A study published in Harvard University’s peer-reviewed Quarterly Journal of Economics found that Hajj fosters peace and tolerance both within and beyond Islam, increases belief in harmony, acceptance of women’s rights, and more positive views toward people of different religions
Hundreds of thousands of Muslims annually gather in Mecca from around the world for worship and reflection during the Hajj, one of the largest religious gatherings and one of Islam’s five pillars. Muslims should perform the pilgrimage at least once if they can afford it, commemorating Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), his wife, Hajar, and their son, Prophet Ismail (Ismael), over five days in the second week of the last Islamic month, Dhu al-Hijjah.
The time of year for the Hajj varies, as per the Islamic lunar calendar. The rituals are mostly held outdoors. Temperatures soar to 40 °C when the Hajj falls in summer. They start with a pilgrimage to the desert plain of Mina from Mecca’s Grand Mosque. The pilgrims follow the Prophet Muhammad’s footsteps to congregate at a sacred hill of mercy, Mount Arafat, where he delivered his final sermon calling for equality.
The pilgrims stand together on the rocky hill and its slopes for the ritual marking the peak of the Hajj, seeking mercy and blessings, about 20 kilometers southeast of Mecca. The pilgrims spend three days in Mina for the Eid al-Adha holiday, when financially sound Muslims sacrifice livestock and distribute a third of the meat to the poor. They return to Mecca for a final circumambulation or tawaf and run between two hills seven times, similar to what Hagar is believed to have done in search of water for Ishmael.
Women pilgrims snip a lock of hair and men shave their heads as the Hajj concludes, signifying renewal. The pilgrims travel to Medina, about 340 kilometers away from Mecca, to visit the Prophet’s last resting place and one of the three holiest sites in Islam, apart from Mecca’s Grand Mosque and Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque.
The Unity And More
Hajj is seen as the best exhibition of unity among Muslims. But it has far more positives than that. An August 2009 article in Harvard University’s peer-reviewed Quarterly Journal of Economics titled ‘Estimating the Impact of The Hajj: Religion and Tolerance in Islam’s Global Gathering’ illustrated this. David Clingingsmith (Case Western Reserve University), Asim Ijaz Khwaja (Harvard University), and Michael Kremer (University of Chicago), who authored the article, concluded Hajj leads to increased belief in equality and harmony among ethnic groups and Islamic sects, more favorable attitudes toward women, including greater acceptance of female education and employment.
The authors wrote that increased unity within the Islamic world is not accompanied by antipathy toward non-Muslims. Instead, Hajj pilgrims show increased belief in peace, equality, and harmony among adherents of different religions:
The evidence suggests that these changes are likely due to exposure to and interaction with Hajjis from around the world, rather than to a changed social role of pilgrims upon return.
Clingingsmith, Khwaja, and Kremer’s work sheds light on contemporary concerns regarding Islamic orthodoxy and extremism. It showed that although the Hajj increases observance of orthodox Islamic practices, it also increases the desire for peace and tolerance toward both Muslims and non-Muslims.
Common Identity
Muslims from over 100 countries mix across ethnic, national, sectarian, and gender lines during Hajj, affirming a common identity by performing rituals together and dressing alike to emphasize equality. American civil rights activist Malcolm X, who fought against white supremacy and performed the Hajj in 1964, wrote that what he saw and experienced during the pilgrimage forced him to rearrange much of his thought patterns and toss aside some of his previous conclusions:
There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. . . .We were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and non-white
Debunking Myths
Dehumanizing constructions of Muslims embedded in the West’s consciousness as internalized beliefs have also contributed to negative perceptions about the Hajj. Western colonialists and Islamophobes such as VS Naipaul, who claimed the Hajj promotes a ‘particular type of Islam’ and said it eroded local religious traditions in the so-called ‘South Asian Islam, promoted such perceptions.
Clingingsmith, Khwaja, and Kremer debunked such sweeping conclusions. They argued the pilgrimage may help forge a common Islamic identity, but there is no evidence that this is defined in opposition to non-Muslims. They wrote, on the contrary, that the notions of equality and harmony appear to extend to adherents of other religions as well.
Clingingsmith, Khwaja, and Kremer wrote that the results of their study, conducted five to eight months after the completion of the Hajj and including 1,600 Pakistani pilgrims, contrasted sharply with the view that increased Islamic orthodoxy goes hand in hand with extremism. The cited evidence and said it suggests that the Hajj increases tolerance both within the Islamic world and beyond it.
Positive Views
The study found that the Hajj pilgrims return with more positive views toward people from other countries and that their views of equality and harmony extend to non-Muslims. It concluded the Hajj pilgrims were 22% more likely to declare that people of different religions are equal and 11% more likely to state that adherents of different faiths can live in harmony.
Clingingsmith, Khwaja, and Kremer found evidence that Hajj pilgrims were more peacefully inclined. The pilgrims were almost twice as likely to condemn the goals of Osama Bin Laden openly. They were also more likely to express a preference for peace. The study found there was little evidence that participating in the Hajj increases support for an increased role of religion in the state or politics, or that it induces negative views of the West. It found that Hajj pilgrims were less likely to believe that the state should enforce religious injunctions and that religious leaders should be able to dispense justice.
The study concluded that the feelings of unity and equality brought about by the Hajj extend across gender lines to an extent. The pilgrims reported more positive views on women’s attributes and abilities. For example, they were 6% more likely to think women are spiritually better than men, an increase of over 50%. They also expressed greater concern about women’s quality of life relative to other countries and about crimes against women.
Hajj pilgrims were more likely to support girls’ education and female participation in the professional workforce. They showed an 8% increase in their preference for their daughters or granddaughters to adopt professional careers. Male pilgrims showed changes in views similar to those of female pilgrims.
Clingingsmith, Khwaja, and Kremer found that the pilgrims showed the largest positive gain in their views of other nationalities about Indonesians, the non-Saudi group they are most likely to observe during the Hajj. They also shed light on contemporary concerns about Islamic orthodoxy and extremism.
The three noted that for many in the West, the link is apparent, as 45% of Americans believe Islam is more likely to encourage violence than other religions. Close to one-third use negative words such as fanatic, radical, and terror to describe impressions of Islam. The authors wrote that although the Hajj leads to greater religious orthodoxy, it increases pilgrims’ desire for peace and tolerance toward both Muslims and non-Muslims.
The study is connected to a broad, longstanding literature on social interaction and the shaping of beliefs and identity. It cited laboratory experiments suggesting that group interactions exacerbate conflict in competitive settings and lessen it in cooperative ones.
The study found that Hajj pilgrims also positively updated their views toward groups to which they were exposed and those to which they were not. It underscored how the Hajj played a role in contributing to Islam’s strength as a unified world religion, unlike religions with far-flung adherents who over time tend to evolve into separate strands. The Hajj binds the Islamic world together and helps Muslims towards a common set of practices, making Muslims more tolerant of others, besides creating a stronger common identity.
