re: lb: I wonder how this opportunity to photograph the kaaba is going to affect imagery of it. I can see world religion textbooks, encyclopedias, museums, etc preferring an image with an unobstructed view
presenting the *thing* of the kaaba rather than the… process? event? human-numinous-interaction? of kaaba
potentially shifting / creating a new public image of it (among non-muslims)
@Felthry avoiding the objectification of god is a pretty big deal in islam (broadly), so I can't imagine them being happy with anything that tends toward treating it as merely a monument or bit of architecture