the traditional pilgrimage to Mecca, through the experience of present-day American Muslims and learn about the origins of Islam in its birthplace of Medina in this media gallery from Sacred Journeys with Bruce Feiler. According to Muslim tradition, all of the world’s able-bodied believers must make the Hajj at least once in their lives. They strip themselves of worldly possessions and ask God’s forgiveness for their human failings. Pilgrims enter a sacred state of spiritual purity and wear plain garments. Then, inside the city’s Great Mosque, they walk in a circle seven times around the Ka’bah shrine.
The American West was indeed a land of great opportunity from 1865 to 1900 in the sense that there was an abundance of land and resources available to all those willing to go west.
Political leaders, including President Kennedy initially opposed the March out of fear of violence. President eventually gave his approval but political leaders were not part of the program.
