Images of Makkah and the Hajj in South Thailand: An Ethnographic and Theological Exploration

Abstract

This article explores the historical and contemporary importance of Makkah and the Hajj for Malays in South Thailand. Our multi-disciplinary approach examines relevant historiographies, the insights of Islamic Studies scholars, and ethnographic data collected in Pattani’s provincial capital. We point out that in the outputs produced by literary networks located in Sumatra and the portion of Thai/Malay Peninsula once referred to as the Malay Sultanate of Patani, references to Makkah were early to appear. Malays from Patani may have primarily travelled to Makkah to perform the Hajj, but following Patani’s subjugation by Bangkok in the late eighteenth century, Makkah functioned as a refuge. Following a description of the prerequisites, preparations, and performances of the Hajj in present-day Pattani, we identify and discuss motivations of fulfilment, forgiveness, and merit-making. We argue through our exploration of these historical, ethnographic, and theological factors that Makkah is much more than a site of pilgrimage, and that the performance of Hajj is multi-faceted.

THE JOURNEY OF HAJJ DURING THE COLONIAL ERA IN MODERN INDONESIAN LITERATURE: Social and Cultural Studies

“…24 Muslim communities in other nations also hold the belief that after performing the hajj, they will receive God's forgiveness and return to being newborn babies. 25 The belief is initiated in a hadith narrated by Bukhari Muslims, explaining that those who are performing hajj will no longer sin, like a newborn baby. 26 However, the abolition of sin is only for the hajj mabrur, the hajj received and worshipped by Allah Almighty.…”