Spiritual or Tourist Experience? A Critical Exploration of the Consequences of the Commodification of the Hajj on the Pilgrim Experience. By Jahanzeeb Qurashi A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Central Lancashire March 2018 i STUDENT DECLARATION FORM Type of Award: PhD School: Lancashire School of Business and Enterprise 1. Concurrent registration for two or more academic awards *I declare that while registered as a candidate for the research degree, I have not been a registered candidate or enrolled student for another award of the University or other academic or professional institution 2. Material submitted for another award *I declare that no material contained in the thesis has been used in any other submission for an academic award and is solely my own work 3. Use of a Proof-reader *No proof-reading service was used in the compilation of this thesis. Signature of Candidate Print name: JAHANZEEB QURASHI ii Acknowledgements First of all, I would like to dedicate this PhD thesis to my late grandfather, Professor Mohammad Fazal-ud-Din Qurashi, and to my late father Mohammad Safdar Qurashi, who always dreamt of me as a savant person. I couldn’t fulfil their dream during their lifetime but I hope they are still observing me from heaven and feeling proud of me. Secondly, I commenced my PhD in April 2015 at University of Central Lancashire (Uclan). Before joining Uclan I submitted my PhD proposal to eight UK universities, four of which offered me an admission. However, during this process I met number of renowned academic professors of tourism to discuss my PhD proposal, most of whom recommend me to Professor Richard Sharpley for my PhD. I subsequently applied to Uclan and was offered an admission under the direction and supervision of Professor Richard Sharpley. Now I have nearly concluded my PhD, I believe the professors who recommended me to Professor Richard Sharpley were absolutely accurate. During my academic journey I found that he was highly professional in his field; he understands the psychology of his students, his academic support is always there, his friendly ‘chemistry’ with students is enormous, and he always believes in the idea that ‘you can do it’. I am so grateful to God that he blessed me with the director/supervisor in the shape of Professor Richard Sharpley; owing to his expertise, my PhD journey went smoothly. I must confess, undertaking PhD has been a truly life-changing experience for me and it would not have been possible without the support and guidance of Professor Richard Sharpley. Thirdly, I would like to salute my great mother for not only supporting me financially, morally and socially but spiritually as well. Her hands were always busy praying for my success and future endeavours. Furthermore, my adorable wife has been extremely supportive of me throughout this entire academic journey and has made countless sacrifices to help me get to this point. My two sons who always support me with their love, patience, and understanding— they allowed me to spend most of the time on this thesis. Last but not the least, my two sisters who always support me morally, socially and financially, they always stood side by side to me and taught me a lesson of optimism. It is their dream and expectation that, as a brother, it is my responsibility to keep the legacy of education in our family. I hope presently they are also feeling proud of me. iii Once again, I would like to pay gratitude to all of the people who directly and indirectly support me in this academic journey. iv Abstract Within the field of religious tourism research, increasing attention has been paid to commodification and its consequences. However, there remains a paucity of literature that considers the impacts of the commodification of religious tourism on the experience of religious tourists or pilgrims in general, whilst few if any attempts had been made to consider this issue from an Islamic perspective. Specifically, little is known about the consequences of the commodification of the destination (Mecca) and of the religious ritual of the Hajj on pilgrims’ spiritual experiences. Therefore, based upon research into the Hajj, Mecca and pilgrims’ experiences, this thesis sought to address the following question: to what extent is commodification transforming the spiritual experiences of pilgrim on the Hajj, as well as their perceptions of the authenticity and appeal of the pilgrimage journey. Putting it another way, the main aim of this exploratory research was to critically appraise the extent to which the spiritual experience of the Islamic pilgrim is being transformed into a touristic experience as a result of the contemporary commodification of Mecca and the Hajj. The research in this thesis adopted a phenomenological interpretivist approach, and comprised two stages. Stage one of the research involved one focus group undertaken in the UK with pilgrims who had undertaken the Hajj at least once in the preceding three years, the purpose to being to establish the extent and perceived consequences of the commodification of the Hajj as a basis for guiding and informing the principal research at stage two. The focus group outcomes revealed that, for the majority of participants, the Hajj has become commodified. Not only has the experience become more ‘touristic’, but the participants revealed that pilgrims also seek out greater comfort and luxury, thus indicating that the pilgrimage has become more of a ‘branded’, commodified experience. As such, the focus group findings confirm the arguments in the literature with regards to the commodification of religious tourism yet, for some participants in the research, this commodification had not, for them, diminished either the authenticity or the enjoyment of the experience. Subsequently, the second stage of data collection took place during the Hajj; specifically, the researcher participated in the Hajj as a pilgrim in August-September 2016. At this stage, the principal data collection method was semi-structured in-depth interviews. The interviews were conducted with pilgrims from both developed and developing countries in order to explore in depth not only how pilgrims experience a commodified Hajj but also to identify the extent to which these experiences vary amongst pilgrims from contrasting cultural backgrounds. Interviews were also conducted with representatives of the tourism sector in Saudi Arabia / Mecca, v specifically hoteliers, in order to elicit further data with regards to religious tourism policy and practice, as well as contributing to an understanding of the commodification process from a supply perspective. Interview data were also supplemented by participant observation of the roles and actions of pilgrims during the Hajj. The research revealed that the identified commodification of Mecca and the Hajj is impacting negatively not only on the spiritual experience of pilgrims but also on the perceived authenticity of the destination. More specifically, a consensus emerged from the data that, irrespective of national or cultural background, the pilgrim’s behaviour is becoming more materialistic and consumption-oriented. In particular, influenced by the increasing supply of contemporary, highly-branded hospitality services, modern tourism infrastructure and SMART technology in Mecca, the pilgrim’s spiritual experience is being transformed into one mainly more touristic, an experience which competes with and potentially challenges the moralities of the Islamic religious journey of the Hajj and its lessons based on simplicity, equality and no ostentation. Overall, this thesis concludes that, at least for the participants in both stages of the research, the Hajj has become commodified. As a consequence, their spiritual experience is becoming diluted, entering the realm of a more touristic experience. Pilgrims seek out greater comfort and luxury, indicating that the pilgrimage has become more of a ‘branded’, commodified experience. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS TITILE OF THESIS ................................................................................................. i STUDENT DECLARATION .................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ......................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................ v List of Figures ....................................................................................................... xii List of Tables ........................................................................................................ xiv Abbreviations ........................................................................................................ xv Preface ................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter One .......................................................................................................... 2 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 2 1.1 Background: from pilgrimage to contemporary tourism ............................................... 2 1.2 Tourism, commodification and (in) authenticity............................................................ 7 1.3 Aims and objectives of the research ...........................................................................