So I went to English school, secondary English school, so forget going to Mecca for my religious education.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Two young doctors - one from Harvard and the other from Dartmouth - invited me to go to Mecca in my husband's stead. And that is what helped put me back on track.
We must make it clear that our problem is not in Mecca but in Brussels.
When I came to California, it was the mecca of the world. Every young person on the planet wanted to be here.
There's one profound difference between secular and religious pilgrimages. It's inconceivable that a Muslim would feel a sense of anticlimax when reaching Mecca. But for a secular pilgrim, the potential for disappointment is always there.
New York is not Mecca. It just smells like it.
I'd love to go and visit the Mosque in Mecca again, just for the sheer beauty of it, not for God - much the way a non-Catholic might go to Vatican City because of the beauty of the buildings and the artifacts.
There is no doubt in the sanctity of Mecca, but a donkey won't become a Hajj pilgrim by just going through the motions.
The mosque was the neighbourhood house of worship, but it was also the place where my high school friends and I came to study.
I did a lot of things as a Muslim that I am sorry for now.
I have been blessed to visit the Holy City of Mecca.