The Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Rutgers University hosted Rituals in Islam: Pilgrimage and Spirit of Sacrifice with distinguished guest speakers Anisa Mehdi and Peter Chelkowski on Monday, November 30th. Though exams kept some students away, nearly sixty attended in spite of the impending reading period. Many were drawn to the Cook Campus Center because of the event’s primary purpose, which was to demonstrate the diversity that exists within Muslim communities all around the globe. Both speakers also emphasized the cultural continuity of rituals such as the pilgrimage to Mecca and the passion play, both of which have pre-Islamic roots.

Anisa Mehdi, who is an Emmy award winning journalist and documentary producer, presented her documentary "Inside Mecca." The film provided an intimate perspective on the lives of three individuals from dramatically different backgrounds who were all preparing to undertake the same spiritual journey.

Peter Chelkowski, who is a professor of Middle Eastern Studies at New York University, offered an anthropological analysis of the origins of rituals in Islam. He primarily discussed the advent of the passion play in Karbala, Iraq and the way in which communities around the world made it culturally specific.

Though the speakers gave stellar presentations, Rituals in Islam was not solely an academic event. Students of CMES organized a bazaar, complete with books, clothing items and objects d’art in order to raise money for the Center. Guests could be found socializing with their purchases in hand or eating delicious Middle Eastern food, some of which was prepared by the students themselves.