In Nejd, in the centre of the peninsula, there is evidence of members of two tribes, Kinda and Taghlib, converting to Christianity in the 6th century. However, in the Hejaz in the west, whilst there is evidence of the presence of Christianity, it is not thought to have been significant amongst the indigenous population of the area. [187] The pre-Islamic Arabian religions were polytheistic, with many of the deities' names known. [1] Formal pantheons are more noticeable at the level of kingdoms, of variable sizes, ranging from simple city-states to collections of tribes. [12] Tribes, towns, clans, lineages and families had their own cults too. [12] Christian Julien Robin suggests that this structure of the divine world reflected the society of the time. [12] Trade caravans also brought foreign religious and cultural influences. [13]

In another beheading scene the executioner, dressed in white robes, raises the sword above his head and brings it down in just one sweep.Saudi Arabia Uncovered aims to reveal the hidden reality inside one of the world's most secretive and strict Islamic regimes and questions Britain's relationship with the country. Hawting, G. R. (1999), The Idea of Idolatry and the Emergence of Islam: From Polemic to History, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-1-139-42635-0 Carmody, Denise Lardner; Carmody, John Tully (2015), In the Path of the Masters: Understanding the Spirituality of Buddha, Confucius, Jesus, and Muhammad: Understanding the Spirituality of Buddha, Confucius, Jesus, and Muhammad, Routledge, ISBN 978-1-317-46820-2 According to Ibn Sa'd, the opposition in Mecca started when the prophet of Islam, Muhammad, delivered verses that "spoke shamefully of the idols they (the Meccans) worshiped other than Himself (God) and mentioned the perdition of their fathers who died in disbelief". [129] According to William Montgomery Watt, as the ranks of Muhammad's followers swelled, he became a threat to the local tribes and the rulers of the city, whose wealth rested upon the Kaaba, the focal point of Meccan religious life, which Muhammad threatened to overthrow. [130] Muhammad's denunciation of the Meccan traditional religion was especially offensive to his own tribe, the Quraysh, as they were the guardians of the Kaaba. [130]

Muir Abdallah's exhibit of gay erotic photographs of Arab men at ArtLab in Beirut City in Lebanon is over. But the impact of the notable first show of gay erotica in the Arab world still lingers -- and gives hope for more open expression in this new year.Sacred areas often had a guardian or a performer of cultic rites. [58] These officials were thought to tend the area, receive offerings, and perform divination. [58] They are known by many names, probably based on cultural-linguistic preference: afkal was used in the Hejaz, kâhin was used in the Sinai-Negev-Hisma region, and kumrâ was used in Aramaic-influenced areas. [58] In South Arabia, rs 2w and 'fkl were used to refer to priests, and other words include qyn ("administrator") and mrtd ("consecrated to a particular divinity"). [59] A more specialized staff is thought to have existed in major sanctuaries. [58] Pilgrimages [ edit ] Allāt ( Arabic: اللات) or al-Lāt was worshipped throughout the ancient Near East with various associations. [36] Herodotus in the 5th century BC identifies Alilat ( Greek: Ἀλιλάτ) as the Arabic name for Aphrodite (and, in another passage, for Urania), [5] which is strong evidence for worship of Allāt in Arabia at that early date. [45] Al-‘Uzzá ( Arabic: العزى) was a fertility goddess [46] or possibly a goddess of love. [47] Manāt ( Arabic: مناة) was the goddess of destiny. [48] The Himyarite kings radically opposed polytheism in favor of Judaism, beginning officially in 380. [92] The last trace of polytheism in South Arabia, an inscription commemorating a construction project with a polytheistic invocation, and another, mentioning the temple of Ta’lab, all date from just after 380 (the former dating to the rule of the king Dhara’amar Ayman, and the latter dating to the year 401–402). [92] The rejection of polytheism from the public sphere did not mean the extinction of it altogether, as polytheism likely continued in the private sphere. [92] Central Arabia [ edit ] Kaizer, Ted (2008), The Variety of Local Religious Life in the Near East: In the Hellenistic and Roman Periods, Brill, ISBN 978-90-04-16735-3 This undercover footage is combined with personal stories of those inside the kingdom, including activists for women's rights, and exclusive new interviews from senior British and American figures, to ask if it is time to reassess our relationship with Saudi Arabia.