Calendrical Rituals: Hajj

"At night, when they break their fast, many will only choose foods that are considered permissible under Islamic law. The Arabic word for such food is “halal.”"

" Although ritual is a central constituent of normative Islam (represented in three out of the five canonical "pillars"), normative Islamic ritual has attracted surprisingly little academic study ... "

"There are two pilgrimages to Mecca. Hajj – known as the Greater Pilgrimage and ‘Umra – the lesser pilgrimage. Hajj can only be undertaken between the 8th and the 13th of Dhu al-Hijja – the twelfth month of the Muslim calendar ... "

"The Hajj is an annual pilgrimage by Islamic religionists to the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Every Muslim is mandated by the Quran to make at least one visit to Mecca during his or her lifetime ... "

" We estimate the impact on pilgrims of performing the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. Our method compares successful and unsuccessful applicants in a lottery used by Pakistan to allocate Hajj visas. Pilgrim accounts stress that the Hajj leads to a feeling of unity with fellow Muslims, but outsiders have sometimes feared that this could be accompanied by antipathy toward non-Muslims ..."

"The annual Muslim hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca is underway, and more than a million pilgrims already have entered Saudi Arabia from abroad. Some of the key rituals involved in the pilgrimage are performed on the ninth day of the Islamic month of Dhul Hijjah, which this year falls on Oct. 14 ... "

"The five-day pilgrimage is a once-in-a lifetime obligation for all Muslims who have the physical and financial ability to undertake the journey. What is the religious and political significance of this annual pilgrimage? ... "

Nearly 2 million Muslims will gather in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia on Aug. 9 for an annual pilgrimage known as the hajj.

"I am grateful to be alive after a distressing Hajj experience – and urge all Muslims to protest about the inhumane treatment of pilgrims. Radical change is needed ... "

"Malcolm X, the activist and outspoken public voice of the Black Muslim faith, challenged the mainstream civil-rights movement and the nonviolent pursuit of integration championed by Martin Luther King, Jr. ... "

"Malcolm X was an African American civil rights leader prominent in the Nation of Islam. Until his 1965 assassination, he vigorously supported black nationalism ... "

"In a week following the Moslem season of pilgrimage to Mecca, The Hajj, Compass offers a rare insight into the nature of Islam accompanying six British Moslems, men and women, to Saudi Arabia for the 2001 hajj."

"Five British, American, Kuwaiti, and Pakistani Muslims undergo the excitements and rigours of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. In the process we learn of the inner workings of the Muslim international community and how Western Muslims can adapt to a surrounding society."

"There are growing calls from Muslims around the world to boycott the annual holy pilgrimage to Mecca over Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen."

:Travelling from Australia, Nasser Kat is joining more than 2.5 million other Muslims in Saudi Arabia to perform the compulsory Hajj rituals ... "

It's the final month of the Islamic calendar, so millions of devout Muslims are converging upon Mecca to fulfil their obligation to make 'the Hajj'. What's it really like, as an experience?

"Multicultural nations like Australia are home to people from many cultures and backgrounds - which means many different religions are also practiced. In Australia, Islam has grown in prominence as more people from Muslim countries make Australia their home ... "