Mekka in the Latter Part of the 19th Century

The annual spectacle of millions of pilgrims flooding Makkah has captured the imagination of generations of readers. This interest in the hajj, however, has not necessarily produced quality scholarship. From crude ethnographic summaries to careful narratives of spiritual attainment, the literature...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Isa Blumi
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: International Institute of Islamic Thought 2008
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/75a54d1c7f404cc39ae700542b8954c6
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
id oai:doaj.org-article:75a54d1c7f404cc39ae700542b8954c6
record_format dspace
spelling oai:doaj.org-article:75a54d1c7f404cc39ae700542b8954c62021-12-02T19:41:22ZMekka in the Latter Part of the 19th Century10.35632/ajis.v25i3.14632690-37332690-3741https://doaj.org/article/75a54d1c7f404cc39ae700542b8954c62008-07-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/view/1463https://doaj.org/toc/2690-3733https://doaj.org/toc/2690-3741 The annual spectacle of millions of pilgrims flooding Makkah has captured the imagination of generations of readers. This interest in the hajj, however, has not necessarily produced quality scholarship. From crude ethnographic summaries to careful narratives of spiritual attainment, the literature has been inconsistent at best. Brill’s republishing of Dutch scholar Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje’s (1857-1936) forgotten work offers the modern reader not only an invaluable window into the hajj as practiced before the age of mass communication, but provides a hitherto neglected discussion on the social, cultural, political, and economic impact that the experience had upon Muslims. Often lost in the generalizations one finds in descriptions of the annual pilgrimage, the world in which the reader is thrust while reading this book offers a Makkah that is far more culturally dynamic than expected. Hurgronje’s world is one filled with cultural and doctrinal variances that aremanifested in the different ways in which Muslims worshiped, clothed themselves, and ultimately socialized while in Makkah. In this sense, his careful study of life over the months leading to the hajj exposes the reader to a fluid cultural and economic process that constantly transforms, leaving the reader with the impression that life was not, as the clichés so often try to instill, “timeless.” Hurgronje, to his credit, is not interested in retelling the Orientalist trope; rather, he strives to provide a serious ethnographic and historical study. As Hurgronje himself writes, this is a study to help non-Muslims, especially fellow Dutchmen, understand their Muslim subjects living in the Far East. For this reason, the book’s final part focuses exclusively on the Makkan experience of Dutch subjects. In this regard, it is a careful analysis of how Muslims from Java, Borneo, and Sumatra interacted with fellow Muslims; socialized in this cosmopolitan milieu; and adopted numerous personal and collective activities during their stay. That being said, it is especially impressive that this study is not meant to be only a tool for colonial governance ... Isa BlumiInternational Institute of Islamic ThoughtarticleIslamBP1-253ENAmerican Journal of Islam and Society, Vol 25, Iss 3 (2008)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Islam
BP1-253
spellingShingle Islam
BP1-253
Isa Blumi
Mekka in the Latter Part of the 19th Century
description The annual spectacle of millions of pilgrims flooding Makkah has captured the imagination of generations of readers. This interest in the hajj, however, has not necessarily produced quality scholarship. From crude ethnographic summaries to careful narratives of spiritual attainment, the literature has been inconsistent at best. Brill’s republishing of Dutch scholar Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje’s (1857-1936) forgotten work offers the modern reader not only an invaluable window into the hajj as practiced before the age of mass communication, but provides a hitherto neglected discussion on the social, cultural, political, and economic impact that the experience had upon Muslims. Often lost in the generalizations one finds in descriptions of the annual pilgrimage, the world in which the reader is thrust while reading this book offers a Makkah that is far more culturally dynamic than expected. Hurgronje’s world is one filled with cultural and doctrinal variances that aremanifested in the different ways in which Muslims worshiped, clothed themselves, and ultimately socialized while in Makkah. In this sense, his careful study of life over the months leading to the hajj exposes the reader to a fluid cultural and economic process that constantly transforms, leaving the reader with the impression that life was not, as the clichés so often try to instill, “timeless.” Hurgronje, to his credit, is not interested in retelling the Orientalist trope; rather, he strives to provide a serious ethnographic and historical study. As Hurgronje himself writes, this is a study to help non-Muslims, especially fellow Dutchmen, understand their Muslim subjects living in the Far East. For this reason, the book’s final part focuses exclusively on the Makkan experience of Dutch subjects. In this regard, it is a careful analysis of how Muslims from Java, Borneo, and Sumatra interacted with fellow Muslims; socialized in this cosmopolitan milieu; and adopted numerous personal and collective activities during their stay. That being said, it is especially impressive that this study is not meant to be only a tool for colonial governance ...
format article
author Isa Blumi
author_facet Isa Blumi
author_sort Isa Blumi
title Mekka in the Latter Part of the 19th Century
title_short Mekka in the Latter Part of the 19th Century
title_full Mekka in the Latter Part of the 19th Century
title_fullStr Mekka in the Latter Part of the 19th Century
title_full_unstemmed Mekka in the Latter Part of the 19th Century
title_sort mekka in the latter part of the 19th century
publisher International Institute of Islamic Thought
publishDate 2008
url https://doaj.org/article/75a54d1c7f404cc39ae700542b8954c6
work_keys_str_mv AT isablumi mekkainthelatterpartofthe19thcentury
_version_ 1718376209087201280