The Hajj Pilgrimage in Islam

At the British Museum, a collection of artefacts from the Muslim world is on show which tells the history of a journey to Mecca always forbidden to non-Muslims. It features a succession of examples of the rich visual language of Islamic culture past and present, artwork created to reflect the powerful experience for any Muslim making the Hajj pilgrimage to Islam's most sacred city and its most sacred building, the Ka'aba.

At the British Museum, a collection of artefacts from the Muslim world is on show, which tells the history of a journey to Mecca always forbidden to non-Muslims. It features a succession of examples of the rich visual language of Islamic culture past and present, artwork created to reflect the powerful experience for any Muslim making the Hajj pilgrimage to Islam's most sacred city and its most sacred building, the Ka'aba. However, an art form not usually associated with Islam is also on show, a form many believe is prohibited by Islam - portraits, depictions of human figures and whole tableaux showing pilgrims performing the most important pillar of the Muslim faith.

In spite of Islam’s long history in Europe and the growing number of Muslims resident in Europe, little research exists on Muslim pilgrimage in Europe. This collection of eleven chapters is the first systematic attempt to fill this lacuna in an emerging research field.

Intermediate Level