Not related to the individual topics of this discussion, but related to the Problem of Islam:

What would happen if Mecca disappeared? The Quran, the-perfect-unchangeable-word-of-Allah-for-all-time, tells believers that Islam will dominate the world. Islam commands facing Mecca when praying, and traveling to Mecca at least once in a lifetime. Islam declared itself closed to reinterpretation sometime in the 12th century. If Mecca were to vanish, would this not cause (well, besides the obvious riots, murder, and destruction everywhere Muslims reside) some kind of religious re-evaluation? Possibly “the Enlightenment of Islam”?

I’ve been wracking my brain — how can the West force Islam to civilize itself? As long as Islam declares itself perfect and immutable, it’s stuck with its 7th-century warlord/slavery/shame/subjugation world view.
If Mecca goes, their Bbook isn’t perfect, Mohammed’s revelations aren’t perfect, and Allah himself may have some explaining to do.

I doubt Our Dear Leader Obama will do it, but I would certainly like to see the American President tell the entire Islamic world that ANY further attack on the US by any agent of Islam (whether obviously state-sponsored or the so called “rogue operatives” — the “misunderstanders” of the Religion of Blowing Stuff Up) the USA will consider the Ummah (all nations of Islam) to have declared war on us and we will do to Mecca whatever the Islamists do to us: nuclear or chemical or biological, whatever is visited on the USA will be done to Mecca. Perhaps we’d give them a 30-minute warning to reduce civilian casualties. But, ultimately, touch us again and Mecca goes.