The Hajj

This past week in class, we discussed the Muslim pilgrimage, the Hajj. The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, when once in their lives, each Muslim should try and be apart of the annual trip to Mecca. The documentary we watched for Thursday’s class followed an ABC reporter through his journey as he was partaking in the Hajj. The Hajj is a five-day pilgrimage where Muslims from all over the world gather in Mecca to follow in the footsteps of Muhammad and Abraham. The Hajj is not always the safest journey to follow. There are occasions where many people while completing the fifth pillar of their religion, have died in the middle of their journey. One part of the Hajj consists of staying in tents and talking and praying together. Sometimes, in these tented communities, there are fires and some die or because of the large number of those who in Mecca at once there are deaths due to stampedes. It was mentioned in the documentary that to some, dying during the Hajj is viewed as one of the ways some would choose to die for their religion. Learning more about the Hajj in class and through the documentary, it got me thinking about if other religions, such as Christianity or Judaism, have a similar pilgrimage. I found that in Christianity, some people will go and visit different sites where major events in the Christian faith occur. This could include Jerusalem, Bethlehem, the Vatican, or many other places. In both of these religions, there is no specific pilgrimage or trip that one should take. The five pillars of Islam could be related to the sacraments within the Catholic church, although it is common for people to not complete all seven of the sacraments.