Uh... hmmm.... You may have heard about all this "research" I'm doing for History 101. Yeah, well, I'll get back to the course title in a moment.
I'm doing my research paper, which is worth 25% of my grade, on the Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage, that takes place once a year. I have been struggling with this topic because at first, it was a very broad topic, considering all the books I had found at the library were like 200 pages. How am I going to read all of that crap in a couple of weeks AND do my other classwork for history AND the other classes? I decided to go straight to the source, the Islamic Center in Huntsville, AKA The Mosque. I wanted to speak directly to an Imam, or the person that leads everyone in prayer. Since there is no heirarchy in the Islamic religion, the Imam is the closest thing you would get to an Islamic "priest". I called the Islamic Center and spoke with a woman that would look in their library for a book about the Hajj. She told me that she would find me a smaller book and I told her that would be just perfect. She called me back and told me that she found a children's book. I was like, "THAT'S GREAT! That's what I need, something short and to the point."
I drove to the Center and :P didn't think about it, but upon entering, I believe I was suppose to have my head covered, since it WAS the mosque. OOPS. Some dude came up to me and was like, "Uh... can I help you?" I was thinking, "OH, SHIT! I forgot to cover my head and this dude KNOWS I'm not really pose to be here for prayer or anything." I told him that there was a book that this lady was holding for me and I've come to get it. Well, anyway, I got to take a short tour of the mosque. I believe it was lunch time for the kids because they were all in the cafeteria eating. I was EXTREMELY uncomfortable and in unfamiliar territory. Oh, well, I'm sure they knew I didn't know any better. I mean, the lady on the phone didn't tell me to cover my head or anything. Whatever! When I return the book, I'll wear my hoodie.
Anyway, this is what I learned upon doing research...I'll try to keep it short and simple.

This is Mecca, the first place the Hajji, or "pilgrim" travels to. Muslims come from all over the world to join in the Hajj. Every Muslim must take the Hajj at least once in their lifetime. The only people that don't have to go are people that can not afford to, are too old, or have a physical handicap. I've seen people in wheelchairs, so some of those people go anyway. This is because back before there were planes, trains, and automobiles, these people had to walk or ride camels, sometimes taking years to arrive.
Yes, those are people. Approximately one million people can fit inside the walls of the mosque. You can't see it, but there are thousands more people outside waiting to get in.

This is the Ka'bah, or "House of God", of which is mentioned in the Holy Qu'ran. Ka'bah in Arabic means "cube". The Ka'bah is used as a focal point for which all Muslims pray towards five times a day. This Ka'bah is said to have been built by Adam, later destroyed, then rebuilt by Abraham and his son, Ismail. You may have read a little about Ismail in the Bible. Ismail is the half-brother of Isaac, and the son of Abraham and his hand-maiden, Hagar. For some weird reason, Sarah said that she was too old to bare any more children, so she told Abraham to go do it with Hagar, and BAM! there was Ismail.
What is strange is that the Old Testament tells of Sarah, or course, bearing Isaac, then getting jealous of Ismail and Hagar, so she told Abraham to lead them out somewhere and leave them. God tells Abraham to lead them out into the desert and not to worry, they will be taken care of and He will make Ismail a great nation. It says that. Really. But in the Old Testament, the story ends here. In the Holy Qu'ran, it tells that while Hagar was left with her infant child, Ismail, in the desert, she became frightened because there was no one around and no water for her baby. She ran between two small hills, Marwa and Safa (?), looking for either someone to help her, or for some water. When no water was to be found, she's like, "Please, God, help me, my baby's thirsty", or something, so God answered her prayers and sprang forth a spring. This spring is called Zamzam, which means "to rush out" in Arabic. Anyway, she and her baby were saved.
I will tell you the differences between the story told of Isaac and Ismail that just might be the center of all disputes between Christians and Muslims. And maybe Jews, too, since they go by the Old Testament, also. Yeah, it gets pretty weird.
To Be Continued....
