Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam at the British Museum

An early depiction of the sacred

The British Museum’s latest exhibition: Hajj Journey to the Heart of Islam tells the tale of the pilgrimage that is central to the Muslim Faith and represents one of the Seven Pillars of Islam.

Using an impressive array of objects it assesses how the journey has changed over the years and the artistic creations it has inspired.

Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, says: ‘We wanted visitors to the exhibition to get some sense of what the experience of the Hajj means. At one level it is a theological and religious experience. At another it is arguably the greatest logistical challenge on the planet.

‘We also wanted to look at how the Hajj has transformed itself over the years; how it has been changed by steam trains, ships and aircraft.’

The latter is something the exhibition achieves rather well. As is usual with displays in what was once the Reading Room of the British Library, the visitor enters through a subtly lit tunnel, feeling as it they are hurrying on to their goal in the presence of a group of pilgrims, the Call to Prayer echoing in their ears.

They are greeted by an explanation of the early days of the Hajj and the routes that pilgrims would have taken to reach their goal. For centuries, this could be a perilous process, involving travel across scorching deserts or treacherous seas.

MacGregor points out the exhibition would not have been possible without the assistance of other collections, such as the British Library and the King Abdulaziz Public Library in Riyadh.

Among the highpoints of the displays are an 8^th-century Qur’an from Hijaz whose script would have been written with a qalam – a pen cut from a length of reed. 

Other intriguing survivals that provide an insight into the early pilgrims include a camel bone that has been used as a notepad – a common practice at the time – and a wooden beaker that would have been part of a 9^th-century traveller’s equipment.

Elsewhere film and contemporary art provide a different angle on the Hajj, with, for example, 1918 newsreel footage of the Mah’mal leaving Cairo on its way to Mecca running beneath the impressive red and gold fabric shape of this symbolic litter. 

It’s a grainy, flickering reminder of the times when it was often citizens of the British Empire who would be travelling to the Hajj.

Many of them attempted the journey on overloaded or unseaworthy ships. A prosaic cutting from the Wrexham Advertiser, for example, tells the story of the steamship Jeddah, which went down with 1000 people on board on its way from Singapore to what is today Saudi Arabia.

Disasters such as this led the Imperial authorities to put a certain Thomas Cook in charge of the transport of Hajj pilgrims. On view is an example of a Pilgrim ticket issued by the travel company.

Another familiar name on show is that of TE Lawrence. The Hejaz railway that he and his Arab allies sabotaged during World War I was originally built to take pilgrims south from Damascus. 

An intriguing selection of photos showing both Hajjis taking the train in the early 19^th century and the damage done to it during the conflict.

Hajj Journey to the Heart of Islam has been produced in partnership with King Abdulaaziz Public Library, Riyadh and HSBC Amanah.

http://www.britishmuseum.org