Islamic State Eyes Mecca

Reports indicate that the Islamic extremists of ISIS are “planning to capture the city of Arar in Saudi Arabia” which is close to the Iraqi border and within a day’s drive of Mecca. The leaders of ISIS know that “if you want to control Islam, you have to control Mecca…ISIS knows the only way to enhance legitimacy among Muslims for its ‘Caliphate’ is to control Mecca” (The Times, September 26, 2014). 

Moslem history records that attempts to gain control of Mecca, the holiest city of Islam, have occurred numerous times down through the centuries. ISIS appears to be following the same path trod by the Qarmatians, a fanatical Islamic sect that swiftly conquered territory and established a utopian state in the same general region. In a dramatic and bloody move in 930 AD, the Qarmatians attacked unarmed worshippers in Mecca during the annual Islamic pilgrimage and slaughtered 30,000 worshippers in a few hours. Leaders of the Islamic State are now threatening to repeat this bloody spectacle, as they believe it is legitimate to kill anyone who does not agree with their ideas or beliefs.

]The brutality exhibited by ISIS certainly fits the biblical description, “in the last days, perilous days will come: for men will be lovers of themselves…boasters, proud…brutal…having a form of godliness” (II Timothy 3:1-5). The rise of this violent Islamic State and the struggle for control of Mecca could cause other Moslem nations to come together to protect their threatened holy city, which in turn could lead to the long-prophesied rise of the “king of the south” (Daniel 11:40-45).

For more on this important subject, request our booklet The Middle East in Prophecy.