Religious Significance Of Mecca

Religious Significance Of Mecca,Saudi Arabian,medina

The vast majority of Meccans are Sunni Muslims, with a minority of Shiite Pilgrims.The Kaaba is the site for many Islamic religious activities.

The Koran instructs Muslims to face Mecca during daily prayer. Initially the direction (Qibla) of daily prayer was toward the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem but Muhammad adopted the Kaaba as a physical focus for the Muslim community and so the direction of prayer has been thus from the 7th century until the present day. The Qibla gave rise to a field of study in medieval Islam, distinct and separate from mainstream Islamic tradition of mathematical geography and cartography.

The religious environment of Mecca is influenced strongly by the Wahhabi and Shafi`i schools as well as the wider conflict between liberals and religious scholars.