With little success, Mohammad attempted to convert the residents of Mecca to Islam (which means submission). He was scorned by the polytheists of that town and more or less banished from Mecca. He and his small band of followers retired to Medina. He returned to Mecca in 624 with an army and conquered it, compelling its residents to accept Islam as the "only one true religion" and Allah as the only God, and ordering the destruction of all pagan idols.
