Some of these rundown buildings, which have been abandoned for several years, are said to be occupied by jinns and demons. Many citizens living near these buildings have urged authorities to take urgent steps to demolish them, according to Al-Madinah newspaper.
The local residents said that many of these old buildings have become dens for criminals and those engaged in other immoral activities, especially after midnight. Some of these buildings have remained uninhabited for more than 10 years while other buildings provide cheap accommodation to non-Saudis who live on low incomes.
Fahd Banafie, a Saudi citizen living close to an uninhabited building in south Jeddah, said the building poses a grave threat to local residents in the neighborhood.
“Even if you only walk through the street close to the house during night, you would get an idea about what is going on inside the house. You can smell the foul stench of narcotics emitting from the building. Inside the house, you can see remnants of drugs and needles abandoned by addicts,” he said.
“One day while I was going to the mosque to offer morning prayers, I saw some drunken youths coming out of the building and staggering through the street. Local residents are afraid to allow their children to go out alone, especially after sundown.”
He added that such acts were a regular occurrence.
Abdullah Baadeem, another Jeddah resident, said the uninhabited building next to his house is a haven for criminals and those engaged in immoral acts. He urged the local authorities to demolish the building.
Commenting on rumors that jinns and demons occupy uninhabited buildings, Sheikh Muhammad Al-Amri, a researcher in the field, said that there are two types of cases.
“In the first case, devils may frequent those houses where the names of Allah have not been uttered for a period of 40 days. Secondly, devils occupy houses that are uninhabited for about 10 years,” he said while citing cases of devils and jinns that apparently occupied some uninhabited houses in Tabuk.
Speaking to the newspaper, Jeddah police spokesman Brig. Gen. Misfar Al-Juaid said police patrol units, especially squads from the criminal investigation department, have been making regular raids of such buildings to flush out criminals and those engaged in immoral acts.
“Owners of these buildings and those living in the neighborhood should inform police if they noticed any suspicious activities. Criminals, drug addicts and overstayers prefer to make these buildings havens for their illegal acts,” he said.
Brig. Gen. Abdullah Jadawi, director of the Civil Defense in Jeddah, said there is a committee to oversee uninhabitable and dilapidated buildings under the supervision of the Jeddah municipality.
“The committee through its safety patrol teams is closely monitoring these buildings to determine whether they are to be demolished or not. The committee then submits a report to the concerned branch municipality that takes appropriate action. The Civil Defense looks at these buildings on the grounds of both their safety as well as their security,” he said, adding that a decomposed body was discovered inside an uninhabited house in Kilo 7 last Ramadan.