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Articles on Pilgrimage

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In the cult TV series ‘Supernatural,’ the car driven by the two protagonists is a star in its own right. Natasha Mikles

What a biannual gathering of 1967 Impalas reveals about the blurry line between fandom and religion

Since 2019, fans of the TV series ‘Supernatural’ have flocked to Austin, where their encounters with 1967 Impalas customized to mimic the one used in the show arouse elation, astonishment and tears.
American Muslim women on pilgrimage at the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina in 2023. Iqbal Akhtar

Women can now undertake Islamic pilgrimages without a male guardian in Saudi Arabia, but that doesn’t mean they’re traveling alone – communities are an important part of the religious experience

A religion scholar argues that the communal nature of Islamic pilgrimage helps worshippers go through a physically demanding schedule and creates camaraderie that continues beyond the pilgrimage.
Iranian pilgrims pose for a selfie during the hajj pilgrimage in 2022. AP Photo/Amr Nabil

Technology remains at the heart of the hajj

The Saudi government is using digital technology to help the hajj run smoothly and safely – the latest updates in a 200-year history of technology and the hajj.
An artist’s impression of Ghana’s envisioned National Cathedral. Image courtesy www.nationalcathedralghana.org

Ghana’s plan for a grand new national cathedral is controversial - but will it attract pilgrims and tourists?

Globally, visiting religious destinations and sites for pilgrimage by religious faithful and tourists has gained recognition.
Muslim worshippers perform the evening Tarawih prayer during the fasting month of Ramadan around the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque complex in the holy city of Mecca, on April 13, 2021. AFP via Getty Images

Pilgrimage in a pandemic: lessons from Mecca on containing COVID-19

Entertainment, sports and tourism industries can learn valuable lessons from how Saudi Arabia managed the annual pilgrimage during a pandemic.
A condolence message and candles for the victims of a stampede during a Jewish ultra-Orthodox mass pilgrimage to Mount Meron, projected on a wall of Jerusalem’s Old City. Ilia Yefimovich/picture alliance via Getty Images

Lag BaOmer pilgrimage brings Orthodox Jews closer to eternity – I experienced this spiritual bonding in years before the tragedy

The Lag BaOmer pilgrimage, in which 45 people died recently, takes place each year to what is believed to be the gravesite of the second-century Talmudic sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai.
Shiite Muslims attend a mourning ritual during the Islamic month of Muharram, in the central shrine city of Karbala. Photo by Mohammed SAWAF / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED SAWAF/AFP via Getty Images

The largest contemporary Muslim pilgrimage isn’t the hajj to Mecca, it’s the Shiite pilgrimage to Karbala in Iraq

Millions of Muslims travel to Karbala in Iraq for one of the largest annual pilgrimages. The pilgrimage has adapted and changed over its centuries-old history.

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