John+and+Harrison-The+Kaaba

__The Kaaba__ __By John Moore and Harrison Reid__

Images






4. Summary
These images are here to show to people that know very little about Kaaba and Islam what the "house of god" looks like inside and out.The first picture you see is the current day Kaaba from the outside. Many people pray at this spot because it is a monument not of the actual god's house, but that god is everywhere. Simply put it is the same type of monument as the Statue of Liberty, but instead of promoting peace, the Kaaba promotes Islam. The second image is of the interior of Kaaba. This is to give an idea of what this monument looks like from the inside. Supposedly pictures and videos are forbidden inside the Kaaba so no one can officially say with proof what the Kaaba looks like from inside. However there is one single video which has spread across the entire internet of a man supposedly inside the Kaaba but technically speaking no one knows except the people who have gone in this hopefully describes what the Kaaba means and the meaning of these pictures.
 * The Images of Kaaba**

The Kaaba is the most important site in all of Islam. Before recorded history this building was created by the patriarch of Islam, Judaism and Christianity, Abraham. The kaaba was created by Abraham after he was ordered by god (Allah) to construct a shrine that was the image of a house in heaven known as Baitul Ma'amoor. It was then the responsibility of Abraham and his descendants to watch over the shrine, this included Ishmael. Ishmael rebuilt the shrine using the only remaining piece of the original Kaaba, the Sacred Black Stone. This stone is wrapped in a silver ring and is said to have been given to Abraham by the Angel Gabriel. Today the stone rests in the eastern corner of the Kaaba. Soon after the reconstruction pilgrims began arrive to what was was and now is a shrine to Allah. It was the job of Abraham's descendants to host a feast in the honor of these pilgrims. This pilgrimage is now called the Hajj and must be completed by all Muslims at least once if they are capable of completing such a trip. The trip to the see Kaaba is absolutely crucial to to Islamic people. This is because making this trip is one of the five pillars of Islam, the very core beliefs of the religion. This site is extremely important to Muslims. This is a direct link to god and allows believers to have something to touch and feel rather than just listen about stories of great men. This can stretch to almost all religions. It will always be important for believers to have some sort physical space, item or building where they feel they can become closer to god and in Islam, that place is the Kaaba. **-John Moore**

3. Research
I think that artifacts are very important in the Islamic, Christian and Jewish religion. A lot of times religious artifacts represent the struggle of a certain religious figure. This is especially prevalent in the crucifixion of Jesus(Max and Anna's Project). I think that this makes people feel like they owe something to god and/or heaven, which keeps them faithful. I think all faiths hinge on the fact that people have to believe in something which there is no proof or facts to believe in. This is especially prevalent in the menorah. It is quite unlikely that a candle with one day of oil could burn for 8 days.(Billy and Caseys project). Also people believe in the Kaaba even though they have no idea what is inside. (our project) Artifacts seem to remind believers to believe and try to give people faith that the religion is real and true. I think if there was proof that one of the religions was real it would come in the form of an artifact. Religions are so old that people need artifacts to remember what happened.
 * 1) "Kaaba - The House of Allah." //Al-Islam.org by the Ahlul Bayt DILP - Home//. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Nov. 2009. .
 * To find this site we knew that we would get a lot of general information. Therefor we wanted to find something from a legitimate //Islamic// source that we could base spiri tual information on. We searched Kaaba and looked for a ".org" site.
 * All of this is from the view of a Muslim follower and that was something we wanted to have.
 * Small, Square building (60'x60'x60') made of stones
 * Said to have existed before recorded history
 * Construction was said to have been ordered by god (may have been Abraham, depends on your faith) in the image of a house in heaven known as Baitul Ma'amoor. This order was directed at Abraham; it is mentioned in Genesis.
 * After many years Ishmael built a second Kaaba where he found the remnants of Abraham's. He created it as a house of worship.
 * Ishmael and his descendants from then on watched over the shrine and soon an annual pilgrimage occurred where it was Ishmael and his family's duty to hold a feast for the Pilgrims.
 * Soon many people put individual idols in the Kaaba which Ishmael cleared out. He said: //"God does not live here, he is everywhere."//
 * Today Muslims must have a relationship with the Kaaba and therefor face towards it when they pray to Allah.
 * 1) "Kaʿba."//Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa//. Philip Mattar, ed. 2nd ed. 4 vols. Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. [|http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/History/]
 * We first found two other database resources that were not as in depth as we wanted so we went to the Gale world history database and searched Kaaba. This was still not as in depth as we had expected but was a great improvement from the first two.
 * The Kaaba is the most holy site on Earth for Muslims. It is the goal of the Hajj to reach this site.
 * was once the main shrine for //all// Arabians.
 * The first Kaaba was built by Abraham and then rebuilt by Ishmael; Ishmael used placed the Black Stone, the only remains of Abraham's Kaaba, and placed it in a wall of the current Kaaba.
 * Once included images of Allah, Jesus, Mary and Jewish symbols but these were removed by Mohamed and the shrine was dedicated solely to Allah.
 * Today a large mosque, the al-Massjid-al-Haram, exists around it. During the week of pilgrimage political demonstrations are prohibited.
 * 1) Martin, Richard C. "Hajj." //World Book Student.// World Book, 2009. Web. 11 Nov. 2009.
 * After completing our required research we noticed that the hajj was mentioned many times and therefore we need some information on it. We went to the World Book database and searched Kaaba because I had seen it before a few spots down the page.
 * The hajj is a holy pilgrimage pilgrimage to Mecca, Islam's holy city (Islam's Jerusalem).
 * The Kaaba is the final goal
 * Islam requires any Muslim who is financially and phys ically stable to make this trip at least once in their life.
 * This pilgrimage one of the five pillars
 * It lasts several days with multiple ceremonies
 * Completing the pilgrimage is considered a religious merit and the person who completed this trip is sometimes called a hajji.
 * 1) Martin, Richard C. "Kaaba." //World Book Student.// World Book, 2009. Web. 10 Nov. 2009.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This site is very similar to our second sight but is helpful because it clarifies certain things like what exactly is the black stone and what pilgrims do at the Kaaba once it is reached. We found this by searching Kaaba on the World Book database.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Islam's most sacred shrine and sits at the center of a great mosque
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Muslims turn towards the Kaaba to pray
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The black stone is encased in a silver ring and the reason for its importance is the fact that the angel Gabriel gave the stone to Abraham. It sits within the eastern corner of the Kaaba
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Built by Abraham and Ishmael
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Is the Chief goal of the hajj. Pilgrims walk around it seven times and touch the stone of the Kaaba once they make it to the shrine its
 * Mani, Mirial. " Mirialmani's Blog." //Mirialmani's Blog//. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2009. <http://mirialmani.wordpress.com/>
 * "HajjGuide.org- Multimedia Library on Hajj." //The Hajj Guide - A comprehensive guide to performing the Islamic Pilgrimage//. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2009. <http://www.hajjguide.org/multimedia_lib.html>.
 * What is the significance of the Artifacts**

For my project I researched the Kaaba, Islam’s most important site on earth. The Kaaba was said to have been created by Abraham, and later his son Ishmael after God (Islamic version would be Allah) ordered Abraham to create a shrine. Personally I believe that all religious sites and buildings help add something realistic to religion and give followers a way to get closer to god. The Kaaba is no exception. It was once the main site of worship for all Arabians, but now it is exclusively for Muslims. Visiting the Kaaba is a way to see something that was built by Abraham (the patriarch of Judaism, Christianity and Islam), a place that was visited by Mohammed, the chief profit of Islam, and a virtual creation of god himself. The Kaaba also houses the sacred black stone, a piece of history that was said to have been handed down by an angel (Gabriel). Followers would go to see all of these things and to follow the scripture of their religion and the five pillars. Surrounding the Kaaba is a large Mosque. Mosques (Denzell and Charlie) are the houses of worship in Islam. These building exist in almost all if not all religions and serve as a place of knowledge, learning and forgiveness. Muslims go to Mosques to pray to Allah and hope that with these prayers he will forgive them of sins and provide good fortune for the future. Mosques also serve as a place for worshippers of Allah to enhance their understanding of their religion and Allah himself; and, like the Kaaba, are ways for Muslims to get closer to god. The menorah of Judaism however is much different (Casey and Billy). The menorah serves as a way for Jews to identify their religion and honor their heritage. The menorah is a reminder of one of the many times when the Jewish people were persecuted by Syria. It is also an iconic item that is mentioned in the Torah and serves as the focus point of the holiday Hanukkah. **-John Moore**

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