India, Sept. 24 -- Mecca, the holiest site of Islam, became a target in the ongoing geopolitical struggle between Iran and the Houthis, and Saudi Arabia and other US-allies in the region. The alleged attack on Mecca comes just over a month after the inking of the Mecca Defence Alliance (MDA), also called the Mecca Pact, between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey in August.

It is unprecedented that Islam's birthplace (also of Prophet Mohammad's) has been pulled into the ongoing conflict. At the heart of the conflict are oil reserves, regional politics and sectarian faultlines between Shias and Sunnis.

Mecca and the Kaaba

The Kaaba, the cubical stone building at the centre of the Islamic world, is considered by Muslims to be the house of ...