The annual pilgrimage of Muslims to Mecca, in west-central Arabia, is known by the term ḥājj. As a religious duty that is the fifth of the Five Pillars of Islam, the ḥājj is an obligation for all Muslims to perform once in their adult lives, provided they be of sound mind and health and financially able at the time. In 1982, from an estimated world Islamic population of 750 million, approximately 3 million Muslims were reported to have made the journey. The nature and size of this annual ingathering of Muslims from countless ethnic, linguistic, and political backgrounds, combined with the common sacred status that ideally makes princes indistinguishable from paupers, render the ḥājj experience an important expression of social and religious unity in Islamic culture.

ḤĀJj in the Context of Middle Eastern Worldviews

The duty of performing the ḥājj rests on the authority of scripture (Qurʾān) and...