Saudi Muslim Religious Art: "Mecca"

This box with a diorama presents the stadium in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, containing the Kaaba, that is the focus of the Hajj. The bottom of the box presents the Muslim declaration of faith, or the Shahada in Arabic.

The Hajj and Shahada are two of the Five Pillars of Islam. The pillars are five basic acts in Islam, considered obligatory by Sunni Muslims. The Qur'an presents them as a framework for worship and a sign of commitment to the faith. They are (1) the shahada (creed), (2) daily prayers, (3) fasting during Ramadan, (4) almsgiving , and (5) the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime.

The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca. It is the largest pilgrimage in the world. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God. The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th and last month of the Islamic calendar.

The Hajj is associated with the life of Islamic prophet Muhammad from the 7th century, but the ritual of pilgrimage to Mecca is considered by Muslims to stretch back thousands of years to the time of Abraham (Ibrahim).

Pilgrims join processions of hundreds of thousands of people, who simultaneously converge on Mecca for the week of the Hajj, and perform a series of rituals, including walking counter-clockwise seven times around the Kaaba, the holiest building in Islam. The Kaaba, the cube-shaped building, contains a sacred stone linking earth to heaven. The pilgrims then shave their heads, perform a ritual of animal sacrifice, and celebrate the three day global festival of Eid al-Adha.

The shehada, or declaration, states that there is no god worthy of worship except God and Muhammad is His messenger.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hajj
http://www.islamicity.com/mosque/pillars.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Pillars_of_Islam