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Among the duties God imposes upon every Muslim capable of doing so is a pilgrimage to the holy places in and around Mecca in Arabia. Not only is it a religious ritual filled with blessings for the millions who make the journey annually, but it is also a social, political, and commercial experience that for centuries has set in motion a flood of travelers across the world's continents. Whatever its outcome--spiritual enrichment, cultural exchange, financial gain or ruin--the road to Mecca has long been an exhilarating human adventure. By collecting the firsthand accounts of these travelers and shaping their experiences into a richly detailed narrative, F. E. Peters here provides an unparalleled literary history of the central ritual of Islam from its remote pre-Islamic origins to the end of the Hashimite Kingdom of the Hijaz in 1926. "Peters's The Hajj provides a clear and accurate picture of the organization of [Muslim] rituals. His book is ... sufficiently comprehensive to replace older accounts of the Hajj. By reading the sources it cites, one can follow the key rituals in some detail."--Robert Irwin, The London Review of Books "A strong impression of the powerful impact of the pilgrimage on all who witnessed it."--Francis Robinson, The Times Literary Supplement Other Princeton books authored or coauthored by F. E. Peters:
Link: Subject Areas: Hardcover published in 1994 A selection of the History Book Club Cloth: Not for sale in South Asia | |||||
Prices subject to change without notice File created: 5/2/2013 | |||||
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