Banning Mobile Cameras at Prophet pbuh Mosque

Banning Mobile Cameras at Prophet’s Mosque Nourah Abdul Aziz Al-Khereiji, noraaalkheriji@hotmail.com

Many Saudi columnists including myself have written about the harsh treatment of women at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah in general and at the Roudha Shareef in particular. Unfortunately, the authorities have not take any action to improve the situation. We have also not seen any official response to such concerns. I am now writing about the same issue again. Let me tell you first about the problems women face at the entrance of the mosque and the humiliating way some guards at the entry points treat them. Some touch their bodies and check their personal possessions in a highly irritating and embarrassing manner. All in the name of security. These guides will ask visitors whether they have any mobile cameras in their possession. Those women carrying mobile cameras will not be allowed to enter the mosque. The guards, who don’t speak English, will tell non-Arab women, “No . . . No . . . jawal . . . camera no . . . rooh elal amana” (go to the locker). One can visualize the larger number of people in front of the mosque, especially after the call for prayer. Children, caught in the middle of the large crowd, will be crying while their mothers wait for their turn for inspection by the guards. The lockers are far away from the gates and the procedures there will take time and by the time they hand over mobile cameras to the guards the prayers will be over. All this is provided the visitors understand what the guards say and know the way to the lockers. I am telling this on the basis of my experience at Gate No. 29. I would like to bring to the authorities attention the following points: First, I have noticed that such humiliating body checks of women is taking place only at the Prophet’s Mosque and not at the Grand Mosque in Makkah and that there is no such checking for men at both mosques. Why this suspicion about women visiting the Prophet’s Mosque? Second, they say that mobile cameras are not banned at the Grand Mosque in Makkah because men and women are mingled there unlike in the Prophet’s Mosque where women have separate sections. But this argument is not true because there are separated prayer areas for women in the Grand Mosque also. Third, we request authorities to allow mobile cameras inside the Prophet’s Mosque as in the Grand Mosque. Both mosques are in the same country and under the same administration. If we the women of Madinah could find a solution by having a mobile without camera, this will not be possible for the visitors who come from foreign countries. They come to Madinah for a few days’ visit. Many told me that they wanted to carry mobile phones with them to keep in touch with their group to avoid missing. It will be inconvenient for them to keep the phone inside their hotels while going to the mosque because after prayer they usually visit markets around the mosque in order to purchase the things they want to carry back home. Four, women who come to the mosque wear modest dresses. If the ban on mobile camera was imposed out of fear of taking photographs of women, why do they allow security cameras inside women’s sections? Five, the progress of technology, the use of 3G mobile systems and the availability of small mobile cameras — some in the form of a pen — will make it difficult to detect the mobile cameras if some want to hide them. This demands from us to be more flexible in our approach to modern requirements. Do we want the foreign visitors return with the impression we Saudis fear or are ignorant of modern technology? Six, if the authorities insist on checking and preventing the entry of mobile cameras to the Prophet’s Mosque, it should be done in a more refined and polite way. For example, we can have modern inspection equipment installed at the gates. We also request authorities to establish lockers near all gates for women to keep their mobile cameras. Authorities should also inform the public that women are not allowed to carry mobile cameras inside the mosque. There should be notices fixed at the gates of women’s section to convey this message in different languages. Seven, many women visitors had to pray in the courtyard of the mosque in biting cold at early morning hours as they are banned entry to the mosque because they carry mobile cameras. Most of them had come to the mosque under the impression that they would be allowed to carry mobile cameras like in the Grand Mosque or are not aware of the ban. These confused women will ask their husbands to come and take their mobiles. In the meantime they will miss the prayer. Eight, I wish a high-ranking official had made a secret visit to these gates either in the morning or in the evening soon after the call for prayer to see the crowds and the confusion and hullabaloo caused by the guards. Our government is doing so much in the service of visitors to the Two Holy Mosques. There are malicious people who look for shortcomings in these services so that they can denigrate this country. Should we give them a stick to beat us with?