New Article - Journal of Intercultural Studies

This new article of mine on young Muslims in Hong Kong, has just been published in the Journal of Intercultural Studies. It is part of a special edition on young people and everyday multiculturalism. The research in this edition forms a very interesting collection with work from India, Germany, Australia, Canada, Italy, and Hong Kong.

I am very proud and pleased to have contributed to this project intially conceived by Dr Anita Harris. Her passion for the topic brought a number of scholars together in Italy to present and work on the papers which are now collected together in this journal. The focus on youth and everyday multiculturalism is clearly a vibrant and topical issue for youth studies. These papers provide support for the emerging concept of everyday multiculturalism and indicate that there is much more that can be researched within this field.

The Journal of Intercultural Studies is published by Sage and is currently sponsored by the Centre for Citizenship and Globalisation at Deakin University.

The Modern Hajj

This summer my research on the modernisation of the Hajj was published by Lambert Academic Publishing. The text explores transformations in the organisation of the pilgrimage to Mecca over the last 200 years. In looking at the social, political, and mechanical changes a nuanced picture of the Hajj is provided. We come to understand that the modern Hajj remains that which took place over 1,400 years ago. The same rites endure.

This text is perhaps most valuable because it also addresses the experience and organisation of Hajj from a British perspective. It reports the work of the ABH (Association of British Hujjaj) and also recent developments in the foreign office to aid British pilgrims.

Its publication comes at a time when Islam continues to be a topical and contentious issue in the West. This work, originally drafted in the year 2000, provides a refreshing change of perspective. Worded in a time just prior to 9/11 it is free of the imposing rhetoric of terror that has become suffocatingly synonymous in all discussions on Islam. It is however prescient of the events that have now come to pass and acknowledges that the Hajj has also been involved in political conflicts and terrorist activity.

The modern theme has also been a topical issue recently with the building of an enormous clock tower by the grand mosque in Mecca. With all its traffic infrastructure, concrete, air conditioning, five star hotels, and fast food chains Mecca has made an enormous departure from what pilgrims would have encountered just 50 years ago.

This book provides an overview of the modern pilgrimage to Mecca. It will be of interest to those wishing to know more about its recent history. It is unique in its focus on British Muslims

'The Modern Hajj' is available at Amazon.

Visual Anthropology and other Arts Journals free till 28th Feb

This month's special edition on Hybrid Hong Kong has been offered by Routledge for free until the 28th of Feb. You can get access to my recent article on Everyday Hybridity here and the rest of the articles on Hybrid Hong Kong.

Also there are many back issues of other excellent journals available. Do have a look.