Do you know why there are sources discussing that it isn't? Admittedly can't really even find something reliable worth citing but see some historical Islam groups discussing Makka and Bakka as mentioned in the Quran and attributes to modern Mecca. But this doesn't seem to be in any mainstream articles or easily found academic paper

I'm not really familiar with the subject but curious what's the nuance I'm missing since it feels like there's a weird historical debate here I'd like to read up on

[–] Jilanico 7 points 5 months ago

I'm not sure. It's the first I've ever heard of it. The Western academic approach to Islamic studies is historically rooted in refuting Islam's credibility instead of objectively studying it, so you'll hear all sorts of wild assertions and conclusions that would make a five year old Muslim laugh. It may be improving these days, but I don't keep current with this stuff. Anyways, Mecca is literally in the Arabic text of the Quran, so it's not some translator filling in the gaps with interpretation: