GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

Taking Back Islam's Holy Sites

Dec 12, 2015 | 13:59 GMT

Muslim pilgrims circle counterclockwise Islam's holiest shrine, the Kaaba, at the Grand Mosque in the Saudi holy city of Mecca, late on September 21, 2015. The annual hajj pilgrimage begins on September 22, and more than a million faithful have already flocked to Saudi Arabia in preparation for what will for many be the highlight of their spiritual lives.

Muslim pilgrims circle counterclockwise Islam's holiest shrine, the Kaaba, at the Grand Mosque in the Saudi holy city of Mecca, late on September 21, 2015. The annual hajj pilgrimage begins on September 22, and more than a million faithful have already flocked to Saudi Arabia in preparation for what will for many be the highlight of their spiritual lives.

(MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH/AFP/Getty Images)

The culturally diverse and decentralized population of 21st-century Muslims is trying to cope with the implications of not having a single, coherent authority in one of the world’s biggest faiths. And one of the biggest questions it must answer is: Who should control Islam's holiest sites?...

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