The British Museum's Venetia Porter edits contributions from an impressive roster of scholars in Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam, the companion volume to a beautifully curated celebration of the history, rituals and people of the world's largest pilgrimage.
"Hajj" is the journey to Mecca, a sacred duty Muslims must undertake if they are physically and financially able. "There can be no better introduction to the dynamic and values of Muslim faith than the Hajj pilgrimage," writes Karen Armstrong (A History of God) in her introduction, and for the curious layperson, this seems to be true. In carefully detailed sections devoted to the history of the rituals of the Hajj, the effects of time and politics on its routes and the iconic textiles that surround it, Hajj presents a robust education in what moves and motivates the millions of pilgrims that travel to Mecca every year. --Hannah Calkins, blogger at Unpunished Vice