The Muslim pilgrimage (Ḥajj) as a dynamic cultural heritage – material religion and heritage formation

The Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca is arguably the most striking global phenomenon of Islam. Even before our current era of globalization, the Hajj promoted cultural production and spiritual and intellectual exchange throughout the Islamic world (and far beyond).

The aim of this research project is to examine the transformation of the cultural heritage of the Muslim pilgrimage from a transregional and historical comparative perspective. The focus is on different negotiation processes of heritage formation as observed in the period from the 15th to the 21st century. The project thus focuses on the post-formative phase of Islamic history, which Shahab Ahmed has termed the “Balkans-to-Bengal complex.”

For this period, a transformation of cultural heritage can be observed in the following areas, among others: (1) perceptions of “sacred topography” and architecture of pilgrimage sites, (2) pictorial representations of the “sacred,” and (3) religious practices and commemorations/representations of pilgrimage.