Thanks for the link.......I have a few issues with their reasoning, not on any religious grounds, but on the fact that it had been spelt Mecca since before any arabic speaker decided what the 'correct' spelling was in 'English'.
In the same way that the British have no right to tell the French thart the correct spelling is 'London' not 'Londres'. You can't insist on changing someone else's lanuage.
However in the spirit of international cooperation I will try to remember to spell it Makkah here on QL, but if I was writing to an native English speaking audience I retain the right to spell it 'Mecca', so that everyone understood what I was writing about; 'Mecca' is the common usage and is the academic term for the city, whatever the Saudi's say. Very few have even seen the word spelt 'Makkah'
Thanks for the link.......I have a few issues with their reasoning, not on any religious grounds, but on the fact that it had been spelt Mecca since before any arabic speaker decided what the 'correct' spelling was in 'English'.
In the same way that the British have no right to tell the French thart the correct spelling is 'London' not 'Londres'. You can't insist on changing someone else's lanuage.
However in the spirit of international cooperation I will try to remember to spell it Makkah here on QL, but if I was writing to an native English speaking audience I retain the right to spell it 'Mecca', so that everyone understood what I was writing about; 'Mecca' is the common usage and is the academic term for the city, whatever the Saudi's say. Very few have even seen the word spelt 'Makkah'
Fair enough?
:)