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

by Kholoud Al-Ajarma

Overview

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 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 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781399520720
Publisher:	Edinburgh University Press
Publication date:	01/31/2026
Series:	Edinburgh Studies of the Globalised Muslim World
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Theoretical Framework and Methodology

Part One: The Pilgrimage to Mecca: A Tripartite Process of Preparation, Pilgrimage and Aftermath

2. Before Departure: Motivations for Hajj Performance and the Creation of a Muslim Moral Habitus

3. In the Hajj: A Sensory Experience that ‘Cannot be Described in Words’

4. After Hajj: Refashioning of the Self as al-Ḥājj /al-Ḥājja

Part Two: Identity and Politics

5. Hajj and Moroccan National Identity

6. Saudi Hajj Management through Moroccan Eyes

7. Intersecting Power Structures in Moroccan Women’s Narratives of the Hajj

Part Three: The Pilgrimage: Informing Everyday Life

8. ‘Ḥajj al-MiskĪn’:: Moroccan Local Pilgrimage Introduction

9. Constituted Everydayness: Singing of Mecca and the Pilgrimage in Morocco

10. The Pilgrimage of the Cat and other Hajj Stories: Performing Piety and Moral Transformation through Storytelling

Conclusion: Mecca in Morocco: manifestations of the Hajj in everyday Moroccan Life

Bibliography