ABSTRACT
The stress upon the primacy of social and religious institutions among anthropologists and sociologists, the concern with ritual and its interpretation among both social scientists and students of religion, and the emphasis among orientalists upon tracing origins and influences in older cultures—all of these trends have found in Smith's work either a seminal or a corroborative influence. This chapter focuses on study of Muslim institutions has certainly been upon historical background and sources. It explores central characteristics of Muslim thought and action as they may be reflected in the mirror of ritual—not only for the eyes of the outside observer, but also for those of the Muslim observer. This is amply demonstrated by a survey of examples from some of the major studies of that most complex of Muslim rituals, the Hajj. In short, "orthoprax" Muslim ritual and symbolism have eluded or confounded the generalist even more visibly than the orientalist.
