002.. Four mosques at the site of the Battle of the Trench in Medina. The Mosque of Abu Rasheed. Salman al-Farsi Mosque, in Medina. Raj'at ash-Shams Mosque, in Medina. Cemeteries and tombs Jannat al-Baqi in Medina, leveled, still open access for men only.Jannat al-Mu'alla, the ancient cemetery at Mecca.  Grave of Hamida al-Barbariyya, the mother of Imam Musa al-Kazim. Grave of Amina bint Wahb, Muhammad’s mother, bulldozed and set alight in 1998. Graves of Banu Hashim in Mecca^. Tombs of Hamza and other martyrs were demolished at Uhud Tomb of Eve in Jeddah, sealed with concrete in 1975. Grave of the father of Muhammad, in Medina Historical religious sites The house of Mawlid where Muhammad is believed to have been born in 570. Originally turned into a cattle market, it now lies under a rundown building which was built 70 years ago as a compromise after Wahhabi clerics called for it to be torn down. The house of Khadija, Muhammad’s first wife. Muslims believe he received some of the first revelations there. It was also where his children Fatimah and Qasim were born. After it was rediscovered during the Haram extensions in 1989, it was covered over and it was made into a library. House of Muhammed in Medina, where he lived after the migration from Mecca. Dar al Arqam, the first Islamic school where Muhammad taught. It now lies under the extension of the Masjid Al Nabawi of Madinah. Qubbat’ al-Thanaya, the burial site of Muhammed's incisor that was broken in the Battle of Uhud. Mashrubat Umm Ibrahim, built to mark the location of the house where Muhammad’s son, Ibrahim, was born to Mariah. Dome which served as a canopy over the Well of Zamzam Bayt al-Ahzan of Sayyida Fatima, in Medina. House of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, in Medina. Mahhalla complex of Banu Hashim, in Medina. House of Ali where Hasan and Husayn were born.