The Koran’s change of prayer direction marked a break with Judaism.

Evidence

In the midst of this struggle, Sûra 2 of the Koran orders the Muslims to change the qibla, the direction of prayer, from Jerusalem to the Ka’ba in Mecca. Some scholars have suggested that this represents a break with Judaism following the collapse of the Muslim-Jewish alliance in Medina. The Koran explains that the Ka’ba was built by Abraham and his son Ishmael. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 227

Categorization

• XREF: The shift of sacred direction parallels the reader’s broader interest in how communities sever or rewrite ties to prior traditions to assert independence.