ABSTRACT
The symbol of Islam is not the Wheel of Dharma, the Shield of David or the Crucifix. It is, undoubtedly, the cube of the Kaa’ba. That immovable, stable and enduring symbol of permanence represents the absolute character of Islam. If there ever was a symbol that so completely represents the spirit of Islam it is the Kaa’ba: perpetual certainty, or ‘permanence,’ constantly surrounded by the ‘impermanence’ of orbiting believers who represent both dynamism and flux. This, after all, sends a powerful message: life is full of change, yet we often live for those things that don’t change. Clearly, ‘meaning’ in our lives exists as a consequence of permanence – and this is precisely what comes under question in the modern world. 1 Contrarily, this ‘permanence’ remains the mainspring of an Islamic ethos.
