Pilgrimage in Islam: Traditional and Modern Practices

by Sophia Rose Arjana

Overview

It is not only the holy cities of Mecca and Karbala to which Muslim pilgrims travel, but a wide variety of sacred sites around the world. Journeys are undertaken to visit graves of important historical and religious individuals, the tombs of saints, and natural sites such as mountaintops and springs.

Exploring the richness and diversity of traditions practiced by the 1.5 billion Muslims across the world, Sophia Rose Arjana provides a rigorous theoretical discussion of pilgrimage, ritual practice and the nature of sacred space in Islam, both historically and in the present day. This all-encompassing survey covers issues such as time, space, tourism, virtual pilgrimages and the use of computers and smartphone apps. Lucidly written, informative and accessible, it is perfectly suited to students, scholars and the general reader seeking a comprehensive picture of the defining ritual of religious pilgrimage in Islam.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781786071170
Publisher:	Oneworld Publications
Publication date:	06/15/2017
Series:	The Foundations of Islam
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	607,669
File size:	13 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Sophia Rose Arjana is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Western Kentucky University. Her first book, Muslims in the Western Imagination, was a CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title of 2015.
Sophia Rose Arjana is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Western Kentucky University. Her previous books include Pilgrimage in Islam and Muslims in the Western Imagination, which was a CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title of the Year. She lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations

Foreword by Omid Safi

Introduction: Beyond Hajj

1 Reconsidering Islamic Pilgrimage: Theoretical and Sectarian Debates

2 Nascent Pilgrimage Centers: Jerusalem, Mecca, and Medina

3 Shi‘i Pilgrimage: The Prophet’s Household

4 Sufi and Shared Pilgrimages: Contestations of Identity

5 Modern Muslim Pilgrims: Tourism, Space, and Technology



Afterword: Presuppositions and Possibilities in the Study of Islamic Pilgrimage

Acknowledgments

Glossary

Bibliography

Notes

Index

Editorial Reviews

★ 05/29/2017
Arjana, a researcher and former professor of Islamic studies at the University of Denver, provides an account of the different modes of pilgrimages in Islam. The book covers the contemporary dynamics of hajj to Mecca and the many prominent Shia holy sites with visiting traditions as well as more local pilgrimage traditions, such as visiting the graves of revered religious figures in Senegal, India, and Java. Arjana’s research adds new perspective to even the most prominent example of Muslim pilgrimages, the hajj, such as the observation that Jerusalem was originally a pilgrimage site with greater prestige than Mecca, or that local traditions often mimic and replicate the requirements of the hajj on smaller scales, making the basic experiences available to a wider range of Muslims. The writing is lucid and engaging, and the research is thorough and sensitive to complexity, such as in outlining the challenge of defining Sufism. This work, though slim, meets the high standards of academics while being accessible to the layperson interested in the diversity of Islamic thought and practice. (July)

Publishers Weekly

‘Supplementing recent scholarship on the annual hajj, Pilgrimage in Islam helps readers think more capaciously about the array of sacred journeys Muslims have made over fourteen centuries. Sophia Arjana attends to material, textual, and technological dimensions of pilgrimage, and broadens restrictive understandings of what it means to study Islam.’

Kecia Ali

‘By focusing on living traditions, Arjana helps to combat the static and old-fashioned presentations of Islam typically available. Clearly and engagingly written, this work will be of great value to students in courses in comparative religion as well as to students and scholars of Islam.’

Theodore Vial

‘An important contribution... The scope of this book, which considers Islam from a global perspective, along with its emphasis on theories of ritual and space, makes it an invaluable resource.’

Cyrus Ali Zargar

‘For those expecting another description of hajj rituals or histories, Arjana’s Pilgrimage in Islam delivers a welcome surprise. It is at once theoretically sophisticated and accessible, elegant and thoughtful, appreciative of the wide variety of pilgrimage practices and impressive in its detail. Arjana has stitched us a beautiful quilt of the many ways in which Muslims have and continue to travel and visit, pray and plead, at Muslim pilgrimage sites the world over.’

Juliane Hammer

08/01/2017
Arjana (Islamic studies, Iliff Sch. of Theology, Denver) states that a pilgrimage in Islam is far more than the TV images of thousands of people gathering at the Kaaba, a scared mosque in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The author maintains that the cultural diversity and sectarian varieties of rituals, languages, and countries are elegantly illuminated through the prism of an Islamic pilgrimage. Combining anthropology and religious history, Arjana seeks to disavow readers of the narrow fundamentalist picture of Islam, demonstrating the synergy in places such as the Great Mosque of Damascus and the Sayyidah Ruqayya Mosque, both in Syria. The journey can be interior, contemplative, and even virtual, as technology now allows for a cyber-pilgrimage. VERDICT Arjana successfully negotiates among history, belief, practice, and the methodological agnosticism of religious studies to provide a fascinating guide to a vibrant and dynamic tradition. A clearly written work well worth reading.—SC

Library Journal