The Hadj: An American Pilgrimage To Mecca

Book Summary

The hadj, or sacred journey, is the pilgrimage to Mecca that all Muslims are enjoined to make once in their lifetimes. Its purpose is to detach human beings from their homelands and, by bringing them to Mecca, temporarily reinstate the equality of all people before God. One of the world's longest-lived religious rites, the hadj has continued without break for fourteen hundred years. It is, like most things Islamic, shrouded in mystery for Westerners. In his new book, Michael Wolfe, an American-born writer and recent Muslim convert, recounts his experiences on this journey, and in the process brings readers closer to the meaning of Islam. Wolfe's book bridges the high points of the Muslim calendar, beginning in April with the annual month-long fast of Ramadan. In Morocco, he settles into daily life with a merchant family in the ancient quarter of Marrakesh. During his three-month stay, he explores the intricate traditional life of Muslim Morocco. His accounts of this time deepen our feeling for Islam, a faith that claims one-sixth of the world's population. As summer approaches, he travels north to Tangier, where he visits Western writers and Moroccan mystics. In June, he arrives in Mecca, a city closed to all but Muslims. The protean experience of the hadj, and the real Mecca, that most religious and mysterious of cities, are captured in the last half of the book. Inevitably, the buildup to the Gulf War hovers in the background - the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait is just weeks away. Yet it is the author's participation in the age-old rites of the hadj that most preoccupies his thoughts, strengthening his bond to the faith he has embraced as an outsider, developing and transforming it, makingit personal and alive. The Hadj, or sacred journey, is the pilgrimage to the house of God at Mecca that all Muslims are entreated to make once in their lifetimes. One of the world's longest-lived religious rites, having continued without break for fourteen hundred years, it is, like all things Islamic, shrouded in mystery for Westerners. In The Hadj, Michael Wolfe, an American who converted to Islam, recounts his own journey as a pilgrim, and in doing so brings readers dose to the heart of what the pilgrimage means to a member of the religion that claims one-sixth of the world's population. Not since Sir Richard Burtons account of the pilgrimage to Mecca over one hundred years ago has a Western writer described the Hadj in such fascinating detail. At a time when the eyes of the world are on Islam, The Hadj offers a perspective and a much-needed look at its human face. The Literary Review calls The Hadj "the most engaging of travel books" and says that Wolfe's "pilgrimage will move people of all faiths -- and of none at all, because it describes a universal journey for meaning, transcendence and peace".

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