Travis, a question for you, since you are studying this:
I have read that the most extreme jihadis WANT Mecca destroyed on the premise that praying to the black meteor is a form of idolatry.
Have you encountered this stance in your studies?
I don’t buy it. I’ve heard that Al Bagdhadi wants to bomb Mecca but I’d say it’s very lame agitprop. The IS is very serious about blowing up Shi’ia shrines and mosques, but I don’t believe it about Mecca.
Why?
Two of the Five Pillars of Islam depend on the physical entity in the Qa’aba (various spellings) in the center of Mecca. Without Mecca, they must fundamentally change Islam, and they can’t since it’s entirely based on the Koran with Mecca as its beating heart.