"It is not only the holy cities of Mecca and Karbala to which Muslim pilgrims travel, but a wide variety of sacred sites around the world. Journeys are undertaken to visit graves of important historical and religious individuals, the tombs of saints, and natural sites such as mountaintops and springs. Exploring the rich diversity of traditions practiced by the 1.5 billion Muslims across the world, Arjana provides a rigorous theoretical discussion of pilgrimage, ritual practice and the nature of sacred space in Islam"--back cover.

List of illustrations -- Foreword by Omid Safi -- Introduction : Beyond Hajj -- 1. Reconsidering Islamic pilgrimage : theoretical and sectarian debates -- 2. Nascent pilgrimage centers : Jerusalem, Mecca, and Medina -- 3. Shi'i pilgrimage : the Prophet's household -- 4. Sufi and shared pilgrimages : contestations of identity -- 5. Modern Muslim pilgrims : tourism, space, and technology -- Afterword : Presuppositions and Possibilities in the Study of Islamic Pilgrimage.