Mecca in Morocco: Articulations of Muslim Pilgrimage in Moroccan Everyday Life

This book concerns the ways in which the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, the Hajj, is embedded in Moroccan society. Approaching pilgrimage from the perspective of lived religion, the book seeks to answer the question: How does Hajj feature in the everyday lives of Moroccans and how are Moroccan views on Hajj are negotiated in pilgrims’ micro-practices? The red thread that runs through this book is the argument that although the Hajj is performed in a place far away from Morocco, taking Moroccans out of their daily life worlds, the practices, experiences, and the meanings that they attach to Hajj are shaped by, and in turn go on to shape, their life and world upon return. The chapters of the book demonstrate - - from different perspectives - how the everyday Moroccan context shapes pilgrims’ perceptions of their experience in Mecca and, in return, how after having completed Hajj they position themselves and are positioned as members of their community. Particularly important are the myriad ways in which the experience of being a ḥājj/ ḥājja shapes their everyday life.

Kholoud Al-Ajarma is a Lecturer in the Globalised Muslim World at Alwaleed Centre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World, Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Edinburgh. She completed her PhD in Anthropology and Comparative Study of Religion at the University of Groningen. She holds MPhil in Anthropology and Development from the University of Bergen, and MA in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution from Coventry University. She has research and work experience in the study of Islam in the contemporary world and have worked and conducted research in several countries including Palestine, Jordan, Morocco, Egypt, Chile, Norway, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Her research areas include Islam and Muslim societies, education, refugee rights, media, gender, migration, and climate change among others. In addition to her academic work, Al-Ajarma is a refugee rights advocate and award-winning photographer and film-maker whose films and photography has been exhibited in more than fifteen countries.