In London, an exhibition devoted to the most important Muslim ritual

London, British Museum, January 26 - April 15, 2012

curtain covered the entrance to the Kaaba. Cairo, 1846-1847
Source: guardian.co.uk


CARL PONHAYMER
View of Mecca bird's eye view. 1803
Source: guardian.co.uk

The British Museum opened its first major exhibition devoted to the hajj - the pilgrimage to the holy city of Muslims to Mecca, which was considered an ancient tradition in VII century, at the time of the Prophet Muhammad. The exhibition "Hajj: journey to the heart of Islam" is intended for the Europeans to lift the curtain on one of the most important stages of life of every Muslim. Each year the pilgrimage a huge number of people: the number of pilgrims in 1932 reached 20 thousand, and last year made a ritual journey of almost 3 million people.

Curators hope that the exhibition will attract both Muslim and representatives of other faiths. "Non-Muslims can not perform the Hajj and therefore know little about him, however, surprising that Muslims know about the history of the Hajj is very little" - said co-curator exhibition Kaysra Khan (Qaisra Khan). Khan - a Muslim, a native of Pakistan, but she admitted that she discovered during the preparation of the exhibition a lot. According to her, the message of peace, which is an exhibition is especially important today, when the Muslim world and Islam itself is largely associated with violence.

exhibition allows us to trace the entire path of the pilgrim from his home preparations for the trip, during which he asked for forgiveness from others and pay with large debts. Many of the pilgrims before they go on a journey, even make a will.

exposition tells about the main pilgrimage routes, which for centuries Muslims travel to the shrines of Kufa, Cairo and Damascus, and also explains a number of rituals connected with the hajj. The exhibition presents evidence about pilgrims of Hajj spiritual role in their lives, the traditional clothes of pilgrims, memorial relics, which the pilgrims bring home, and many other objects and images, including historic, connected with the hajj. The composition exhibits a very diverse: along with priceless manuscripts and tissues in the halls you can see the blue plastic razors, which Saudi authorities issued free of charge to all male pilgrims. One section of the exhibition is devoted to works on the hajj, created by contemporary artists.

Visitors also learn remarkable story of two British Hajj committed at different times with an interval of nearly a century. Aristocrat Evelyn Cobbold (Evelyn Cobbold), officially belonged to Islam, but considered himself a Muslim, was allowed to take part in the Hajj and made a pilgrimage in 1933. In 1853, Richard Francis Burton (Richard Francis Burton) made a pilgrimage secretly posing as Afghan doctor. He joined the caravan of Egypt, who was walking to Mecca, and on returning to England, wrote "The eyewitness account of the pilgrimage to El Medina and Mecca».

«Hajj - one of the five pillars of Islam, only, which does not allow non-Muslims. The purpose of the base of the British Museum was the fact that its visitors can better understand the world in which they live: this exhibition certainly meets this objective "- believes the museum director Neil MacGregor (Neil MacGregor).

Exhibits for the show were provided by 13 countries. Although the exposure is vintage fabric, previously adorned the Kaaba inside and outside, and even a bag of dust collected from the floor of the sanctuary, home interior pictures on the Muslim holy show no - not for religious reasons, but simply because of the fact that the photographs Interior Kaaba is very small, but high-quality pictures of them even less. So, according to curator Venishi Porter (Venetia Porter), accidentally or not, the atmosphere of the sacred mysteries of the exhibition organizers managed to keep.

Prepared by Mary Estrova, AI

Source: reuters.com , guardian.co.uk , artinvestment.ru