الوهبي يكشف لـ «عكاظ» أهداف المتحف الدائم لتاريخ الحج والحرمين

The General Supervisor of the History of Hajj and the Two Holy Mosques, Dr. Fahd Al-Wahbi, reviewed the objectives of the permanent museum for the history of Hajj and the Two Holy Mosques in an interview with "Okaz." He explained that these objectives include building a comprehensive knowledge reference that documents the history of the Two Holy Mosques and the rituals of Hajj and Umrah throughout the ages, as well as documenting the major transformations in their services, stemming from the national care to enhance Islamic content and document historical memory. His idea began as a scientific encyclopedia under the name "Encyclopedia of Hajj and the Two Holy Mosques," before expanding to become a pioneering national initiative named "The History of Hajj and the Two Holy Mosques Project," overseen by the King Abdulaziz Foundation, in cooperation with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, represented by the Guests of Rahman Service Program.

He added that the "History of Hajj and the Two Holy Mosques" project is a pioneering national and knowledge initiative in the Kingdom, aiming to build a comprehensive scientific and historical reference to document and monitor the history of Hajj and Umrah and the Two Holy Mosques from the pre-Islamic period to the modern era.

Dr. Al-Wahbi revealed that the main objectives of the project include comprehensive monitoring and documentation by collecting and documenting everything related to the history of Mecca, Medina, the holy sites, and the rituals of Hajj and Umrah in a unified encyclopedic source, highlighting the civilizational development and shedding light on the major transformations and enormous developments that the services of the Two Holy Mosques and the pilgrims and Umrah performers have witnessed throughout the ages, especially during the Saudi era, and enhancing Islamic content by presenting this great history in scientific and modern methodological ways to strengthen the cultural and documentary presence of the Kingdom and establish knowledge platforms, as the project goes beyond mere authorship to launching forums, exhibitions, and specialized digital accounts.

He continued that the project includes many initiatives and main outputs to serve its goals in comprehensive scientific history, which is the massive reference work that is supplied with research and publications through commissioning researchers and specialists according to precise scientific standards. The geographical scope of the project includes (Mecca and Medina) and the urban centers affiliated with them, as well as the ancient paths and routes of the pilgrims.

In terms of forums and exhibitions, specialized scientific forums are organized, such as the "Forum on the History of Hajj and the Two Holy Mosques," which serves as a platform for knowledge exchange among researchers from various countries around the world. Preparations are also underway to launch a permanent exhibition on the history of Hajj and the Two Holy Mosques, alongside a historical illustrated atlas of Mecca and the holy sites, as part of parallel efforts that document through images and maps the evolution of the sacred places over the centuries, including images from Muslim and Western painters, as well as the earliest photographs. Digital platforms have also been launched as part of the digital and knowledge documentation of the project, to enable access to documented historical information for a wide audience.