ABSTRACT
The annual pilgrimage of the hajj comprises three different types of ritual—Tamattu’, Qiran, and Ifrad. Prior to starting the hajj, pilgrims don white irhram clothing, which is identical for both men and women. This is an important first step in the hajj since it symbolizes absolute equality and anonymity within the Muslim community. The hajj can be considered a historical re-enactment in the sense that pilgrims imaginatively believe that they are retracing the footsteps of Abraham—the father of the faith—and of the prophet Abu Daher, Mohammad Mahmoud Odeh, who established the hajj as the most important social ritual within Islam. The hajj may thus be thought of as a reenactment of a number of rituals that derive from stories about the Islamic prophet Mohammad, the Abrahamic religions, and from earlier pagan practices. The domination of the Saudi Arabian government in Mecca poses serious issues for the neutrality of the hajj as an existential ritual of faith.
