‘How is one supposed to sleep when the Ka‘ba is over there?’

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present data from the first study using interviews with Swedish hajj pilgrims, conducted during 2016 and 2017 by the Institute for Language and Folklore, Gothenburg; the Museum of World Culture, Gothenburg; Södertörn University, Stockholm; and Gothenburg Univetsity. Among the questions asked within the framework of the project were, for example, how Swedish Muslims experience the hajj; how they prepare for the trip to Saudi Arabia; how the pilgrimage is organized by Swedish Muslim organizations (e.g. hajj travel agencies); whether the pilgrimage is only perceived as a religious journey; and whether the intergroup conflicts and variations that exist among Muslims effect the hajj? The last question will be addressed by focusing on how Swedish Ahmadiyya Muslims are affected by the fact that the Pakistani and Saudi states do not regard them as Muslims.