LONDON (Islam Online) - The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has given permission to Britain to open a consulate in Mecca, representing the first time a Christian country sets up an official presence in the Holy City.
Non-Muslims are not allowed into Mecca, so the consulate will comprise British Muslims only. The head of the mission will be Lord Ahmad, of the Labor Party, and the rest of the staff will be Muslim diplomats from the Foreign Affairs department or Muslim volunteers.
The limited-purpose consulate will solely exist to help Britons make their Hajj, and will be closed for most of the year, opening only during Hajj season. It is estimated that 20,000 British Muslims will arrive as part of the 3 million people from all over the world who are expected for Hajj this year.
The office will open in March, and was only allowed "after long negotiations," according to the newspaper that broke the story, The Times.
"It's important for the people [in Mecca] to see the flag of Britain," said one member of the mission. "The British presence will be a message to every Muslim in the world, at this time when tensions between Islam and the west are rising. Britain is a multi-religious country, and this will help improve relations."
Britain's 2 million Muslims are concentrated in London, with some of its neighborhoods totally Arabized or Islamized, and finding shops with "Halal Meat" displayed in huge letters has become commonplace.
