3 Responses to “Good Grief”

1. abuhatem, on July 22nd, 2008 at 9:27 pm Said:

   As an orthodox traditionalist Sunni Muslim (and conservative) I should inform you that there is not unanimity by Muslim jurists and classical Islamic jurisprudence upon the point that “non-Muslims are not permitted into Mecca.”

   Indeed, there is unanimity that non-Muslims cannot take up permanent residence in Mecca as holy land, yet many classical schools of Islamic jurisprudence (such as the Shafiite school for instance) did permit non-Muslim entrance into Mecca.

   While About.com does serve as an interesting resource sometimes - like Wikipedia - I would recommend Tim Winter’s Cambridge Companion to Classical Islamic Theology as a useful, erudite, and handy English language resource. Winter, a practicing orthodox traditionalist Sunni Muslim, gives justice to his subject.

2. Daniel Larison, on July 23rd, 2008 at 9:03 pm Said:

   Thanks for the comment. I appreciate the clarification. As a practical matter, though, a journey to Mecca would be extremely difficult for a non-Muslim under the current government, would it not?

3. abuhatem, on August 15th, 2008 at 8:56 pm Said:

   I apologize for the late response.

   Yes, the current government led by Wahhabi Islam (denounced as a heresy by the Grand Mufti of the Ottoman Empire in the 18th century as well as the Sheikh al-Azhar of Egypt) does not allow any non-Muslims into Mecca.

   Yet the Wahhabis do allow Shiite Muslims to Hajj - which are recognized as heretics and non-Muslims by the overwhelming majority of Wahhabis.

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