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Why do modern scholars question the claim that the Dome of the Rock was built to replace the Kaaba as a pilgrimage destination?
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Dome of the Rock
Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem.
Modern scholars question the claim that the Dome of the Rock was built as a substitute for the Kaaba during the hajj primarily due to the strong anti-Umayyad bias found in Abbasid historiography, which emerged after the Umayyad dynasty had fallen.
Furthermore, historical evidence indicates that Mecca continued to serve as the destination for the pilgrimage throughout the revolt led by Ibn al-Zubayr, contradicting the narrative that the Umayyad caliph ‘Abd al-Malik intended to relocate the site of the hajj to Jerusalem.1