I just posted this on a last year's thread of what what happen If The Crusaders Sacked Mecca". The Qarmatians ("Green Grocers" in Arabic) lasted beyond their founder and are a fascinating study of forceful personalities' influences upon history far outweighing their numbers.
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Factual Qarmatians Sack of Mecca, 10th Century
Not sure if this was handled in any of the discussions, but while scrolling through it does not appear so. Mecca was indeed sacked as a Moslem city, by a group from the desert. It is still a matter of burning irritation within believers, and would indicate the level of ire for any organized group from one religion to sack the place:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qarmatians
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So what would have happened if that dynasty of the Qarmatians not only survived, but thrived enough to take over? After all, Islam it self was but one of many groups to come in from the desert and take over (Israelites were yet another).
These vegetarians killed 20,000 pilgrims in one year alone, and the leader at the time of the sacking had apparently completely broken off from Islam. They lived in interesting times.
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Factual Qarmatians Sack of Mecca, 10th Century
Not sure if this was handled in any of the discussions, but while scrolling through it does not appear so. Mecca was indeed sacked as a Moslem city, by a group from the desert. It is still a matter of burning irritation within believers, and would indicate the level of ire for any organized group from one religion to sack the place:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qarmatians
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So what would have happened if that dynasty of the Qarmatians not only survived, but thrived enough to take over? After all, Islam it self was but one of many groups to come in from the desert and take over (Israelites were yet another).
These vegetarians killed 20,000 pilgrims in one year alone, and the leader at the time of the sacking had apparently completely broken off from Islam. They lived in interesting times.