Medina: In the footsteps of the Prophet
- Bernd
- Feb 6
- 8 min read
Medina, once the forbidden city of Saudi Arabia
2024
الحب هو الدعاء الذي لا يجاب عادة
Love is the prayer that usually goes unanswered.
Arabic saying
"If you want to live, seek death"
Yes, can you get any more depressed??? I don't have my pills with me right now!!! It's August! Is it Christmas already? Or am I at a philosophers' meeting?
At least that's what's going through my head as I involuntarily overhear a conversation between two backpackers in a café. They're raving about Islam's second holiest city, which was forbidden until 2018 - or was it 2019? They're talking about Medina, also known as Al Madinah.
My journey was supposed to end in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. But when do you get the chance to meet the death that gives you life?
So why not?
I spontaneously book a flight with Saudia from Jeddah to Medina, the city to which the Prophet Mohammed, may God rest his soul, fled and where he was buried in 632 AD.
Medina: In the footsteps of the Prophet
The city of Medina, the city of the Prophet in Saudi Arabia, has a population of just under 1.5 million. It doesn't have the charm of Jeddah - at least for me. Islam is omnipresent with its millions of pilgrims. As in Jerusalem, religion has mutated into an industry, a billion-dollar business. All the souvenir shops, hotels, guest houses, restaurants, travel agencies and who knows what else live off of it.
I am a foreign body, an unbeliever whose soul is lost in their eyes because I do not submit to their morally charged ideology. This is how audaciously every monotheistic religion works.
What scares me less is religion itself. Every religion offers comfort. At least that's how it should be. No, I'm scared of this fanaticism, whether it's religious or political. Their earthly existence only knows black or white. The urge to convert everything and everyone is compulsive: obey or you'll fall into the abyss of hell.
Medina: In the footsteps of the prophet. This is more than just a tourist program. For the pilgrims, it is a calling, a task and a duty. In the eyes of the people I spoke to, any other faith is absurd and wrong. Religion is part of the DNA here, in this holy city, almost omnipresent. Everything revolves around Islam. And the business they do with it. Just like the Christians in Jerusalem. I already said that.
After all, the Prophet, peace be upon him, as the believers like to say, found protection from his persecutors from Mecca here in Medina. The nucleus of Islam emerged here. And not far from Medina, the decisive Battle of Uhud took place in 625 AD. The Prophet defeated the numerically superior army of his persecutors from Mecca. A world religion was born.
Why do you always have to blow yourselves up?
Anyone interested in the history of Islam can book a guided tour here at the As Safiyyah Museum, not far from the Prophet's Mosque. I take advantage of this and am guided by a 22-year-old from France who has Moroccan parents.
The tour is basically a propaganda event for Islam. The lighting inside the museum is almost mystical. The images projected onto the walls are almost naive in their simplicity, similar to those of the Jehovah's Witnesses. There is a lecture on the origin and development of Islam as a religion that brings peace. My guide is friendly, calm and speaks very good English.
He notes that we have some things in common with Judaism and Christianity: Abraham or Jesus, who is an important prophet in Islam. In addition to the museum, there are also shops, cafes and restaurants here. At the end of the tour, my guide invites me to eat. I gratefully accept.
He tells me about his bad experiences as a devout Muslim in France. He asks me if I am a believer. Not an easy question for me, given the atrocities committed by Christians in the name of Jesus.
I answer his question with yes. But not in the traditional sense. My God is not an omnipresent, punishing killjoy.
And with Jesus, I'm not sure whether we Christians have even begun to understand his message. He nods and stares at me like a snake at a rabbit.
I counter and refer to his bad experiences in France:
Maybe you shouldn't always blow yourselves up, behead or stab others in the name of your God and his prophet. A policeman was just stabbed in Mannheim, Germany. He reacted calmly, saying that these people who commit such acts are not devout Muslims. They abuse their faith for their crimes. Wow! I wasn't expecting that! But does he really mean it? At least we exchange views and listen to each other.
He: The West is pursuing a strategy of double standards, keyword: Palestinians.
Me: Then take in your Muslim brothers who become criminals in the name of Allah in Germany.
He: The only true faith is non-violent Islam and Muhammad is its prophet, peace be upon him.
Me: I'm talking about honor killings of women. The teachings of Mohammed are too brutal for me.
I tell him about my conversation with Fatima. See:
Our conversation is respectful. We avoid any form of dogmatism. It seems that my guide has received excellent training in rhetoric.
Back at the hotel, I witness a funny scene: in front of the Pullman Hotel, a little boy, much to his mother's dismay, points enthusiastically at an artificial, almost life-sized camel and shouts: "Moo-Moo!!!" "No!" his mother interrupts him. "That's a baaaaah!"
To be honest, I'm not entirely sure whether the mother is right, but I remain silent because I can't think of any sounds that camels make. That's just how it is: three people, four interpretations.
Uhud Mountain: on the abyss
I want to take a trip to Uhud Mountain, north of Medina. Mehmet will guide me. He offers his services in front of the big hotels and promises me incomparable experiences. So why not?
Before Mehmet climbs the 1000 m high mountain with me and his oversized and suboptimal SUV, he makes a detour to the caves, which were still open to visitors until recently.
Due to the number of energetic and cocky tourists, the city administration has now cordoned off the area.
Accidents have occurred repeatedly.
Not far from there, a woman comes up to me with a plastic box and offers me some dates.
I take one, thank her and assume she is showing pure hospitality.
So far, so good.
Just don't freak out!
At first it is a modest road that leads high into the mountains. Then the road turns into a gravel track and finally winds its way towards the summit, with steep cliffs on one side and bare rock faces on the other. Neither side bodes well.
Admittedly, there are higher mountain passes. But here on the gravel, the SUV's wheels keep spinning.
“Don’t you want to activate all-wheel drive?” I ask Mehmet, trying to remain calm.
“This car doesn’t have all-wheel drive.” He answers, also trying to remain calm.
“Oh.”
“Yes.”
Concentrated silence.
“How many times have you done this tour?”
“This is the first time.”
I nod understandingly.
The tour is still OK uphill. Every now and then another vehicle comes towards us. Then it gets narrow on the track. But the climb rewards us with a panoramic view of the white city of Medina.
The descent is much more tense. It's unthinkable if the vehicle starts to slide and lurches in the wrong direction, towards the abyss. Mehmet is glued to the steering wheel, and I'm sitting next to him, no less tense. "At least the weather is holding," he mumbles, more to himself. Rain clouds can cause raging torrents here in a very short space of time.
The amount of rain we are talking about can be guessed from the following picture.
Here, they try to channel the water that falls from the mountains so that the floods do not rush through the town uncontrollably.
This may sound exotic, but more people drown in the desert or are killed by boulders being swept away.
The situation begins to ease. The unpaved gravel road becomes wider again, with more room for the drivers. Mehmet is visibly proud and asks me if I could perhaps make a short video that he can then show his friends. Another driver parks his car below and waits until Mehmet has passed.
I remember the words of the backpackers: "If you want to live, seek death." To be honest, I don't need such challenges anymore. Life is quite pleasant as it is.
Masjid Quba, the oldest mosque in the world
Mehmet is determined to show me the oldest mosque in the world and takes me to Quba. It is already beginning to get dark. The building shines majestically in the night sky. Numerous visitors flock to the evening prayers.
The Masjid Quba is located on the outskirts of Medina, was built in the 7th century and is considered one of the holiest sites for Muslims worldwide. Legend has it that the Prophet himself laid the first stones. The alabaster structure made of white marble gives the mosque a timeless appearance. It has been renovated and expanded several times and can accommodate up to 20,000 people.
The mosque has six domes and four minarets. According to tradition, the Prophet visited this holy place every Saturday to pray. Today, shops, restaurants and cafes are located around the mosque to entertain the faithful.
Here you can enjoy a good meal and a drink. In the evening the temperatures are pleasantly warm. The area is accordingly well visited.
The Prophet's Mosque al-Masjid an-Nabawi
The highlight of the tour is the huge, well-secured area of the Prophet's Mosque. Countless people flock here every day to pray. Along with Mecca, it is one of the centers of the Islamic faith. Non-Muslims are not allowed in because this is also the burial place of Mohammed, peace be upon him.
The size of the mosque can be easily appreciated from the nearby Pullman Hotel. It covers an area of 120,000 square meters, or about 16 football fields. The area is more or less cordoned off. Non-Muslims who go to the square with the distinctive parasols must expect to be sent back more or less politely by the numerous guards.
There are numerous gates that one can pass through. Among the visitors are also many believers from other countries, so it is not always easy for the guards to separate the believers from the non-believers.
At first I stroll around the square in the usual tourist manner and less than five minutes later I am immediately identified as an unbeliever and expelled from the site. But it is also impressive, especially the huge parasols, which incidentally come from Germany. The parasols are 20 meters high and were built by the Liebherr company. When opened, they are 25 by 25 meters. Before they were installed, it was unbearably hot on the square, but you can stroll comfortably in the shade of the parasols.
I try my luck again the next day and enter the area with more confidence, stopping now and again to take a quick photo. And I succeed. I manage to walk almost completely around the mosque under the protection of the crowds. To be honest, I envy the believers a little for their simple order of - let's call it - submissive godliness. The pilgrims are united by an invisible bond of solidarity that all too easily becomes a shackle for those who (want to) step out of line.
My trip is coming to an end. Saudi Arabia and the friendliness of the people impressed me. I never felt threatened.
Of course I am aware that there are human rights violations in this country. Of course there are many things that can be criticized. And of course my way of traveling is a privilege. The country is just starting to open up to tourism. So what?
In my opinion, moral arrogance does not solve any of the world's problems. The open but respectful exchange of viewpoints in direct contact with people broadens our horizons and can help to reduce mutual prejudices.
Apart from that, we in Germany have enough problems of our own. Peace be with you.
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