Mecca is the holiest city in Islam because it is Muhammad's birthplace and the site where Allah first revealed the Qu'ran to him. The Ka'aba (Great Mosque) is considered the holiest site in Mecca. Wherever Muslims pray, they turn to Mecca while praying. A pilgrimage to Mecca is a pillar of the Islamic faith; if the individual has the means to travel there, he must go at least once.
A fascinating tidbit from this book explains that many Jews migrated to Medina, trying to avoid the Romans and Babylonians who threw them out of the Levant. In about 400 CE, a king of Yemen besieged the Jews. However, a delegation of Jewish rabbis met him and converted the king to Judaism. He returned to Yemen and became the first in a long line of Jewish kings over Yemen. It lasted until the nation's Jews migrated to Israel in 1949-50.
The Arabs of Western Arabia had believed, even before Muhammad, that they were descendants of Ishmael (not like the Jews, who view Ishmael's brother Isaac as their founder). This book is full of interesting facts I didn't know; I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The explanation of the Shia-Sunni conflict was clear.
A fascinating tidbit from this book explains that many Jews migrated to Medina, trying to avoid the Romans and Babylonians who threw them out of the Levant. In about 400 CE, a king of Yemen besieged the Jews. However, a delegation of Jewish rabbis met him and converted the king to Judaism. He returned to Yemen and became the first in a long line of Jewish kings over Yemen. It lasted until the nation's Jews migrated to Israel in 1949-50.
The Arabs of Western Arabia had believed, even before Muhammad, that they were descendants of Ishmael (not like the Jews, who view Ishmael's brother Isaac as their founder). This book is full of interesting facts I didn't know; I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The explanation of the Shia-Sunni conflict was clear.
