Guests of God
Subtitle: Pilgrimage and Politics in the Islamic World
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: August 11, 2004
Language: eng
Number of pages: 384
ISBN-13: 9780195171075
First sentence: The hajj is the greatest gathering of humanity on earth.
Description: While the hajj is first and foremost a religious festival, it is also very much a political event. Every large Muslim state has developed a comprehensive hajj policy and a powerful bureaucracy to enforce it. This work argues, no secular or religious authority - national or international - can really control the hajj.