Hajj in extraordinary heat: what a scholar of Islam saw in Mecca

By Ahmet T. Kuru, San Diego State University

At least 1,300 people died because of scorching heat during the Hajj pilgrimage in June 2024. It’s not the first time that such a tragic incident hit the pilgrimage. More than a thousand were killed in a heat wave in 1985, and deaths due to stampedes and other crowd-related disasters have been reported in previous years.

But despite the risks, millions of Muslims perform the pilgrimage; this year alone, some 1.8 million participated in it.

I, too, performed Hajj this year by traveling from the United States to Saudi Arabia. This not only allowed me to fulfill my religious duty as a Muslim, but it also gave me the opportunity to observe the diversity of Muslim societies as a social scientist studying Islam and politics.

While the tragic deaths came to be the focus of much of the media coverage, there were many other dimensions of Hajj 2024. Hajj is a personal spiritual journey that also involves meeting Muslims from diverse backgrounds. But, of late, the Saudi government’s management of this gathering has been criticized, particularly regarding its destruction of Mecca’s historical landscape.

Religious significance

Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam – together with declaration of faith, daily prayers, fasting and almsgiving. Muslims who have the financial and physical ability to undertake the pilgrimage are obligated to perform it at least once in their lives.

During most of the Hajj rituals, men wear two pieces of unstitched white clothing, representing humility and equality, while women can wear any articles of modest dress. Together, men and women walk seven times around the Kaaba – the cube-shaped structure believed to be the “house of God” in Mecca. Muslims all over the world turn toward the Kaaba when they pray five times a day.

Hajj has many spiritual dimensions, such as contemplation and asking for forgiveness and supplication, but it also involves physical challenges.

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