Mecca: The Sacred City

Author(s): Ziauddin Sardar

Travel Narratives

The Sacred City
     
Mecca is the heart of Islam. It is the birthplace of Muhammad, the direction
towards which Muslims turn when they pray and the site of pilgrimage which
annually draws some three million Muslims from all corners of the world. Yet
Mecca's importance goes beyond religion. What happens in Mecca and how
Muslims think about the political and cultural history of Mecca has had and
continues to have a profound influence on world events to this day.
     In this captivating book, Ziauddin Sardar unravels the significance of Mecca.
Tracing its history, from its origins as a 'barren valley' in the desert to its evolution
as a trading town and sudden emergence as the religious centre of a world empire,
Sardar examines the religious struggles and rebellions in Mecca that have powerfully
shaped Muslim culture.
     Interweaving stories of his own pilgrimages to Mecca with those of others,
Sardar offers a unique insight into not just the spiritual aspects of Mecca - the
passion, ecstasy and longing it evokes - but also the conflict between heritage
and modernity that has characterised its history. He unpeels the physical, social
and cultural dimensions that have helped transform the city and also, though
accounts of such Orientalist travellers as Richard Burton and Charles Doughty,
the strange fascination that Mecca has long inspired in the Western imagination.
And, ultimately, he explores what this tension could mean for Mecca's future.
      An illuminative, lyrical and witty blend of history, reportage and memoir,
this outstanding book reflects all that is profound, enlightening and curious
about one of the most important religious sites in the world.


Product Information

A groundbreaking, accessible and passionate journey to the spiritual home of Islam, from its religious roots and through the layers of its fascinating history to the place and symbol it is today

One of the best-known Muslim public intellectuals in the world today ... A pioneering writer on Islam Guardian on Muhammad: All that Matters Sardar is funny, self-deprecating and humble ... One of the wittiest intellectual figures commenting on Islam Islamic Voice on Muhammad: All that Matters Britain's own Muslim polymath Independent Readers of Mecca may at times feel they are still accompanying Sardar on his journey as a sceptical Muslim; mostly, they will sense a wide ranging intellectual engagement with a city that has been one of the world's most important over the last one and a half millennia. In his hands they can appraise how this long history connects with the predicament facing his fellow believers in the world today. -- Geoffrey Nash ASTENE Bulletin

Ziauddin Sardar was born in Pakistan and grew up in Hackney. A writer, broadcaster and cultural critic, he is one of the world's foremost Muslim intellectuals and author of more than fifty books on Islam, science and contemporary culture, including the highly acclaimed Desperately Seeking Paradise. He has been listed by Prospect magazine as one of Britain's top 100 intellectuals. Currently he is the Director of Centre for Postnormal Policy and Futures Studies at East West University, Chicago, co-editor of the quarterly Critical Muslim, consulting editor of Futures, a monthly journal on policy, planning and futures studies, and Chair of the Muslim Institute in London. www.ziauddinsardar.com

General Fields

  • : 9781408835609
  • : Bloomsbury UK
  • : Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
  • : August 2015
  • : United Kingdom
  • : November 2015
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Ziauddin Sardar
  • : Paperback
  • : en
  • : 297.352
  • : 448
  • : 1 x 16pp colour plate section