What are the options to travel to Mecca or Jabal al-Nour as a non-Muslim?
- By
- Aparna Patel
- |
- 21 Jul, 2023
- |
An extreme option is to convert to Islam (which only requires reciting the Shahada), receive a certificate of faith from your local mosque and then travel to Mecca as part of an Umrah pilgrimage. Andrei Markelov from Russia went for this route recently and published a long blog post about his journey to Mecca and Medina.
Of course, this should only be done if one is truly interested in Islam and wants to become a part of the religion.
If you enjoy being deported and detained, then by all means try to sneak into Makkah.
Deportation for non-muslims caught in Makkah and Medina results in a lifetime ban from the country.
The signs are clearly marked; for example – for those coming from the East (Riyadh):
Makkah (the city) is entirely off-limits. It includes the buildings (and other mosques and religious sites) around Makkah and of course the Haram.
Now can you sneak by? Sure – you can dress in the ahram (the two piece cloth Muslims wear during Umrah and Hajj), and you may not be questioned.
However, considering that if you are caught, the punishment is entirely up to the judge I would not risk it. Note this is on top of the normal punishment which is deportation and lifetime ban.
The only way a non-muslim can legally go to Mecca is with special permission of the government, which you might get if, for example, you were needed to do some skilled work that you were uniquely qualified for.
Breaking the law in KSA is not a good idea.
Only Muslims are allowed to travel to Makkah according to the current rules of Saudi Arabia.
Is that an Islamic rule? No. Makkah during the prophet Mohammed’s time had non Muslims, they were never kicked out. This rule shows up after that, not sure when exactly, the point is: it’s not an Islamic rule.
Can you still visit, simple answer is: YES. There are check points before Makkah, they do not check everyone, but if they did and find you non Muslim, they will ask you to turn around.
If you manage to get into Makkah, then the chances of being caught is close to zero, as long as you do not cause any problems. What’s the maximum that can happen to you? To my knowledge, you will be escorted out of Makkah after a few hours in detention.
For me, if I was in charge, I would let everyone visit, it’s a great city on top of many little mountains with a great view of houses built on top of them. A lot of tunnels inside these mountains and really a fantastic mosque.
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https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Mecca
Non-Muslims are strictly prohibited from entering the city of Mecca. Road signs to guide non-Muslims are provided. The minimum penalty is deportation from the country. Documentation will be checked upon entry and anyone not showing proof of being Muslim will be refused entry. As a solitary exception, the Mecca bus terminal (outside city limits) is open to all.
More:
If you remain on the main highway, there is a police checkpoint just after the exit, where non-Muslims are kept out of the holy city.
Actually this is decision of Allah and he stated in Quran: “Oh you who believe! Truly the idolaters are unclean; so let them not, after this year, approach the Sacred Mosque”
Credit:stackoverflow.com‘
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