Crackdown on illegal souvenir vendors intensified in Makkah

 Saudi authorities have intensified their crackdown on unauthorized production and sale of souvenirs representing religious symbols, reported saudigazette.

The officials had previously notified the shops about a ban on the sale such items.

A great many explorers who visit Makkah purchase souvenirs to bring home as blessings to precious ones and furthermore to protect the memory of their visit to the heavenly city. Making and pitching gifts to the pioneers is lucrative business, which is dominated by expatriate workers.

The authorities have lately turned their attention to unauthorized manufacturing of souvenir items representing important religious symbols including the Holy Kaaba.

On Monday, officials from Makkah Municipality, with support from security forces, raided a sewing facility that skillfully produced embroidered cloth that looked like the pieces of the kiswa (the black and gold cover) of the Holy Kaaba.

They arrested 20 expatriate craftsmen of various nationalities from the location. The expatriate workers had turned their residence in Al-Otaibiyah neighborhood of the city into an illegal factory for sewing the fake kiswa and other souvenir items.

The officials, accompanied by police, stormed the building after the municipality was tipped off about the illegal activity by citizens.

The authorities additionally appropriated 18 fueled sewing machines, 5 weaving machines and other gear alongside an enormous amount of fabric, as per an announcement issued by the district. 

During the raid, the officials seized pieces of black silk cloth with Qur’an verses embroidered into them with golden threads to make them look as if they are pieces of the Kaaba kiswa.

Skilled craftsmen from Bangladesh, India and Burma worked in the factory. Apparently, they were trying to make money by selling the cloth pieces to unsuspecting pilgrims, who would be eager to buy them believing them to be pieces of the Kaaba cover. The Holy Kaaba represents the Qibla, or the direction in which Muslims all around the world face when performing the prayer. The cover of the Kaaba is one of the most important symbols of veneration in the House of Allah. Its history is as much a part of the history of the Kaaba itself.

The frame and plan of the kiswa advanced because of various social and financial factors specifically times of history. 

At the point when the kiswa is supplanted with another one as is standard on Dhul Hijjah 9 consistently, the old kiswa is sliced into pieces and displayed to vital dignitaries from around the globe as keepsakes. One such piece is safeguarded in the United Nations.