BURAIDAH, 11 October 2007 — Worshippers last night blocked the only road leading to the main Buraidah hospital with everyone praying in the middle of the road after the small mosque had no more room for worshippers.
The road to King Fahd Specialist Hospital was completely blocked by traffic police after men and women took to the street to pray Taraweeh prayers. Prayer carpets were put in the middle of the road to accommodate the large crowd seeking the Night of Power in the Al-Zuwayid mosque neighboring KFSH in Buraidah.
“Why are you blocking the road to the hospital?” Arab News asked one traffic policeman.
“Because of the prayers. Don’t you see the large crowd praying in the street?” the policeman replied.
The small mosque was full of worshippers even before the start of Isha prayers.
“So, worshippers spread carpets in the two asphalted roads surrounding the mosque. One of the roads is the only road that leads to the hospital,” said one worshipper at the mosque.
“It is un-Islamic to block the road leading to the hospital even if you are praying,” said Fahd Abdul Rahman Al-Modhy, who takes his mother to the artificial kidney unit at King Fahd Specialist Hospital three times a week. “Those traffic officers and policemen should be held accountable for not preventing those people from blocking the road to the hospital.”
Al-Modhy expresses frustration over the way these officials are handling the situation. “If this mosque is full, then go and find another one,” he said.
Hundred of empty bottles of water distributed to worshippers and other waste and trash were thrown in the street after the prayer ended creating a chaotic scene in the area. “It took us one hour to clean the waste left by these worshippers,” said one Buraidah municipal worker. “True Muslims should be true examples of others in terms of cleanliness and order.”
Fahd Al-Modhy cited the example of Japanese supporters who cleaned the part of stadium they were sitting in during one of the international matches their country was playing in Qatar.
“Islam teaches us to be human and considerate,” he said, adding that throwing waste in the street after a spiritual event contradicts with their prayer. “Blocking the road to the hospital is another sin.”
