ABSTRACT
Religious pilgrimage and holy visits to sanctuaries are a widespread phenomenon in the Maghreb and Middle East. Hajj (pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca), on the one hand, and ziyara (visits to shrines), on the other, are seen by most people, devout or not, as distinct social practices and not to be compared or thought in relation to one another. Nevertheless, anthropologists and historians of the Muslim world have shown how the two share a common symbolic history and similar practices. The numerous local pilgrimages are always emically considered secondary to the pilgrimage to Mecca but despite the clear distinction in local discourse, they may under certain conditions be presented as pilgrimages of substitution. Consequently, the notion of pilgrimage in the Muslim world, whether Arab or not, has long been studied through the model of and in relation with hajj. While people prepare throughout the year for hajj, from Morocco to Iran and further east, in urban or rural settings, holy men and women are visited and worshipped at any time for the intercession they provide. Hence, although hajj and ziyara can be studied for themselves, they should not be totally separated from one another. Every year millions of Muslim pilgrims and/or visitors ‘hit the road’ and this mass movement has been the focus of a thriving scholarly field ever since the early twentieth century.
