http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1QPjbzdnloText version
http://www.petewaldo.com/mecca.htm(videos - History of Mecca - Mecca, the Kaaba, the Black Stone)
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The Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is considered by Muslims to be the most sacred and holy place in the world. It is said to have been built by Adam and became the first structure on earth. It is believed to have been commissioned by Allah in the shape of the House in Heaven called Baitul Ma’amoor around which the angels perform Tawaaf. The structure incorporates a black stone into one corner that is believed to have been sent down by Allah. So important is this site that Muslims from all over the world prostrate themselves toward the Ka'aba when they repeat their prayers to Allah five times a day. Muslims are also required to perform the "Hajj" at least once in their lifetime, which consists of traveling to Makka, and circumambulating the Ka'aba. Crowd size permitting, each round is to begin by rubbing, or kissing the black stone as Muhammad did, or at least pointing to the stone on each of the seven circuits one walks around it. The Kaaba is said to be situated at the center of the world with the gate of heaven located directly above it.
According to the Quran, the Ka'aba was re-built by Abraham and Ishmael, and has presumably been the center of worship for Allah's people, ever since. However in the 7th century AD in which Mohammed lived, the Ka'aba was a center of pagan worship, of some 360 rock idols that resided in and around the Ka'aba. Mohammed took issue with the polytheists and eventually gained the power to have all of the rock idols removed ..... except for the black stone - a meteorite - that still resides at the Ka'aba today.
So the question begs, that if Allah commissioned the above described building to be constructed at the center of the world, and below the gate to heaven, why then did God give Moses specific instruction to build a tabernacle on Mount Moriah, that was completed almost 3,000 years ago, that stood 766 miles from Mecca?
One of the difficulties with Mohammed's view is that there is no record - outside of Islamic tradition - of Abraham ever having been in Mecca. An even greater - indeed insurmountable - difficulty is that there is no historical or archaeological record of Mecca ever having existed, prior to the first few centuries AD. While there is plenty of such evidence that confirms that Arabian cities like Qedar, Dedan and Teima were established long before, there is no such evidence that Mecca ever existed before the Christian era.
Try a search like - archaeology of mecca - or - historical and archaeological evidence of mecca. If you can find some evidence that predates the first few centuries AD, that demonstrates that Mecca existed prior to the Christian era, we would appreciate you sharing it with us in the forum. In the absence of such archaeological and historical record, what can be concluded about Mohammed's 7th century religion?
If Mecca has been the epicenter of Islam since the time of Abraham, it would follow that there would be increasingly more archaeological evidence in the form of artifacts and such, the closer one traveled to this focus of Mohammed's religion. It also follows that there should be a greater pre-Christian historical record for Mecca, than perhaps most any other Arabian city, but no such record exists. Compare this to Jerusalem, for example, the epicenter of Judeo/Christian beliefs. One can hardly pick up a shovel full of earth in Jerusalem that doesn't contain artifacts, and the closer one gets to Jerusalem, the more concentrated and abundant such artifacts are. Indeed there are even one million artifacts on display.
In short, no Mecca before the 4th century - no Kaaba before the 5th century = no Islam.
Based on extensive historical and archaeological evidence presented by Dr. Rafat Amari (quotes and links below), Mecca was built around the 4th century, by the Yemeni tribe of Khuzaa'h, that had migrated to that bleak barren desert wasteland. The Kaaba was apparently constructed by Asa’d Abu Karb in the early 5th century A.D., when the black stone apparently made it's way to Mecca, most likely also from Yemen. It is said that prior to the construction of the Kaabah, a tent existed on the spot where it was built.
Geographers and historians from antiquity, note even small Arabian settlements before the Christian era that came and went within a few centuries, and while the historical accounts about, and artifacts from, ancient settlements confirm the existence of each other, there is no reference to Mecca or it's Kaaba to be found. This even though it was eventually built on one of the most established trading routes in Arabia about which historical record abounds, and in spite of the Muslim claims that Mecca was the center of the Islamic faith, for thousands of years before Mohammed. If this were the case, Mecca would certainly have been one of the most written about Arabian places, by those early geographers and historians.
There are references to lots of other temples, and even to a great temple "highly revered by all the Arabs”, that was of the Bythemaneas, located near Ilat in the Aqaba gulf area. (forum thread)
Even Mohammed's own tribe, the Quraish went on Hajj, or pilgrimage, to places to the north twice a year, long after the Kaaba in Mecca was built, indicating that the Kaaba in Mecca was a lesser temple. One of the journeys during the summer was to the city of Taif where there was also a temple called Kaabah of Ellat, or Kaabah of the Sun. "This Kaabah was more significant and much older than the Kaabah of Mecca. All Arabs, including the tribe of Quraish from which Mohammed came, venerated this Kaabah." (forum thread)
Back in those days when a meteorite was discovered in Arabia a temple would be built at the site.
Quoting Dr. Amari "The stone was considered the main shrine, or sacred element, in each temple, called Kaabah in Arabic. This revered stone, which represented the moon, was considered to be divine. The worship of the Arabian Star Family with Allah, who was the moon as its head, revolved around the black stone. Ellat, Allah’s wife, was the sun, and al-'Uzza and Manat, his daughters, represented two planets." (below)
There was no shortage of Kaabas in Arabia each with it's own black stone. Arabian Star Family temple design left its indelible fingerprints on those temples as well as on the Kaaba in Mecca, demonstrating that Abraham could not have built it even if the city of Mecca had existed before the 4th century AD.
Indeed no Muslim will deny that there may have been as many as 360 stone idols located in and around the Kaaba in Mohammed's day. Mohammed took issue with the polytheists, and finally gained the power to expell all of the stone idols, which he did ...... except for the black rock that Muslims still bow toward five times a day. In Islam, each Muslim is required to travel to Mecca to circumambulate the stone, just as the pagans did before Mohammed.
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It is also interesting to note that the name "Makka", is mentioned in Quran surah 48:24, and again in 33:50 (but in parantheses), and is somehow even suggested to be one in the same with the name "Bakka", that is found in Surah 3:96. Even if this were the case, Islam's holiest city - it's most important geographical location since Adam - would then only be mentioned three times in the Quran. Compare this with the name Jerusalem, which is mentioned 814 times in 767 verses, in the Word or God. Isn't that interesting?
Some Muslims suggest that there is at least a scriptural record of Mecca mentioned in the Old Testament as "Baca", by removing the following verse from context and suggesting a similarity with the name "Bakka", from the Quran.
Psalms 84:6 [Who] passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
But the most obvious difficulty with this claim is the very next verse:
84:7 They go from strength to strength, [every one of them] in Zion appeareth before God.
Zion is mentioned 153 times in God's Word because it is the name of the easternmost hill of ancient Jerusalem. Thus we see this passage describing a journey to ZION - to Jerusalem - to the Holy Land. Baca simply being a stop along the way.
In conclusion, in the absence of archaeological or historical record, notions of a pre-first century Mecca or Kaaba it would seem, become nothing more than a desert mirage. There is, however, abundant historical record of veneration of meteorites. Indeed there is record of men venerating black rocks in the many Kaabas throughout Arabia.
Perhaps before long Islam will cease to exist, in the mind of any rational person that is exposed to adequate resources, in this information age.
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URL to this spot
Quoting just a few, of a ton of sites on the Internet that attest to the absence of archaeological or historical record of Mecca existing before the first century, that reside in the company of an absolute dearth of sites that feebly attempt to confirm Mecca existed before that time, by citing sources from the 7th century and later, we find.....
http://religionresearchinstitute.org/mecca/index.htm * The Classical Writers and Mecca – By Dr. Rafat Amari
* Archaeology and Mecca – By Dr. Rafat Amari
* The Bible and Mecca - By Dr. Rafat Amari
* The Kaabah and the Arabian Star Worship – By Dr. Rafat Amari
* The Role of the Temple at Mecca in the Jinn Religion and in the Arabian Family Star Religion – By Dr. Rafat Amari
* The True Story of the Construction of the Temple of Mecca – By Dr. Rafat Amari
link to Religion Research Institute quoted below
"THE HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY OF ARABIA SHOW THAT MECCA DID NOT EXIST BEFORE THE ADVENT OF CHRISTIANITY.
"By Dr. Rafat Amari
The richness of the archaeological findings and inscriptions of many regions of Arabia.
Islam claims that Mecca is an ancient historical city which existed long before Christ, dating as far back as the time of Abraham. A powerful argument against this claim is the absence of any inscriptions found on monuments, or in any archaeological records dating back to those times. The ancient cities and kingdoms of Arabia do have rich histories which survive to this day through monuments, the inscriptions they bear, and in other archaeological documents. These historical records have given archaeologists a highly-integrated and, in some cases, complete record of the names of kings who ruled these cities and kingdoms. These records have also given archaeologists important information about the history of the wars fought over the kingdoms and cities of Arabia. In most cases, inscriptions and monuments in various cities – especially in the western and southwestern portions of Arabia – even give the names of coregents who ruled with the kings. Yet, even with this rich collection of historical and archaeological information, there are no inscriptions or monuments, or other archaeological findings whatsoever, that mention Mecca.
