AnalysisAsiaCultureFeaturesHistoricalMiddle EastPoliticsReligionSocietyWorld
The Hajj and the Struggle for Islamic Hegemony
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The ethnic Sunni-Shiite rift parallels the Saudi-Iranian political rift, the Wahhabi-Muslim Brotherhood ideological rift, and the historic rift between Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
Tensions over Islamic hegemony arising from these rifts are likely to come to a boil at the 2017 Hajj.
Wednesday, August 23, 2017, is the first day of Zhu–l-Hijjat, the Muslim month in which two important events take place: the pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the most central of the five Islamic commandments; and the Holiday of the Offering, Id al-Adha, with which it comes to an end.
This month is notable in the Muslim world as a result of its religious content, but…