Unleashing the Beast

68 / U NLEASHING THE B EAST

the same God worshiped by both Jews and Christians. As Mohammed preached his messages among the Arabs, those who chose to follow his teaching became known as Muslims and the religion was called Islam, which means submission. During Mohammed's time, there was much idol worship throughout Arabia. There were theological divisions among Christians, and the Jews and Christians were at odds with each other. In the Arabian city of Mecca, a conflict arose among the merchants at the Ka'ba. If the people believed there was only one God, it would destroy the pilgrimages and the income from visitors who came to pray before their god. Many Arabs called Mohammed a liar, a fraud and a false prophet. Eventually, Mohammed and his new followers were forced from Mecca and moved to a new city where they were received. Mohammed named the city Medinat-Nabi, meaning city of the prophet." Today, it is called Medina in Saudi Arabia. Soon a conflict arose between followers of Mohammed in Medina and the people of Mecca. Muslim groups began raiding the traveling caravans. Mohammed began teaching that if his followers died fighting, they would go straight to paradise. The 8-year war finally ceased when the people in Mecca surrendered to the Muslims. Mohammed declared Allah the true God, removed the idols, and made Mecca the center for the Islamic religion. He continued the pilgrimages to the Ka'ba and today one of the five pillars of Islam is that Muslims must pray at the Ka'ba in Mecca at least one time before they die This is