THe Kaaba is a starnge stone building that stands in the courtyard of a mosque in the holy city of Mecca.in Saudi Arabia. The muslim pilgrims who are on their haj/pilgrimige circle the kaaba several times, and some go inside to pray. I understand that there is ANOTHER such kaaba in a mosque in Mocha(Yemen), and that once, this place was as popular as Mecca (as a destination for pilgrims). So, what gives? Did Mohammed intend that BOTH places be visited? Dis God visit both places?
Anyway, doesn’t the )apparent) veneration of these buildings VIOLATE Mohammed’s injunction against idolatry? :eek:
There is only one Kaaba. The Kaaba is believed to be (by Muslims) the first temple to God built by Abraham. They don’t worship it any more than a Jew worships the Western Wall.
The al-Djanad in Yemen is an old mosque that is modeled on the Kaaba Mosque in Mecca. Only one is the true Kaaba and only one is the focal point of prayer - the one in Mecca.
Pre-Islamic Arabia did have many religious sites. Most towns like Mecca or Taif had religious centres which focused on either small shrines like the Kaaba or statues.
Since much of the population was pastoral they could not have static religious centres and therefore carried with them images or objects of veneration; such as unusual rocks - again like the black rock at the corner of the Kaaba.
Mecca - and the Kaaba - was the most important because the town was situated perfectly as a gathering point on the trade routes which crossed the desert from the Persian and Roman empires into Yeman and Far East beyond.