The proposed plan threatens to demolish the historical eastern vicinity of the courtyard. This location at the foot of Jabal Khandima houses a small library that marks the site of the house where the Prophet was born, known as the House of Mawlid, the house of birth. This is in close proximity to the house of Khadija, the blessed Prophet’s first wife, may peace and blessings be upon her. As quoted by historians in Mecca, after the Kaa’ba, the most important site was considered to be the House of Khadija and Dar Al-Arqam ibn Abi’l



for it is largely through such monuments that peoples’ historical memories are stimulated and sustained, and the destruction of these memories will have profound implications for future generations’ understanding and knowledge of Islam itself.