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RR RUEHBC RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHKUK RUEHLH RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHJI #0164/01 1261504
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R 061504Z MAY 09
FM AMCONSUL JEDDAH
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INFO RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC

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