The Minaret

Do you know anything about Saudi symbol? Actually, the most widespread symbol in Arabic countries, especially in Saudi Arabia, is the minaret. For instance, Mozammel Hague wrote about the minaret in "Al- Haramin in Makkah Al-Mukarmah." Also, Jonathan Bloom wrote about the same topic in "Saudi Aramco World." I think many people in Saudi Arabia don't know anything why the minaret is really important to Muslim people because they just know that the minaret is important, but they don't know the reason for that Therefore, there are many reasons that make the minaret is an important symbol of faith and power, according to Jonathan M. Bloom in "Al-Haram in Makkah Al-Mukarramah."

The first reason is that the minaret is very important because we believe in that in our religion. For example, in the past, there was a man who scaled the minaret who se name was bilal and called the Muslim people to pray for their God. Actually, we always pray 5 times, so the man on the minaret who is called muezzin calls us to remind us to come to a prayer. Also, it is important in my country because if any Muslim comes to a strange hometown and wants to pray, he will see the minaret because it's the highest part in the mosque so that anyone can find it. I think this one of the reason that makes the minaret very, very important.

The second reason that is the priority one is the minaret has a peculiar meaning for Muslims. Actually, it indicates the grandeur of Islam and that God's utterance always is regarded as above everything. For instance, when our prophet Mohammad told us about Islam, no one believed him especially people in my hometown; nevertheless, he was born in the same hometown which is Makkah in 570 AD. This was written by Dr. Mozammel Hague. After a while, many people became Muslims and our prophet Mohammad went up to the minaret and called the people to pray, but many Muslims were wondering about that. They really asked Mohammad why he went up, but he bravely said that we must admire our God so that he went up. Also, he did that because our God told him to do that to teach the new Muslims that they have to respect their God, his speech, and the prophet Mohammad. As a result, we still now call to pray from the highest part of the mosque.




Last of all, the minaret in Saudi Arabia is important because of our economy and tourism. To illustrate, in my hometown, there is the first mosque which is called Al-Haram. I think the reason for this name is that when we go to Al-Haram, we wear individualized cloth which is called Al-Ihram, so they derive the name from the cloth. Also, I think the one who established the first holy mosque is the first prophet Adam, but some people think that the one who did that is our prophet Abraham and his son. Therefore, many people come to Makkah to see the holy mosque and the biggest, highest minarets on it, so the government gains a lot of money because of these tourists.

In conclusion, the minaret becomes very important symbol of faith and power for several reasons such as that the minaret is an important thing in our religion, it has a particular meaning for Muslims, and the minaret attracts many tourists so that our economy becomes very good. I think you should visit Saudi Arabia, especially my hometown, Makkah, to see these minarets and know more information about them.

Work cited:
Bloom, Jonathan. "The Minaret." Saudi Aramco World, March 2002.

Haque, Mozammel. "The Masjed Al-Haram in Makkah Al-Mukarramah." The Islamic
Cultural Center & The London Central Mosque.