The End of the Hajj

December 12, 2008 – 4:47 pm

The Boston Globe’s photojournalism section - entitled “The Big Picture” - published a piece covering the end of the Hajj (pilgrimage by Muslims to the holy city of Mecca) and Eid al-Adha (or “Feast of Sacrifice,” which commemorates Ibrahim’s [Arabic transliteration of Abraham] “willingness to offer his son”  to Allah). The Hajj and Eid al-Adha, a picture-story.

Points to consider:

• It is interesting to note that the author, in the opening paragraph, does not indicate the name of Abraham’s (or Ibrahim’s) son that he was willing to offer as a sacrifice. According to the Koran, it was Ishmael that was placed upon the altar, whereas the book of Genesis (1st book in the Christian Old Testament and Jewish Torah) clearly states that Isaac was the son of promise and was offered as a sacrifice (Genesis 21a & 22 ), not Ishmael (Genesis 16 & 21b).
• The author also uses the name God to refer to the recipient of Abraham’s sacrifice, rather than the Arabic form, Allah.
• The widespread influence of Islam is evident in these pictures, which are taken from: Saudi Arabia, India, Kenya, USA (Houston and Minneapolis), Turkey, Sri Lanka, Israel, China (a surprise to me), Iraq, Bulgaria, Iran, Indonesia, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Bangladesh, France, Nigeria, Kyrgyzstan, and Thailand. The curtain of Islam blankets over one billion in darkness.
• The vandalism of the Muslim WWI cemetery in France (picture #30) is a sign of the times in Western Europe. The tension between secularists/nominal Christians and Muslims seems to swell by the month.
• The extreme dedication that these pilgrims display. To travel hundreds or thousands of miles, sleep in a meager tent next to thousands of other tent-dwellers for a week, follow through with some of the ceremonial rituals (including shaving your head - see picture #38) is a remarkable display of devotion to the cause.
• The sense of community that is portrayed. Lining up shoulder to shoulder with hundreds or thousands of fellow pilgrims, bowing in synchronization, chanting the prayers as a massive choir must evoke a powerful sense of community, belonging and purpose. The unity, however, is around a somewhat vague set of guidelines and traditions, not doctrinal distinctions like true biblical unity of believers. (cf John 17)
• The false sense of peace these images invoke from the reader. True peace cannot be derived from a system of beliefs that ignores the substitutionary death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus Christ, no matter the external forms that might be displayed.
• Images such as these ought to compel us to pray to the “Lord of the harvest” that He would send forth laborers for His Name’s sake.

The Hajj and Eid al-Adha, a picture-story.