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Hajj Exhibition at The British Museum

Mariam Magsi on 26, Jan 2012 | 3 Comments | in Category: Limelight

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Islamophoia.  Islamist Terrorists.  Sand Niggers.  War on Terrorism.  These are a few words that come to mind when poorly informed individuals are confronted with anything remotely Muslim or Islamic. The British Runnymede Trust defines Islamophobia as the “dread or hatred of Islam and therefore, to the fear and dislike of all Muslims, the practice of discriminating against Muslims by excluding them from the economic, social, and public life of the nation. It includes the perception that Islam has no values in common with other cultures, is inferior to the West and is a violent political ideology rather than a religion.”

Working in Canada as a curator and visual artist has exposed me to a wide array of exhibitions held at some of the best museums and art galleries in North America.  I have seen it all; History of Mayans, Evolution, Scrolls from the Dead Sea, History of Christianity, the Maharajah and Moghul History of India, Hinduism and Buddhist Philosophies and various other historical presentations on several religions and philosophies pre-dating Islam.

Currently, Muslims make up 2.8% of the Canadian population, are estimated to make up 1.8 million people in the U.S.A and approximately 2.8 million people in the United Kingdom, yet we seldom hear about exhibitions in world renowned museums celebrating Islamic calligraphy, culture, history and art.

Until now.

The Hajj exhibition at the British Museum has finally opened its doors to the public.

This knowledgeable and culturally explosive exhibition aims to inform both Muslims and non-Muslims about the artifacts, texts, artistic renderings, ancient instructions and historical contexts pertaining to Hajj, a spiritual pilgrimage obligatory on all members of the Muslim faith. Curated by Qaisra Khan and Venetia Porter and funded by King Abdul Aziz, the exhibition also includes photography, textiles, manuscripts and various other artistic models from private and public collections and archives within Saudi Arabia and from around the world.

One such beautiful piece is a banner that is originally housed by the Harvard Art Museum, created out of crimson, fine silk dating back to 1683 and vividly describing the story of traveling caravans during the Hajj season. The curators of the show describe the piece as a “striking object, which would have been seen by pilgrims from a great distance…who were traversing great distances to reach the place of their dreams.”

Curator Qaisra Khan who is Pakistani in origin says the following about her experience with the exhibition:

“If you look at the last five years, even if not the last 12 months, there is a lot about Islam and the Middle East in the press and it doesn’t always get good press as we know.  I think what the exhibition does is to talk about the one facet of Islam we don’t know much about and that it’s very much about peace.”

Despite what many may think, this pilgrimage is one of the most self-reflective times in a Muslim’s life.  From the moment the pilgrim leaves home on a journey towards enlightenment, he or she is disallowed from so much so as squatting a fly.  No harm is to be brought on any living being or creature and despite being shoved by millions of Muslims in challenging and physically tedious scenarios; the pilgrim must maintain a state of calm, refrain from abuse and violence and instead use love, peace and tolerance to convey messages.  Muslims have to refrain from even harming plant life and cannot pull out roots, trees shrubs and even thorny bushes.  The killing and destruction of any living thing is absolutely forbidden and this restrain, if carried out throughout the year, can help the pilgrim in respecting and better understanding the natural environment he or she is living in.  The energy and spiritual movement felt during this pilgrimage, reinstates that there is a power or force out there that is bigger than one individual and this energy, for many, translates into the divine wisdom and enlightenment.  Some even call it Zen.

Another interesting aspect of the exhibition is a call for submission evoking members of the Muslim faith to describe aspects of their experiences during Hajj, to give viewers a better understanding of what contemporary Hajj is and how it has shaped the lives of modern, progressive Muslims.

The hard working team behind the exhibition consists of many non-Muslims who cannot take part in the 5^th pillar of Islam, which is the only avenue of the final Abrahamic faith that is inclusive and sacred to Muslims alone. In a way, the curators aim to open up this secretive and unexplored world to people from all walks of life, to gain a better understanding of this misunderstood philosophy of life.

Despite having gathered immense educational and historical material for the exhibition, the interior of Ka’aba remains a mystery and unseen, though many know it to be a bare space. There will always be an ambiguity linked with this “awe inspiring yet simplistic structure” as described by a pilgrim in the exhibition.

If successfully received by the highly critical and scrutinizing British public, the exhibition could be well on it’s way to be shown in other Western countries in the hopes of depicting the side of Islam that is largely ignored; that it is a philosophy of life that can be applicable universally because this philosophy focuses on peace, which is much needed and desired in our violence ridden world.

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