Saudi Arabia is reportedly planning to modernise Mecca by building a retractable roof over the Kaaba - the most sacred site in Islam - in what critics fear will 'destroy the cradle' of the religion.

Although the new roof has not been officially confirmed, a video of the 'umbrella project' circulating on social media shows a scale model on display in the holy city demonstrating how the retractable roof would operate.

This comes as Saudi Arabia's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday vowed to restore 'moderate, open' Islam, breaking with ultra-conservative clerics in favour of an image catering to foreign investors and Saudi youth.

The video of the proposed roof appears to show two enormous white curved panels that move towards each other to provide shade for the millions of pilgrims who visit the religious site each year.

Every year, hundreds of pilgrims faint from the intense desert heat as temperatures rise above 40C. The difficult conditions can also lead to fatalities including in 2015 when 717 people died after a deadly crush during the Hajj.

Saudi Arabia is reportedly planning to modernise Mecca by building a retractable roof over the Kaaba - the most sacred site in Islam - in what critics fear will 'destroy the cradle' of the religion

Construction is due to begin soon and the roof will reportedly be finished by 2019, Major General Muhammad Al-Ahmadi, commander of the Grand Mosque security forces, was quoted as saying by Saudi media.

But critics are already slamming the controversial proposals.

'I can't understand for the life of me why you would destroy the cradle of Islam and all our heritage like this,' Dr Irfan Al Alawi, director of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, told The Independent.

'Nothing should cover the Kaaba from above as Muslims believe the mercy of God descends from the highest heavens.

Although the new roof has not been officially confirmed, a video of the 'umbrella project' circulating on social media shows a scale model on display in the holy city demonstrating how the retractable roof would operate

The Grand Mosque in Mecca houses the Kaaba, the most holy place in Islam, a square-shaped building that predates the religion itself

It is the Kaaba that Muslims around the world are facing when they pray towards Mecca

'This umbrella plan looks like a spaceship from a Hollywood movie.'

And this is not first attempt to modernise the holy Muslim site.

In July, it was reported that a Dubai tech firm behind Apple's new flying roof in California was due to construct an enormous sliding dome in Mecca.

WHAT IS THE KAABA? The Grand Mosque in Mecca houses the Kaaba, the most holy place in Islam, a square-shaped building that predates the religion itself. It is the Kaaba that Muslims around the world are facing when they pray towards Mecca. A duty for every able-bodied Muslim at least once in his or her lifetime, the gruelling five-day haj ritual is one of the world's biggest displays of mass religious devotion. Pilgrims converge on the Grand Mosque and follow a route around the rocky mountains of the ancient city in line with a tradition established by the Prophet Mohammed. Advertisement

In 2012, Saudi Arabia approved a 62 billion riyal ($16.5 billion) plan to modernise the transport system in the holy city of Mecca, including building a bus network and metro system.

This comes as Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince promised to restore 'moderate' Islam to the country.

'We are returning to what we were before - a country of moderate Islam that is open to all religions and to the world,' Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said at an economic forum in Riyadh.

'We will not spend the next 30 years of our lives dealing with destructive ideas. We will destroy them today,' the 32-year-old, who was appointed Crown Prince in June, added. 'We will end extremism very soon.'

Saudi Arabia has recently started to loosen its ultra-conservative rules, including allowing women to drive and hosting a mixed-gender national day. But it has long been blamed for backing terror organisations around the world.

Saudi Arabia's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 32, said that he plans to 'destroy' the 'destructive ideas' in the kingdom, which is known for its ultra-conservative rule

It was claimed last year that the Saudi Arabian government had links to the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington that killed nearly 3,000. Also, 15 of the 19 men involved in the attacks were from Saudi Arabia.

Additionally, Saudi Arabia is home to more jihadis who have returned from the war in Syria than almost all other countries, figures revealed this week.

Only Turkey and Tunisia are home to more people who travelled to fight for ISIS with some 760 having returned to their homeland, according to a report written by Richard Barrett, a former director of global counter-terrorism at MI6.

And the kingdom is 'at the top of the list' of countries exporting extremist Islam to the UK, a report from earlier this year revealed.

Today, Prince Mohammed, known by his initials MBS, said he would see to it his country 'moved past 1979', a reference to the rise of political Islam in the years following the assassination of King Faisal in 1975.

The early 1970s had ushered major change into the oil-rich kingdom, including the introduction of television and schools for girls.

CROWN PRINCE WANTS TO RETURN SAUDI ARABIA 'TO WHAT IT WAS' Prince Mohammed bin Salman said he would see to it his country moved past 1979, a reference to the rise of political Islam in the years following the assassination of King Faisal in 1975. 'We want to live a normal life. A life in which our religion translates to tolerance, to our traditions of kindness,' he said. 'Seventy percent of the Saudi population is under 30, and honestly we will not spend the next 30 years of our lives dealing with destructive ideas. We will destroy them today and at once,' the crown prince said. The early 1970s had ushered major change into the oil-rich kingdom, including the introduction of television and schools for girls. But that came to a halt as the Al-Sheikh family, which controls religious and social regulation in the kingdom, and the ruling Al-Saud family slowly reinforced the conservative policies Riyadh is known for. 'We are returning to what we were before - a country of moderate Islam that is open to all religions, traditions and people around the globe,' Prince Mohammed said. Advertisement

But that came to a halt as the Al-Sheikh family, which controls religious and social regulation in the kingdom, and the ruling Al-Saud family slowly reinforced the conservative policies Riyadh is known for.

'We are returning to what we were before - a country of moderate Islam that is open to all religions, traditions and people around the globe,' he said.

The crown prince's statement is the most direct attack by a top official on the Gulf country's influential conservative religious establishment.

While the Saudi government continues to draw criticism from international rights groups, Prince Mohammed has pushed ahead with reforms since his sudden appointment on June 21.

He is widely regarded as being the force behind King Salman's decision last month to lift a long-standing ban on women driving.

He has vowed to modernise certain sectors in the kingdom, hinting that long-banned cinemas would soon be permitted as part of ambitious reforms for a post-oil era that could shake up the austere kingdom's cultural scene.

In recent months, Saudi Arabia has organised concerts, a Comic-Con pop culture festival and a mixed-gender national day celebration that saw people dancing in the streets to thumping electronic music for the first time.

Saudi Arabia has also made efforts to diversify its revenue streams and overhaul its oil-dependent economy and conservative society.

Earlier Tuesday, Prince Mohammed and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund announced the launch of an independent economic zone along the kingdom's northwestern coastline.

The £380billion ($500billion) project, dubbed NEOM, will operate under regulations separate from those that govern the rest of Saudi Arabia.

Crown Prince Mohammed (pictured) has rocketed to the pinnacle of power in the kingdom, pushing a reform agenda called Vision 2030 which is aimed at weaning the country off oil and introducing social reforms

The 26,500 square km (10,230 square mile) zone, known as NEOM, will focus on industries including energy and water, biotechnology, food, advanced manufacturing and entertainment, Crown Prince Mohammed said.

And despite developing a city based on alternative energy, Prince Mohammed said that he still expects oil prices to rise.

Crown Prince Mohammed has rocketed to the pinnacle of power in the kingdom, pushing a reform agenda called Vision 2030 which is aimed at weaning the country off oil and introducing social reforms.

But critics say Prince Mohammed is not doing enough to liberalise politics in a country where the king enjoys absolute authority.

Monitors, including Amnesty International, say Saudi Arabia has in parallel stepped up its repression of peaceful rights activists.

Saudi authorities last month arrested dozens of activists, including clerics, without disclosing any charges against them.

Still, however, the United States and UK continued to sell arms to the country.

Saudi Arabia has been buying arms from the UK since the 1960s. British sales of military equipment to Saudi Arabia topped £1.1billion ($1.4billion) for the first half of 2017.

In May, US President Donald Trump signed a $350billion (£266billion) arms deal with Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shakes hands with Klaus Kleinfeld after Kleinfeld was appointed as NEOM's Chief Executive Officer, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund announced onTuesday the launch of, NEOM, an independent economic zone along the kingdom's northwestern coastline

SAUDI ARABIA'S LINKS TO THE SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACKS Last year, allegations emerged that appeared to connect the Saudi Arabia's government with the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington that killed nearly 3,000. It was claimed that at least two of the 19 men who hijacked four planes and flew them into targets in the two cities in 2001 had contact with Saudi officials before the attack. Additionally, the flight certificate of Al-Qaeda bomb maker Ghassan Al-Sharbi was discovered hidden in an envelope from the Saudi embassy in Washington when they arrested him in 2002. Al-Sharbi, who became an Al Qaeda bombmaker, is believed to have learned how to fly with the 9/11 hijackers but did not take part in the attacks. Shortly before his arrest, he buried a bundle of documents, which is believed to have included the certificate. The cache was discovered by US authorities and details, written in a memo known as Document 17 in 2003, were released without fanfare by investigators in 2015. They were only brought to the public's attention when an activist discovered them and wrote about them on his website. Osama Bin Laden, the founder of Al-Qaeda, the group responsible for the attacks, was born in Saudi Arabia Also last year, 28 formerly classified pages of a 9/11 report were released, revealing a myriad of supposed links between the hijackers and Saudi officials. The documents said two of the hijackers were 'in contact with, and received support or assistance from, individuals who may be connected to the Saudi government'. It also stated that the FBI and CIA were aware of possible links between terrorists Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi and two Saudi government officials, one of whom had connections to the Saudi ambassador to the United States Fifteen of the 19 men who hijacked four planes and flew them into targets in the two cities in 2001 were Saudi citizens Both al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 - the plane that was crashed into the Pentagon. The declassified pages also suggest that Osama bin Laden's half-brother, Abdullah, worked for the Saudi Embassy in Washington, DC, and was in charge of an organisation believed to support terror. They also reveal that the FBI had evidence suggesting a 'close associate' of Abdullah was in contact with Mohamed Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi, who were on board the planes flown into the World Trade Center. Despite the vast collection of evidence, the White House said last year that the documents showed no evidence of Saudi involvement in the attacks. In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, a separate US commission also concluded that there was no evidence of official Saudi connivance. Fifteen of the 19 men involved in the September 11 terror attacks were Saudi citizens, though the country has always denied having any role in the attacks. Osama Bin Laden, the founder of Al-Qaeda, the group found to be responsible for the attacks, was born in Saudi Arabia. Advertisement

The kingdom has engaged in a 60-year, multi-million dollar campaign to advance its extremist brand of Wahhabi Islam in British Muslim communities, according to a study by the Henry Jackson Society.

This has been achieved through endowment grants to mosques, the funding of Islamic education institutions and the training of imams, the report authors said.

HUMAN RIGHTS IN SAUDI ARABIA While women are now allowed to drive, they still cannot have any interaction a man who she is not related to without permission from a male guardian, and have no rights in custody battles when the children reach a certain age. The nation is also known for its feared religious police with lashings handed out for infringements as minor as a woman not wearing her hijab. The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, as it is officially known, is responsible for ensuring Islamic laws are not broken in public. But it has repeatedly been accused of human rights violations. In 2002, the committee refused to allow female students out of a burning school in the holy city of Mecca because they were not wearing correct head cover. The decision is thought to have contributed to the high death toll of 15. Another recent case has seen a blogger sentenced to a thousand lashes for insulting Islam having created a website called Free Saudi Liberals. The wife of Ensaf Haidar said the first 50 lashes, which were caught on film, nearly killed her husband. Advertisement

Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, said earlier this month that it would monitor interpretations of the Prophet Mohammad's teachings to prevent them being used to justify violence or terrorism, the Culture and Information Ministry has said.

In a decree, King Salman ordered the establishment of an authority to scrutinise uses of the 'hadith' - accounts of the sayings, actions or habits of the Prophet that are used by preachers and jurists to support teachings and edicts on all aspects of life.

The ministry said late on Tuesday that the body's aim would be to 'eliminate fake and extremist texts and any texts that contradict the teachings of Islam and justify the committing of crimes, murders and terrorist acts'.

Islamist groups such as Islamic State and al Qaeda have used interpretations of hadiths - numbered in the thousands and pored over by scholars for centuries - to justify violence and to urge supporters to carry out attacks.

Saudi Arabia's approach to religious doctrine is important because of its symbolic position as the birthplace of Islam, while its oil exports allow it to fund mosques abroad.

Its ultra-conservative Wahhabi clergy have been close to the Al Saud dynasty since the mid-18th century, offering it Islamic legitimacy in return for control over mosques and universities.

Prince Mohammed is widely regarded as being the force behind King Salman's (pictured) decision last month to lift a long-standing ban on women driving

THE CREATION OF SAUDI ARABIA AND RISE OF POLITICAL ISLAM King Faisal worked to modernise life in Saudi Arabia until his assassination in 1975 Saudi Arabia is considered the 'home of Islam, and is the location of the cities of Mecca and Medina, where Muhammed lived and died. In the 1740s, the founder of the Al Saud dynasty, Muhammad bin Saud, joined forces with the religious leader Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, founder of the strict Sunni form of Islam called Wahhabi. The first Saudi state was then formed in 1744, around the area of what is now Riyadh, which rapidly expanded to create the present-day territory of Saudi Arabia. After battling with the Ottoman Empire over territory for decades, a revolt backed by Britain in the early 1900s led to the creation of two states, Hejaz and Nejd. In 1932, the two states were united to create the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The new kingdom's large influx of foreign workers in the the oil industry increased xenophobia. At the same time, the government started spending more money, leading to large deficits and excessive foreign borrowing. In 1953, the Saud of Saudi Arabia became the kingdom's king. He was deposed in favour of his half-brother, King Faisal in 1964. Crown Prince Mohammed has rocketed to the pinnacle of power in the kingdom, pushing a reform agenda called Vision 2030 which is aimed at weaning the country off oil and introducing social reforms King Faisal worked to modernise life in Saudi Arabia until his assassination in 1975. The early 1970s had ushered major change into the oil-rich kingdom, including the introduction of television and schools for girls. But that came to a halt as the Al-Sheikh family, which controls religious and social regulation in the kingdom, and the ruling Al-Saud family slowly reinforced the conservative policies Riyadh is known for. And until recently the country has been known for its strict conservatism, which Crown Prince Mohammed is currently trying to change. Crown Prince Mohammed has rocketed to the pinnacle of power in the kingdom, pushing a reform agenda called Vision 2030 which is aimed at weaning the country off oil and introducing social reforms. But critics say Prince Mohammed is not doing enough to liberalise politics in a country where the king enjoys absolute authority. Advertisement

The traditional Wahhabi doctrine favors a strict version of Islamic law and a return to early Muslim practices, and views Shi'ites as heretics.

But senior clergy have denounced militant Islamist doctrines such as those of al Qaeda or Islamic State, while the government, which vets clerics in Saudi Arabia´s 70,000 mosques, has sacked many for encouraging violence or sedition.

The government has begun to promote an alternative narrative of Saudi identity that keeps Wahhabism as a central focus, but still allows secular themes such as nationalism and cultural heritage that predates Islam to shine through.

Saudi Arabia also has growing tensions with Qatar over its alleged support of Islamists, including the Muslim Brotherhood which is listed by Riyadh as a terrorist organisation - charges that Doha denies.

The Muslim Brotherhood represents an ideological threat to Riyadh's dynastic system of rule.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport links with Qatar in June over its alleged support for Islamists including the Brotherhood.

The government toughened its stance following the Arab Spring after it averted unrest by increasing salaries and other state spending but the Brotherhood gained power elsewhere in the region.

SAUDI ARABIA ANNOUNCES £380 BILLION INDUSTRIAL ZONE Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday a £380billion ($500billion) plan to build a business and industrial zone that links with Jordan and Egypt, the biggest effort yet to free the kingdom from dependence on oil exports. The city will be run entirely on alternative energy and be an innovation hub for the future and operate under regulations separate from those that govern the rest of Saudi Arabia. The 26,500 square km (10,230 square mile) zone, known as NEOM, will focus on industries including energy and water, biotechnology, food, advanced manufacturing and entertainment, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said. Despite building a city based on alternative energy, Prince Mohammed is confident that oil prices will increase, due to a need from petrochemical and other industries, not just for energy production. Image from promotional video as Saudis set $380billion ($500billion) plan to develop border region with Jordan, Egypt 'I do not think demand for oil will decline but will increase between 2030 and 2040,' Prince Mohammed bin Salman told a major investment conference in Riyadh. The ambitious project could lead the way in the use of drones, driverless cars and robotics. The kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, which the crown prince chairs, the Saudi government and global technology firms will help build the city. The announcement came as an international business conference got under way in Riyadh, drawing over 3,500 people from 88 countries. Arranged by Saudi Arabia's main sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the conference is labelled the Future Investment Initiative - an effort to present the world's top oil exporter as a leading global investment destination. Saudi Arabia's economy, though rich, has struggled to overcome low oil prices. Prince Mohammed has launched a series of economic and social reforms - such as allowing women to drive - to modernise the kingdom. Officials hope a privatisation programme, including the sale of 5 per cent of oil giant Saudi Aramco, will raise £228billion ($300billion). Riyadh is cutting red tape and removing barriers to investment; on Sunday, it said it would let strategic foreign investors own more than 10 percent of listed Saudi companies. NEOM could be a major focus of new investment. The Saudi government, the PIF and local and international investors are expected to put more than half a trillion dollars into it in coming years, Prince Mohammed said. Adjacent to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba and near maritime trade routes that use the Suez Canal, the zone will serve as a gateway to the proposed King Salman Bridge, which will link Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the PIF said. 'NEOM is situated on one of the world's most prominent economic arteries ... Its strategic location will also facilitate the zone's rapid emergence as a global hub that connects Asia, Europe and Africa.' There was no immediate comment on the plan from Jordan and Egypt, which are close allies of Saudi Arabia. Riyadh said it was already in contact with potential investors and would complete the project's first phase by 2025. Saudi Minister of Commerce and Investment Majid al-Qasabi talks to the audience at the opening of Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh Prince Mohammed appointed Klaus Kleinfeld, a former chief executive of Siemens AG and Alcoa Inc, to run the NEOM project. Saudi Arabia will need huge financial and technical resources to build NEOM on the scale it envisages. Past experience suggests this may be difficult. Bureaucracy has slowed many Saudi development plans, and private investors are cautious about getting involved in state projects, partly because of an uncertain legal environment. The zone, which will have its own tax and labour laws and an autonomous judicial system, is to power itself solely with wind power and solar energy, PIF said - a goal which may be hard to achieve in practice. But the project underlines Prince Mohammed's ambition to rescue the economy from severe damage caused by low oil prices. NEOM will reduce the volume of money leaking out of Saudi Arabia by expanding limited local investment options, the PIF said. A key source of future investment funds for the PIF, which now has about £1.75billion ($230billion) of assets under management, is the government's planned sale of a roughly 5 per cent stake in national oil giant Saudi Aramco, which could raise tens of billions of dollars. PIF managing director Yasir al-Rumayyan told the conference that Saudi Arabia was still on track to conduct an initial public offer of Aramco shares in 2018, but did not say on which stock markets the company would be listed. Aramco CEO Amin Nasser told reporters that in addition to Riyadh, possible foreign listings in markets such as New York, London, Tokyo and Hong Kong had been looked at, and a decision still had to be made. Advertisement