A ministerial panel has decided to close down seven historic mosques frequented by Haj and Umrah pilgrims at Mount Sala' in Madina. The sites, according to Abdul Aziz Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Huseyyin, Mayor of Madina province, will be taken on by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs for renovation ahead of becoming historic sites. The decision was made at a meeting between representatives from the ministries of Interior, Islamic Affairs, and Municipal Affairs; the tourism authority was also represented at the meeting. The seven sites are believed by some sources to have been first built by the Prophet's Companions during the time of the Prophet (pbuh) and the “Battle of the Trench” when defending the city of Madina. Other sources date them to later times and say visits to the buildings are Bida' (innovation or heresy) and that they should be demolished. Some sources say that the Board of Senior Ulema had previously ordered the “cancellation” of the seven mosques and the erection of a mosque in the same area, leading the Ministry of Islamic Affairs to build the Al-Khandaq Mosque (Mosque of the Trench) which was recently opened at a cost of some SR26 million. The three-floor mosque holds over 4,000 male and 500 female worshippers. Informed sources have previously suggested that the new mosque would be to serve as a replacement for the seven mosques to be closed. The “seven mosques” in reality number six, but have become known by the name as pilgrims visiting Madina visit as a matter of course a seventh mosque, “Masjid Al-Qiblatayn.” Scholars say the mosques were constructed during the times of the uprising of the Quraish and other Arab tribes against the Muslims and one of the Prophet's Companions recommended building a trench as a shield against attack. __
