Stunning photo of Kaaba

Pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba during Haaj in Mecca. Credit: Jennifer Nkem-Eneanya, konnectafrica.net

An amazing shot of the Kaaba from Jennifer Nkem-Eneanya at konnectafrica.net.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11757499

Millions of Muslim pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba during Hajj, a major pilgrimage to Mecca that serves as one of the five pillars of Islam.  Hajj is required for all Muslims capable of making the journey during their lifetimes.  The ritual circumambulation is called the Tawaf, and pilgrims walk seven times around the Kaaba, the central structure in the Grand Mosque of Mecca.  There are some nice shots of the Kaaba in the video here, which discusses the design of the door.  The Kaaba is 60 feet square, made of stone, with its walls covered in black cloth — the building is believed to have been constructed by Ibrahim.

Roundup of pilgrimage stories in the news

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  Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

  Conflicts in Iraq and Israel have affected not only access to pilgrimage sites, but also have affected people’s desire to visit sites.  I’ve said previously that pilgrimage is a barometer of political stability and pluralism, as well as an economic force in various communities (for good or for ill).  Now, pilgrimage sites and agencies struggle to convince visitors that the destinations are safe.

• The Hajj pilgrimage this coming October is a large one — with an estimated 3% increase in numbers to almost 2 million Muslim pilgrims to the Saudi city of Mecca, earning Saudi Arabia US$8.5 billion dollars.
• In Madhya Pradesh, India, 10 Hindu pilgrims were killed and dozens injured in a stampede at a temple.  The stampeded occurred when rope barriers sectioning off thousands of pilgrims gave way.  According to the New York Times, some estimates were as high as half a million pilgrims at the site — the NYT sets the death toll in the dozens, some jumping off a crowded bridge.  The accident happened during the Parikrama or circumambulation of a hill on a particular time of the Hindu calendar — the hill is believed to be the abode of Hindu deities.

Pilgrimage in the news

Here’s a roundup of some pilgrimage headlines from around the world.

The Uttarakhand government in India is ordering repair on the Char Dham Yatra route in preparation for the annual pilgrimage for Hindus this May. Uttarakhand was heavily hit by devastating floods last year, hurting local communities, extensively damaging infrastructure, and stranding thousands of pilgrims — here’s some coverage on the floods from last year.  The Uttarakhand government is assuring safety for pilgrims this year. 

Kedarnath Temple, Uttarakhand. Source: Wikipedia

In related news, the Uttarakhand government is regulating pilgrimage to Kedarnath, at the center of the disastrous floods last year — only 1000 pilgrims per day will be allowed on the Kedarnath yatra.  Pilgrims who want to visit Kedarnath must have government-issued passes and arrive at the abode of Lord Shiva by helicopter or trek.  The Uttarakhand government is trying to both manage the pilgrimage and launch a global campaign to attract pilgrims and tourists for the Char Dham Yatra beginning in May.

Pilgrims gather in front of Sant’Agnese in Agone church at Piazza Navona on April 26, 2014, in Rome during a vigil on the eve of the canonisation of late Pope John Paul II and John XXIII (AFP Photo/Guiseppe Cacace)

Pilgrims and dignitaries are flocking to Rome for the canonization of former Roman Catholic popes John XXIII and John Paul II as saints.  It’s estimated that 800,000 pilgrims will arrive in Rome to mark the occasion.

Pilgrimage, maps, and movement

I’ve argued elsewhere that pilgrimage is a barometer of religious pluralism and political openness, in part because pilgrimage requires populations to travel across borders and access shrines.  In some cases, the shrines may be associated with a minority religious tradition, or even embattled, multiple claims to a sacred site.  Moreover, once pilgrims have reached a shrine, they must be able to return home again.

Al-Jazeera has reported that 2014 opened with sectarian violence and a suicide car bombing near Quetta on Pakistani Shias returning from a pilgrimage to Iran.  Of 50 pilgrims on a bus, at least two pilgrims were killed in the attack.  These pilgrims had successfully made their journey, and they were coming home again — and they weren’t attacked until they were back inside Pakistani borders.

Borders can prove challenging for pilgrimage: I have written about Shia pilgrims, many Iranian, traveling across borders to shrines in Iraq.  In these cases, not only are pilgrims themselves deeply symbolic in political and religious conflicts. Rather, pilgrimage places — and movement back and forth to these places — also make the conflict physical, focusing on a particular location and the historic meaning invoked by that place.

In that sense, I find it useful to think about pilgrimage, movement, and conflict by looking at a map.  Here’s a political map showing the internationally recognized borders of Pakistan, Iran, and surrounding countries.  Just the extent of the political borders here gives some sense of the vulnerability of pilgrims crossing from one country to another — and, as the Al-Jazeera report states, the method of travel in a large passenger bus, creates a particular target.

Here’s a map that specifically shows Quetta, Pakistan — the attack occurred on the outskirts of this city.  There’s a context of place here, including a rise in sectarian violence between Sunni and Shia Muslims in Pakistan in 2013 near Islamabad.  This impacts the climate for pilgrims as far away as Quetta — and two bomb attacks on Shias and the Hazara ethnic community killed almost 200 people last year.

Syria & pilgrimage as barometer

Given the international conversation about Syria right now, and the possibility of military strikes in the wake of allegations of chemical weapons use by the government, I wanted to write about Syria.  The ongoing conflict in the country has caused social rupture, including displacement and refugee camps.  According to the United Nations, one million children have now fled the violence, fleeing to surrounding countries such as Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.

How does pilgrimage fit into all this?  In many cases, pilgrimage serves as a barometer of political openness or conflict: it measures the pressure that comes to bear on movements of people, on the religious pluralism present in societies, and on the stability of infrastructure.  If people can’t travel or access pilgrimage sites, or are in jeopardy if they try, that reveals (and reinforces) existing political tensions.

Train accident and pilgrims in eastern India

I’ve been away from my computer and traveling to some sites — I have much to tell, but for now, I must write about some serious global pilgrimage news from India.  On August 19, an express train hit a crowd of Hindu pilgrims who were crossing the tracks in the eastern state of Bihar.  The train came through as hundreds of pilgrims were disembarking from two passenger trains at Dhamara Ghat station.  The Hindustan Times reports that the victims descending from the passenger trains were Hindu devotees rushing to the nearby Katyayani temple to mark the fourth and final Monday of the holy month of Sawan.  Likewise, the NYT notes that the pilgrims were en route to offer holy water at the temple to Shiva; see also this BBC report.  NBC news, however, notes that devotees were returning from offering morning prayers at Katyayani temple near Dhamara Ghat, a popular Hindu pilgrimage site.  During the holy month of Sawan or Shravan, devotees of the Hindu deity Shiva head to holy sites across the country.

At least 37 people were killed.  Passengers attacked the driver of the express train after the accident and set fire to the coaches.