It grieves me.
It grieves me often to hear of well respected and decently educated persons of the Christian religion who listen to, and believe in, hearsay.
With the availability of the greatest research tool available to humanity, the internet, it would seem obvious that malicious rumours spread for the humiliation of an opposing belief system, would be seen for what they are.
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| The Kaaba at night. |
I do not often write on other religions, and I do not have much intention to do so as I am no authority on the inner workings of any belief system other than mine own. This blog post is posted out of desperation. Desperation because I am shocked at the claims some Christians (and those in authority) make at the massive expense and degradation of non-Christians.
Here I look at a claim I heard from an Anglican minister regarding Islam.
The minister stated with absolute sincerity that the Kaaba, the 'Holy House', within the most sacred mosque in Islam, was an exercise of deceit. The Kiswah (veil) which covers the Kaaba serves a practical rather than devotional purpose; it masks the many idols which the clergy conceal from the masses at the fear of bringing the faith to mockery. It was related to me that the reason why non-Muslims are permitted in the city of Mecca is through fear that the religion would be destroyed because of the revelation of hidden idolatry. I was further informed that there was an Anglican clergyman in the 19th/early 20th cent. who traveled to Mecca and documented evidence of the idols and that such documentation in the form of photographs though deemed blasphemous by Islam, can be accessed by anyone who desires to view them.
It is perhaps unsurprising that I never found or was given proper directions to see the photographs. Even if I had seen the images, I had no way of authenticating them.
Okay.
First of all, what is the Kaaba?
In short it is the centrepiece of the Great Mosque of Mecca, the 'Masjid al-Haram'. It is believed to have been constructed by Ibrahim (Abraham). In the time of Muhammad, the building had become a shrine to many idols. Muhammad is claimed by the teachings of Islam to have cleansed the Kaaba of the idols.
The present day structure dates from the 17th century, all previous structures were destroyed in war, fire, or flood.
It is required of every Muslim to orientate themselves to pray in the direction of the Kaaba, it thus serves as the central point of unity in the Islamic world.
Evidently it is of great insult to suggest that the Kaaba is covered in images which blaspheme the integrity of Islamic faith.
What is the Kiswah?
A beautiful veil of finest silk hangs over the granite cube of the Kaaba, this costly material, embroidered with texts from the Qu'ran in pure gold thread is the Kiswah. Kiswah is simply Arabic for 'pall'.
Every year on the 9th day of the Islamic lunar month of Dhu al-Hijjah (14th Oct. 2013, 4th Oct. 2014)
, the Kiswah is draped over the Kaaba. The previous Kiswah is cut up and distributed.
As you can see from these photographs, there are no idolatrous images on the Kaaba. Furthermore, there are none within its interior, remember, the present structure was erected in the 17th cent.
Finally
It is lamentable how such rumours may be spread within religious circles, and yes, there are no-doubt rumours about Christianity circulating religions outside of itself. But that is the point of inter-religious discourse. Isolated groups without discourse leads to fear on both sides and this is a grave injustice, not to mention a humiliation of the adherants' natural capacity for reason.
Next time you hear something terrible about something or someone outside of your socially accepted group, hold your judgement. Research it, ask questions, be careful of forming premature opinion. There is great injury made at the expense of a cheap jibe manifest in rumour.
