The Hajj – the annual pilgrimage for Muslims prescribed to be performed at least once in ones lifetime if one is by the means to do so is a ritualistic expression.

However the Hajj is also considered the ultimate expression of one’s faith, circumambulating the House of Allah (the Holy Kaaba), the symbolic pelting of Satan at Mina and the meeting as one body on the plains of mercy at Arafah.

With over 1.5 billion Muslims, is the Hajj merely an annual get-together for rituals, is it a get-together for one’s personal desires and hopes or does it represent much more?

Guest: Prof Salman Sayyid – Chair in Social Theory and Decolonial Thought, and Head of School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds(UK)