She’s the Queen
of Tepeyac, the protector of Mexico, and the patron saint of the Americas. Devotion
to Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose feast day is Dec. 12, continues to grow a half-millennium
after her reported appearance. It has spread throughout the United States –
reaching beyond Chicano culture, beyond Roman Catholicism, and even beyond Christianity.
The account of the Virgin Mary’s appearances in 1531 in Mexico to a native farmer
resonates today among Catholics, Protestants, women’s groups and New Agers who
find their own meaning. Guadalupe scholars suggest these fresh angles on this
enduring story:
Growing fidelity
beyond the Latino community.
New interest
by young people.
The Virgin of
Guadalupe as multicultural symbol.
Non-Latino Roman
Catholics considering the pregnant Guadalupe an emblem for the right-to-life
movement.
Protestant congregations
paying attention to the feast day.
Women’s groups
considering Guadalupe a symbol of feminism.
New Age groups
looking at her as a goddess.
Pilgrimages
by U.S. citizens to the shrine outside Mexico City.
SOURCES
• Theresa
Torres is assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Missouri,
Kansas City. She studies U.S. Hispanic Catholics, Hispanic women’s religious
and civic activism, and immigration/refugee issues. Contact 816-235-1492, torresth@umkc.edu.
• Notre Dame theology professors Timothy
M. Matovina and Virgilio
P. Elizondo and Loyola
Institute for Spirituality Executive Director Allan Figueroa Deck edited
The Treasure of Guadalupe (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc.,
2006). Contact Matovina at 574-631-3841, tmatovin@nd.edu;
Elizondo at 574-631-4741, Virgilio.P.Elizondo.2@nd.edu;
and the Rev. Figueroa Deck at 714-997-9587, afdecksj@loyolainstitute.org.
• Jeanette Rodriguez, a professor of theology and religious studies at
Seattle University, wrote Our Lady of Guadalupe: Faith and Empowerment Among
Mexican-American Women (University of Texas Press, 1994). Contact 206-296-5324,
jrodrigu@seattleu.edu.
• The Rev. Gilberto
Cavazos-González, a Friar Minor (Franciscan), is associate professor of
spirituality and directs the Hispanic ministry program at Catholic Theological
Union, Chicago. He writes a weekly column on Hispanic/Latino faith traditions.
Contact otrebligcg@ctu.edu.
• David Sanchez teaches theological studies at Loyola Marymount University,
Los Angeles. He researches Guadalupan studies and iconography. Contact 310-338-5983,
sanchez@lmu.edu.
• The Rev. Raúl Gómez Ruiz, a Catholic priest who teaches at Sacred Heart
School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wis., can talk about liturgy, worship,
language, clergy and popular traditions. Contact 414-529-6977, rgomez@shst.edu.
• Mexico religion historian Eduardo Chávez, who is rector of the Pontifical
College of Mexico in Mexico City, wrote Our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Juan
Diego: The Historical Evidence (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006). Contact eduardoc44@hotmail.com.
• Monsignor Arturo J. Bañuelas is pastor of St.
Pius X Catholic Church in El Paso, Texas. He founded and directs the Tepeyac
Institute and is nationally known for his expertise on border issues and
culture. Bañuelas edited Mestizo Christianity: Theology from the Latino Perspective
(Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2004). Contact hopie12@msn.com.
With more than
150,000 troops stationed overseas, a stateside army of volunteers has popped
up to provide them with everything from phone cards to body armor. Many donor
groups are religiously based, coming out of well-organized ministries, grass-roots
efforts among individual congregations, and groups of friends. Quite a few of
these groups are sending handmade items – teddy bears, rosaries, prayer beads,
cards, food, blankets and more – with the hope that something made by the hand
bears more of the spirit of the maker and can form a deeper connection with
the receiver. Many of these handmade items also come with a religious message
– a CD with a sermon, a booklet with suggested prayers and Bible readings.
• The
Right Reverend George E. Packard is the Bishop
Suffragan for Chaplaincies for the Episcopal Church. He is in charge of
all Episcopal chaplains attached to the armed services. He describes the rosaries,
prayer beads and medals soldiers carry into battle as “companion object[s] which
God uses to heighten moments of insight, prayer, and sometimes deep sorrow.”
Contact 212-716-6202, gpackard@episcopalchurch.org.
• The
Prayer Bear
Ministry of Sherman, Texas, solicits small donations from people to make
simple fabric teddy bears for shipment to servicemen and women at home and abroad.
Last year, the ministry sent more than 20,000 bears to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Each bear is prayed over as it is made and has a silver tear, to represent the
tears of Christ on the cross, and a gold cross, to represent the light of God.
The ministry was founded by Terry Krawitz, an Episcopalian, after the invasions
of Afghanistan and Iraq. Contact 903-893-4026, prayerbears@prayerbears.org.
• Many
chapters of the Prayer
Quilt Ministry make small patches of patriotic fabric to send to soldiers
overseas. The patches are constructed of patriotic fabric and are held together
with ties that are knotted by the makers as they say prayers for the soldiers.
Contact Kathy Cueva, president of the Prayer Quilt Ministry, prayerquiltpres@cox.net.
• Some
people are making hand-knotted rosaries for distribution to Catholic soldiers.
Clo Lillig accepts such rosaries for Rosaries for Soldiers in Carmel, Ind. Catholics
in the Military of Fort Royal, Va., collects black hand-knotted rosaries.
• The
prayer
beads ministry at Trinity Episcopal Church in Bethlehem, Pa., makes Anglican
prayer beads for wide distribution, including to soldiers and AIDS hospice workers
in Swaziland. Contact Gaby Whittier, 610-867-4741, gaby@trinitybeth.org.
• Soldiers’
Angels offers kits to make “blankets
of hope” to send to soldiers overseas. It was founded by Patti Patton-Bader
when her eldest son went to Iraq. Contact 615-676-0239, soldiersangels@gmail.com.
• Sew
Much Comfort is a volunteer nonprofit group that sews adaptive clothing
for veterans who have lost limbs. Seamstresses volunteer from all over the country.
Efforts are coordinated by regional
contacts. Contact Ginger Dosedel, ginger@sewmuchcomfort.org.
• The
Itty-Bitty-Bakery
of Richlands, N.C., offers “Mustard
Seed Pins” of military figures, each containing a mustard seed. The creator
was inspired by Matthew 17:19-20 when her husband was deployed to Iraq. She
suggests that purchasers send pins to those deployed overseas as a reminder
of their faith. Contact 910-324-4478, admin@itty-bitty-bakery.com.
• The
92nd Street YMHA (Young Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew
Association) in New York, N.Y., held a “Mitzvah Days” workshop for
children ages 5-10 where they constructed tzedakah, or charity, boxes, complete
with handmade cards and other items, for soldiers overseas. The project was
to be an example of tikkun olam, the Jewish mandate to repair the world.
Contact Beverly Greenfield, media relations, 212-415-5452.
Hunger
and the holidays
Millions of Americans
worry about hunger every day, whether it’s Christmas, Hanukkah, or hajj. The
December holidays, a time of abundance for many, are a good opportunity to write
about the difficult choices faced by hungry families. While needs persist all
year long, many people make extra efforts to give more to charity during the
holidays, and many organizations offer innovative ways for them to help. Tell
stories of finding and filling needs through local families, local food banks
and local congregations.
• America’s
Second Harvest is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States
– a network of food banks and food-rescue groups around the country, many of
them faith-based organizations. Second Harvest says its report Hunger
in America 2006 is the most comprehensive profile ever produced of people
who use emergency food services. Among its findings:
Hunger is on
the rise. In 2005, more than 25 million Americans didn’t have enough to eat.
More than a
third of those served by the network were children. About 10 percent of the
clients were elderly, and 12 percent were homeless.
More than 4
in 10 clients had to choose between buying food and paying for utilities.
Some couldn’t both eat and pay the rent or buy the medicine they need.
• Household
Food Security in the United States, 2004, is a report prepared for the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. It found that more than one in 10 households does
not have enough food at all times for an active, healthy life for all household
members.
• Bread for the World
is the largest faith-based advocacy movement against hunger. It posts hunger
facts and figures. Contact its president, the Rev. David Beckmann, at 202-639-9400.
• The
Society of St.
Andrew, an ecumenical Christian ministry, sells Christmas gift cards for
$10 each; proceeds are used to provide food for the hungry.
• The
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America provides World
Hunger Gift Tags, so gift-givers can let a loved one know when a donation
has been made in that person’s honor.
• The
Hungersite.com
store, working with Mercy Corps and America’s Second Harvest, gives a portion
of profits to fight world hunger.
• The
Heifer Project encourages
folks to give a hungry family a cow instead of giving your sister another sweater.
Watch a YouTube
video from musician Dan Zanes, featuring his song “Holiday Time in Brooklyn!”
• Some
people order online from alternative giving markets such as Alternative
Gifts International, A Greater
Gift or Ten
Thousand Villages. Some congregations have started a holiday tradition of
sponsoring markets in their towns. Read a Nov.
3, 2006, story from the Nashville Tennessean.
Creating
collections
For collectors,
Christmas and Hanukkah are prime time: Santa’s sleigh will come full of vintage
movie posters or bobble-heads of world leaders, and there will be eight nights
on which to score more sports memorabilia. Some critics say such consumerism
trumps the spiritual meaning of the season. But for some collectors, the act
of gathering objects that hold meaning for them is, in a way, a spiritual act.
They arrange their homes with a sense of beauty and connectedness. They surround
themselves with reminders of travel and happy times, or with symbols, such as
angels, of the things in which they believe. The bowls of rocks and shells on
the bookshelf – gathered on the honeymoon, scooped up by the children, spotted
on a beach walk with Dad the summer before he died – didn’t cost anything, yet
are priceless. December offers an opportunity to explore the meaning behind
people’s collections, from the spiritual -- crèches and menorahs -- to the secular.
• Some
set up sacred spaces or altars in their homes – with candles, keepsakes, photographs,
a bit of blue glass that seems exactly right – a window, almost, to the divine.
Read a Beliefnet.com
story about women who set up personal altars in their homes.
• Read
an online
list of some of what people collect and why – from dog tags to old bricks.
• Russell
Belk is a professor of marketing at the David Eccles School of Business at the
University of Utah. He has done research on the meaning of possessions and is
the author of Collecting in a Consumer Society (Routledge, 2001). Contact
801-581-7401, mktrwb@business.utah.edu.
• Marjorie
Akin is a research anthropologist working as a consultant in Riverside, Calif.
She has written about why people collect – one Smithsonian paper is titled:
“Passionate Possessions.” Contact 951-787-0318, Marjorie.akin@ucr.edu
or margieakin@hotmail.com.
• Some contend that clearing out clutter – simplifying, paring down – can
have spiritual benefits as well. Read an Oct.
3, 2004, story in TheWashington Post about how traditions
from feng shui to Roman Catholicism teach about the spiritual joys of living
with less.
'Vigilante
Volunteers'
The Baby Boom generation
is reshaping volunteerism, and it's a trend that's easy to report on during
the December holidays. Vigilante volunteers, as they are called, are people
who go outside traditional nonprofit structures to fill needs they are inspired
to address. At churches or nonprofit agencies, they may be frustrated by menial
volunteer tasks, a perceived ineffectiveness, or lack of attention to a particular
problem. Whatever the case, vigilante volunteers decide to do something, and
set out to do it in their own way.
Vigilante volunteers
sometimes do tremendous good - but they also can be a tremendous challenge to
the hundreds of charities that attempt to harness people's time and talents
during the holiday season. How are religious and secular nonprofits trying to
accommodate "vigilante volunteers"? How are volunteers in your community devising
their own ways to meet the needs of others?
• Read a March
2005 article from the World Volunteer Web about "vigilante volunteers."
• For experts and background on volunteerism, see ReligionLink's Sept.
12, 2005, edition, "Crises
highlight the need for volunteer management."
More
menorahs?
Two new surveys
of mixed-faith households shed light on the "December dilemma" of
two holidays, and that light is coming from a menorah. A demographic study of
Boston area Jews done by the Steinhardt
Social Research Institute at Brandeis University shows that a surprising
number - 60 percent -- of intermarried couples are raising their children Jewish.
That figure is almost double the national estimate - one-third -- of intermarried
families making that choice. Timed for the holidays, the third annual "December
dilemma" survey of families done by Interfaithfamily.com,
an Internet resource for interfaith families, shows that intermarried households
are keeping both holidays, but they are giving priority to the Jewish celebration.
The Boston study has implications for other American Jewish communities seeking
to promote Jewish spiritual identification and affiliation. The Boston Jewish
community has offered diverse programming aimed at keeping people plugged in
to the Jewish social network. The study also showed that almost all Jewish women
in mixed-faith households raise Jewish children, suggesting that intermarriage
adds to the Jewish community. What are the holiday plans of families in your
community? What do local congregations say about outreach and programming for
intermarried households?
SOURCES
• Combined
Jewish Philanthropies commissioned the study
of the Boston Jewish community. Barry Shrage is president and Deborah Fineblum
Raub is media contact, 617-457-8595.
• Leonard
Saxe directs the Steinhardt
Social Research Institute at Brandeis University and was principal investigator
of the Boston study. He says the study is cause for optimism about the future
of the Jewish community in light of high intermarriage rates. 781-736-3952,
saxe@brandeis.edu.
• Read
a Nov.
10, 2006 Boston Globe story discussing the study of Jewish intermarried
families.
• Edmund
Case is president and publisher of Interfaithfamily.com,
a resource for interfaith couples that promotes Jewish choices. The organization's
third annual December holidays survey (which will be posted on its home page)
showed that more families are planning to observe Hanukkah than Christmas. For
these families, Hanukkah is a religious celebration and a Christmas a more secular
event. The site offers extensive December
holidays resources and an archive
of press coverage. Contact Case, 617-581-6805, edc@interfaithfamily.com,
or online managing editor Micah Sachs, 617-581-6861, micahs@interfaithfamily.com.
• Rabbi
Kerry Olitzky is executive director of the Jewish
Outreach Institute in New York and a prolific author on Jewish observances.
Contact 212-760-1440.
• Building
Jewish Bridges is an outreach program run by the Jewish
Community Federation of Greater East Bay in San Francisco for intermarried
couples. It provides support for honoring the Jewish tradition. San Francisco
also has a higher than average rate of interfaith couples raising Jewish children.
Program director is Dawn Kepler, 510-839-2900 ext. 347, dawn@jfed.org.
• The
Dovetail Institute
for Interfaith Family Resources in Boston, Ky., offers a trove of materials
for intermarried families. Mary-Helene Rosenbaum is executive director, 800-530-1596.
Chrismukkah:
It's baaaaack
The faux holiday
Chrismukkah is for Jewish-Christian families who solve the holiday dilemma by
having them all. First made popular by references in the television show The
O.C. in 2003, the pop culture polyglot celebration is the subject of two new
books dueling to be definitive. Chrismukkah: The Official Guide to the World's
Most Beloved Holiday by Gersh Kuntzman (Sasquatch Press, 2006) and Chrismukkah:
Everything You Need to Know to Celebrate the Hybrid Holiday by Ron Gompertz
(Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2006) are newly published.
SOURCES
• Ron
Gompertz developed www.chrismukkah.com.
A partner in an interfaith marriage, he lives in Bozeman, Mont. Read Gompertz's
blog.
E-mail ron@chrismukkah.com.
• Romi
Neustadt, director of marketing at Oberry | Cavanaugh, also in Bozeman, is helping
with publicity. 406-522-8075, rrn@oberrycavanaugh.com.
• Gersh
Kuntzman is a columnist and editor of the weekly Brooklyn Papers. Contact
718-834-9350, kuntzman@brooklynpapers.com.
Interfaith
greetings
Greeting cards
reflect the culture, and the interfaith greeting card has come of age. In fact,
some greeting cards have moved beyond interfaith to mere multicultural greetings,
such as “May we lift the boundaries that separate us and live in peace.” There
are no firm statistics on the number of interfaith families. Jewish groups,
concerned about the increasing number of kids who are not being raised Jewish,
know that about half of Jews marry spouses who aren’t Jewish. But Christians
and Jews also marry Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and people of other faiths,
such as Mormons or Unitarian Universalists, which can make for a clash of religious
cultures during the holidays. Greeting cards – whether they are printed, e-cards,
or make-your-own kits – offer one way to both acknowledge and bridge differences.
• Phil
and Elise Okrend are co-founders of MixedBlessing,
a company in Raleigh, N.C., that produces interfaith cards, music and other
holiday items. The Okrends, both Jewish, also are co-authors of the children’s
book Blintzes for Blitzen (MixedBlessing, 1996). Read an Aug.
22, 2005, profile of their company on BusinessWeekOnline. Contact 800-947-4004
or 919-847-7944, mixedblessing@earthlink.net.
• Pet
Star cards feature two dogs or cats – one wearing a Santa hat, one a yarmulke.
•
Read a Dec.
18, 2005, story from Jewish Life about families that celebrate a
blend of Christmas and Hanukkah. Read a Dec.
17, 2004, story from the Jewish News of Greater Phoenix on Chrismukkah
cards and how some find that approach offensive.
•
The Dovetail Institute
for Interfaith Family Resources posts a list
of interfaith groups around the country.
• Meetup.com
lists interfaith
family meet-ups.
Rekindling
Hanukkah spirituality
Hanukkah is widely
celebrated as a children’s holiday centered on dreidels, latkes and gifts.
But it can also be an adult opportunity for rekindling Jewish spirituality.
Hanukkah, which begins at sundown on Dec. 15, commemorates an ancient era when
many Jews assimilated to prevailing Hellenistic values and practices that conflicted
with traditional Jewish teachings and observances. Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald, founder
and director of the National Jewish
Outreach Program, sees a strong parallel to today’s America, with many
Jews “living as Hellenists and loving it.” Because Hanukkah celebrates
a rededication to Jewish values, Buchwald believes, an adult understanding of
the holiday’s deeper meaning can lead to “finding joy and inspiration
in Jewish life and practice.”
• The National Jewish Outreach Program offers an educational program called
“Chanukah:
Rekindling Jewish Spirituality,” which consists of a 40-minute video lecture
and materials, free to synagogues, Jewish community centers and other organizations.
Contact Larry Greenman, 646-871-0113.
• Read two discussions of the clash between Hellenistic and Jewish values
– one by
Joel Padowitz and the other by
Rabbi Ahron Lopiansky -- at aish.com
• Read “Hanukah:
Origins,” an article about the holiday’s ancient historical and cultural
context.
• The Aleph Institute
is organizing Hanukkah packages for Jewish soldiers overseas, which will include
a menorah, candles, dreidels and a Hanukkah explanatory booklet. Contact Rabbi
Menachem Katz, director of programs, 305-864-5553, mmk@alephinstitute.org.
• Read a description
of Hanukkah at Judaism 101.
• See a Sept.
12, 2006, ReligionLink edition on Jewish spirituality.
Was
Jesus an illegal immigrant?
The Christmas story
is one of such great familiarity that many Christian leaders struggle to present
it in a fresh way. One tactic is to remind congregants of the plight of the
Holy Family — traveling from Galilee to Bethlehem, then fleeing into Egypt to
save the life of the baby Jesus. The point is that Jesus — and Mary and Joseph
— would today have been considered refugees, or perhaps illegal immigrants.
This Christmas
season, immigration is part of the national conversation. Opinions are divided.
Many candidates in November’s midterm elections ran on anti-immigration platforms,
and some legislators sought funding to build a wall between the United States
and Mexico. Yet nearly six in 10 voters, according to exit polls, said most
illegal immigrants working in the United States should be offered a chance to
apply for legal status rather than be deported. And some of the most sharp-edged
anti-immigration candidates lost. At the same time, in Arizona, voters approved
a measure to make English the state’s official language, and they also voted
to bar illegal immigrants from receiving damages awarded in civil actions and
from participating in several state-funded education programs.
Religious communities
have made humane immigration reform a priority, led by the Roman Catholic Church,
which is bolstered by an influx of Latinos. Leaders cite Jesus’ call in the
Gospel of Matthew to “welcome the stranger,” because “what you do to the least
of my brethren, you do unto me.” But how many of their congregants are behind
the leadership? Christmas is a good time to find out.
• See
a May 15, 2006, issue of ReligionLink, “Religion
informs immigration debate.”
Christmas
Eve's Sunday dilemma
Dec. 24 falls on
a Sunday this year, which puts Christmas Eve on Sunday night. That schedule
could make for a mighty busy day for pastors who may need to preach both morning
and night, and for choir members who have to sing at 8 a.m. and at the late-night
Christmas Eve service as well. So what will churches do?
Last year, when
Christmas Eve fell on Saturday, some megachurches canceled Sunday morning worship
– using the argument that families needed more time at home to celebrate the
holiday. (See a Dec.
9, 2005, New York Times story or listen to a Dec.
14, 2005, NPR story.)
This year, some
megachurches plan to add services – holding worship on Saturday night and Sunday
morning as usual, but adding Sunday night Christmas Eve services as well. Southeast
Christian Church in Louisville, for example, is adding Sunday night services
at 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill.,
will hold 10 Christmas Eve services starting Thursday, Dec. 21 – but will be
closed altogether on Christmas Day.
A December 2005
posting on the Web site of the Hartford
Institute for Religion Research examined Christmas attendance at churches
both big and small – and concluded that attendance often is down at Protestant
churches when Christmas falls on Sunday, but that attendance at Catholic and
Orthodox services tends to go up. Contact Scott
Thumma, a professor of the sociology of religion at the institute, 860-509-9571,
sthumma@hardsem.edu.
• What
are megachurches in your area planning to do? What do people think of the practice
some use of scheduling Christmas Eve services before Dec. 24?
• For
some small congregations, wall-to-wall scheduling is too much. Some churches
are struggling with how to honor the religious meaning of Christmas – which
in some traditions includes Christmas Day services as well – without stressing
out the musicians, ushers and church staff. Are there ways to hold meaningful
services that are quieter, smaller – or do people insist, at Christmas, that
bigger is always better?
• Will
pastors preach the same sermon on Sunday morning as Christmas Eve? Lots of people
come to church only at Christmas and Easter – so is this a time to scale back
or go all-out? Will most people come to church for Sunday morning worship and
then come back again for a Christmas Eve service Sunday night?
• What
do parishioners want? Some people love the late-night candlelight services.
But pastors say few elderly worshippers drive to late-night services. And families
with small children might want to skip church on Christmas morning altogether.
How do congregations focus on faith and religious meaning while still giving
people what they want?
• Is
there difference in the plans -- or expectations for attendance -- for Protestant,
Catholic and Orthodox churches in your area? What, if anything, are congregations
planning to do for Christmas Day?
Stories
behind hajj
Hajj – Muslims’
sacred pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia – begins on Dec. 29 this year, so reporters
interested in writing about the journey should begin now. Because Islam uses
a lunar calendar, the date shifts on the calendar. Hajj makes an excellent entry
point for reporters who want to write about the lives of ordinary, devout American
Muslims. The act of traveling to Mecca and spending five days performing a series
of prescribed rituals alongside millions of pilgrims from around the world is
the spiritual pinnacle of a Muslim’s life. Believers who are physically and
financially able are required to make hajj at least once in a lifetime; it is
one of the five pillars of Islam.
Imams suggest these
story ideas:
• Before
and after: Pilgrims say they reap enormous spiritual rewards from hajj.
Interview them before and after their journey to see how they have been shaped
by it.
• Children
of Abraham: During hajj, Muslims perform rituals that re-enact events in
the lives of the prophet Abraham (Muslims call him Ibrahim), Hagar and their
son, Ishmael. Christians and Jews know these names from their Scriptures, but
the stories differ in the Quran, where Abraham shows his willingness to sacrifice
Ishmael – not Isaac, as the Hebrew and Christian Bibles say. Much has been written
about how Christianity, Judaism and Islam are the three great Abrahamic faiths;
use hajj as an occasion to compare and contrast their views of Abraham.
• Preparations:
Preparation for hajj is extensive. The journey costs thousands of dollars,
and travelers must obtain visas and travel documents, religious items and spiritual
instruction. Several hundred tour companies operate in the United States alone
and arrange pilgrims’ accommodations, transportation and, sometimes, religious
education. Imams warn that not all tour operators are reliable, so they suggest
seeking recommendations before selecting one to interview. Consider attending
hajj workshops or classes offered by Islamic centers and mosques in the month
before hajj begins.
• Follow
a pilgrim’s progress: By early autumn, if not long before, pilgrims must
have planned their journey, so begin next summer if you intend to find a story
subject to follow through the entire process. There’s still time now to write
about pilgrims who will leave in early December. A Muslim from your city may
be willing to contribute a journal or blog from abroad.
SOURCES
Don’t be surprised if some of your well-intentioned questions are politely rebuffed.
Asking a Muslim how many times she or he has made hajj, for example, can put
him on the spot. Humility and modesty are highly regarded; a Muslim may feel
embarrassed if asked to discuss spiritual efforts.
• Imam Tahir Anwar, spiritual leader and director of Silicon Valley’s South
Bay Islamic Association, leads tours and conducts workshops in San Jose, Calif.,
and has reported for CNN on hajj. For background, read his online article, “Do
you intend to go for Hajj?” Contact 408-768-4661, Imamtahir@yahoo.com.
• Muzammil Siddiqi chairs the Islamic
Shura Council of Southern California and leads hajj workshops in Garden
Grove, Calif. Contact 714-531-1722.
• Imam
Zaid Shakir is a scholar who can discuss hajj, its rituals and history.
He has a master’s degree in political science, received classical scholarly
training in the Muslim world and is considered a leader in the American Muslim
tradition. Contact him at the Zaytuna Institute in Hayward, Calif., 510-582-1979.
• Consult hajj
how-to guides at the South
Bay Islamic Association site.
• Contact the Royal
Embassy of Saudi Arabia for background information and for detailed hajj
requirements and guidelines.
• Coping with crowds is one of the demanding aspects of the hajj. The Grand
Mosque of Mecca alone can contain 1.9 million people at a time. Deaths by trampling
have occurred. Learn about hajj
crowd dynamics. Read a Feb.
6, 2006, letter in which the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California
urges Saudi Arabia to adopt safety measures to prevent trampling of pilgrims
at the hajj.
• Consult
a travel company’s glossary
of hajj terms.
