Mullah Nasruddin went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, and on the way he passed
through Medina. As he was walking by the main mosque there, a rather
confused
looking tourist approached him. "Excuse me sir," said the
tourist, "but
you look like a native of these parts; can you tell me something about
this mosque? It looks very old and important, but I've lost my
guidebook."
Nasruddin, being too proud to admit that he, too, had no idea what it
was,
immediately began an enthusiastic explanation. "This is indeed a
very old
and special mosque." he declared, "It was built by Alexander the
Great
to commemorate his conquest of Arabia." The tourist was suitably
impressed,
but presently a look of doubt crossed his face. "But how can that
be?"
he asked, "I'm sure that Alexander was a Greek or something, not
a Muslim.
. . Wasn't he?" "I can see that you know something of these
matters." replied
Nasruddin with chagrin, "In fact, Alexander was so impressed at his
good
fortune in war that he converted to Islam in order to show his gratitude
to God." "Oh, wow." said the tourist, then paused. "Hey,
but surely there
was no such thing as Islam in Alexander's time?" "An
excellent point! It
is truly gratifying to meet a visitor who understands our history so
well,"
answered Nasruddin. "As a matter of fact, he was so overwhelmed by
the
generosity God had shown him that as soon as the fighting was over he
began
a new religion, and became the founder of Islam." The tourist looked
at
the mosque with new respect, but before Nasruddin could quietly slip
into
the passing crowd, another problem occurred to him. "But wasn't
the founder
of Islam named Mohammed? I mean, that's what I read in a book; at
least
I'm sure it wasn't Alexander." "I can see that you are a
scholar of some
learning," said Nasruddin, "I was just getting to that.
Alexander felt
that he could properly dedicate himself to his new life as a prophet
only
by adopting a new identity. So, he gave up his old name and for the rest
of his life called himself Mohammed." "Really?" wondered the
tourist, "That's
amazing! But…but I thought that Alexander the Great lived a long
time
before Mohammed? Is that right?" "Certainly not!" answered
the Mullah,
"You're thinking of a different Alexander the Great. I'm
talking about
the one named Mohammed."
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