There are not enough police to guarantee the tourists' personal security and traffic at the entrances to the city remain chaotic. Many things that the last government promised are finally starting to flow with this government,' Diab says. Nazareth's success 'is an economic resource not just for the city but for the whole country. A cornerstone for the planned Shihab e-Din Mosque was laid in late November, spurred by local Moslems who donated NIS 1.5 million and 2.7 kilograms of gold for the mosque's construction. Zouaby, known locally as Abu Nawaf, says he could care less about the controversy's impact on tourism.
Tourists always seek out peace and quiet.
Zouaby does not agree that the controversy will deter tourists from visiting Nazareth. In Jerusalem, he notes, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Western Wall, and Al-Aksa Mosque all manage to thrive within blocks of each other. Any talk that they're not going to come to Nazareth because they're afraid is a lie. On a beautiful Sunday afternoon only a few straggling groups of pilgrims make their way from their tour buses to the Basilica of the Annunciation and back, ignoring the peddlers offering them 10 postcards for a dollar and similar deals. They come from the US, the Philippines, Brazil, Mexico.