Symposium - Hajj: Global Interactions through Pilgrimage

Symposium - Hajj: Global Interactions through Pilgrimage

November 28-29, 2013

Venue: Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde, Steenstraat 1, Leiden

Organisers: Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde, LUCIS, FEL, NISIS and CAOS

The symposium is organized on the occasion of the exhibition Longing for Mecca: the Pilgrim’s Journey (September 10, 2013 - March 9, 2014)  on the Hajj to Mecca in Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde, which was developed in cooperation with the British Museum in London. The symposium starts with a reflection on the ‘Theory & Practice’ of the pilgrimage to Mecca from religious, anthropological, and material culture perspectives. This introductory session will contextualize two subsequent sessions: one involving case-studies concerning global interchange and interactions in material culture spurred by the Hajj, like the production of the kiswa (the textile covering the Ka’ba), pilgrim’s certificates and Hajj wall-paintings. Another session will be dedicated to case studies concerning transnational & local, social & political dimensions of the Hajj as well as issues concerning the meanings of pilgrimage for the religious lives and identity politics for individuals. The symposium will be concluded by an in-depth on-stage interview with two Dutch Hajjis and the 3rd Adrian Gerbrands lecture by Finbarr Barry Flood (New York University).

Program

Thursday November 28, 2013

9:30-10:00: Registration

10:00-10:15: Welcome by Stijn Schoonderwoerd, director Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde

10:15-10:45: Mohammed Cheppih (Radar and al-Kauthar) Mekka: 'a real dream '

10:45-11:15: Léon Buskens (LUCIS, Leiden University) Useful knowledge made in Holland: Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje and the Dutch Tradition of Hajj Research and Policy Making

11:15-11:45: Coffee break

11:45-12:15: Marjo Buitelaar (Groningen University and NISIS) Anthropological approaches to the study of pilgrimage to Mecca

12:15-12:45: Venetia Porter (British Museum, London) The arts of Hajj (preliminary title)

12:45-14:00: Lunch

14:00-14:25: Nahla Nassar (The Nasser D. Khalili Collections of Islamic Art, London) The kiswah of the Noble Ka‘bah. Piety, prestige and politics

14:25-14:50: Mehmet Tütüncü (Research Centre for the Turkish and Arabic World, Haarlem) How a Kaaba Painting changed the Perspectives: The Uppsala University Kaaba and Mecca painting and its importance for the Cultural Historiography of Hajj

14:50-15:15: Oliver Moore (Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde and Leiden University) Islam’s Object Histories from China

15:15-15:45: Tea Break

15:45-16:10: Remke Kruk (Leiden University) Hajj murals in Dakhla oasis (Egypt)

16:10-16:35: Luit Mols (National Museum of Ethnology and LUCIS) Mecca and Medina in print: souvenirs and Hajj-certificates

16:35-17:00: Neil van der Linden (Author/editor Gulf Art Guide) Hajj Music

18:30: Dinner for speakers

Friday November 29, 2013

09:30-09:55: Sean McLoughlin (University of Leeds) British Muslim Experiences of the Hajj

09:55-10:20:Pnina Werbner (Keele University) Migrant Stories: Sacrifice, Purification and Gender in the Hajj

10:25-10:45:Robert R. Bianchi (Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore) The Hajj and Contemporary Politics in Turkey and Indonesia

10:45-11:15: Coffee break

11:15-11:40: Richard van Leeuwen (University of Amsterdam) Hajj and Islamic reformisn: Rashīd Ridā’s journey to Mecca in 1916

11:40-12:05: Arnoud Vrolijk (Leiden University Libraries) Hajj collections in the Special Collections of Leiden University

12:05-14:00 Lunch and opportunity to visit the exhibition Longing for Mecca. The Pilgrim’s Journey

14:00-15:00: On stage interview with Famile Arslan (Arslan Lawyers) and Ali Eddaoudi (Dutch Military Force) on their experiences of the Hajj

15:00-15:30: The Steven Engelsman Grantees: Presentation of grant awards

15:30-16:00: Tea Break

16:00-17:00: The 3rd Adrian Gerbrands Lecture: Finbarr Barry Flood (New York University) Sanctified Sandals. Imaging the Prophet in an Era of Technological Reproduction

17:00-18:00: Drinks for all in the lounge café of the Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde