Mecca both residents and pilgrims. Mecca's culture has been affected by the large number of pilgrims that arrive annually, and thus boasts a rich cultural heritage. As a result of the vast numbers of pilgrims coming to the city each year, Mecca has become by far the most diverse city in the Muslim world. In contrast to the rest of Saudi Arabia, and particularly Najd, Mecca has, according to "The New York Times", become "a striking oasis" of free thought and discussion and, also, of "unlikely liberalism" as "Meccans see themselves as a bulwark against the creeping extremism that has overtaken
Battle of Mecca (1916) the Middle East. Arab states came under strong European influence. The Ottoman caliphate ended and Palestine came under British rule, leading to the eventual installment of the state of Israel. The Sharif of Mecca was himself deposed by the rival Ibn Saud and his dream of an Arabian state stretching from Yemen to Syria remained unrealized. Battle of Mecca (1916) The Battle of Mecca occurred in the Muslim holy city of Mecca in June and July 1916. On June 10, the Sharif of Mecca, Hussein bin Ali, the leader of the Banu Hashim clan, started a revolt against the Ottoman