The Muslim Destinations - JK Latest News
The Muslim Destinations
The work is a collective endeavour of scholars related to religious tourism
SARTAJ AHMAD SOFI
Sartaja01@gmail.com
Tourism is one of the dynamic industries of today’s world. New forms of tourism have come into existence.
One among them is religious tourism, and Islamic tourism falls under it. Islamic tourism is the least studied areas in the whole phenomenon of religious tour-ism.
Regarding the phenomenon of Islamic tourism, some scholars have taken serious interests in comprehending the role of religion of Islam with tourism industry and the interconnectedness between them.
The scholarly works came out under the titles of Islamic tour-ism or Halal tourism mainly by Henderson, Jafari, Al-Hamerneh, Shakiry, Din, Battour, Kessler, and Ismail etc.
Islamic tourism defined so far refers to the sector of the tourism industry that confirms Shari‘ah adherence. The under review study is a serious effort, in this regard, that encapsulates the newly emerging concept in a broader perspective.
Indeed, this can be considered as a kind of serious initiative. This work is the first that exhibits the name Islamic Tourism after the Magazine produced by Abdul Sahib Shakiry in 2001. However, the work is a collective endeavor of scholars related to religious and tourism studies ranging from Busi-ness Administration, Economics, Management studies and other disciplines as well.
The study is based on 18 chap-ters which are divided into three parts. Part-1 entitled as Theologi-cal Framework and Development of Islamic Tourism.
This part is based on four chapters. Chapter first entitled Introduction by Jamal, Raj & Griffin, introduces the book with respect to its contents. It pro-vides a glimpse of the chapters of the book as per their themes. Chap-ter 2nd entitled Islamic Tourism: the Role of Culture and Religiosity by a jmal & El-Bassiouny evaluates the complex interferences and interactional exchanges of socio-cultural institution in Islamic tourism industry. It also accounts the managerial considerations of cultural dimensions and motiva-tions of Muslim tourists originat-ing from diverse countries.
This endeavors for future research on the interaction between Islamic tourists’ motivations, cultural orientations and religious com-mitment levels. Chapter three titled Religion and Islamic Tour-ism Destinations by Suleman & Qayum reflects on the intricacies of Islamic tourism, its manage-ment, the ongoing debate about it and awareness programme with respect to its prospects. It focuses on theological contextualization to frame religious tourism, beyond economic perspective. Muslim destinations need a nuanced and specific site of management con-siderations.
The fourth chapter entitled Marketing Approaches and Problems of Islamic Destinations by Bilim, Biskin & Kaynak. It aims to evaluate marketing approaches of Islamic destinations with a view to highlighting the problems and identify potential solutions. Part-II Management and Devel-opment of Destinations is based on five chapters ranging from 5-9. Chapter-5 titled as The impact of Hajj satisfaction on Islamic religious com-mitment: A Theoretical Framework compiled by Utomo, Scott & Jin proposes a theoretical framework for assessing the impact of hajjsatisfaction on levels of religious commitment experienced after the pilgrimage of Hajj. Chapter-6
Islamic Tourism and Use of Social Media by Rashid & Adwik refers to the diverse channels of social media; their use and the notion of Muslim scholarship.
It depicts the need of further research to make adequate of use of social media for Islamic tourism. Chapter-7, Islam-ic Customer Relationship Market-ing (ICRM) and Inspirations for Religious Tourism by Kawsar &
Rashid considers customer rela-tionship as one of the key goals of any marketer. Muslims are directed, in this regard, to enhance relationships both in personal as well as in business, keeping in view the pleasure of Allah and the welfare of the whole society. Chapter-8 entitled as The Impact of Umrah Quality Attributes on Religious Tourist Loyalty in Saudi Arabia by Alsini, Ekiz & Hussain have taken a sample of 650 Umrahpilgrims and tests a conceptual model.
The result suggests that Islamic beliefs act as the most sig-nificant driver of tourists’ loyalty, followed by Islamic performance and tour guide services. Chap-ter-9, Sufi Tourism: The Impact of Sufi Heritage on Islamic Religious Tourism authored by Elhadary dis-cusses the Sufi teachings of love, beauty and knowledge as virtues and their impact on tourism as an industry and on religious tourists undergoing this amazing spiritual experience.
Part-III Challenges and Issues:
Global Case Studies is based on
nine chapters, ranging from 10-18.
Chapter-10 entitled as Religious
Tourism in the Sultanate of Oman:
The Potential for Mosque Tourism
Thrive by Kessler & Raj considering
the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
as a religious tourism destination
permitting tourists to explore the
understanding and spread of Islam.
Chapter-11 labeled as An Opportu-
nity Unexploited: A Pilgrim’s Obser-
vations on the Potential of Muslim
Pilgrimage (Hajj) by Acar demon-
strates some key problems, pilgrims
encounter with, and proposes devel-
opments viz. better crowd manage-
ment, introduction of a metro and
turning the Hajj into an intellectual
festival. Chapter-12 entitled Halal
Tourism: Insights from Experts
in the Field by Vargas-Sanchez &
Moral-Moral describes the potential
of Halal Tourism especially in Spain
by undertaking a sample of 78 tour-
ism related academics and industry
experts including the analysis of
existing literature of Halal Tourism.
Chapter-13 namely Battlefield Tour-
ism: The Potential of Badr, Uhud,
and the Trench (Khandaq) Battles
for Islamic Tourism by Akbulut &
Ekin literature is relevant to Dark
Tourism. The authors elaborate
how and in what sense battles can
become tourist attractions. By quot-
ing the Cu Chi Tunnels of Vietnam
War and the Western Front of the
First World War as examples of
battlefields turning into tourist
attractions, the relevance of historic
battles of Islam is relevant. Chap-
ter-14 titled as Holy Foods and Reli-
gious Tourism: Konya and Mevlevi
Cuisine by Yilmiz, Guines & Sormaz
discusses the relevance of holy food
for Islamic tourism with respect to
Konya and Mevlevi cuisine. Chap-
ter-15 entitled as The Halal Tour-
ism: A Business Model Opportunity
by Biancone & Secinaro explores
issues and concepts associated
with ethical tourism identified as
Halal tourism based on sustainabil-
ity. Moreover, the authors demon-
strate the ways to promote Halal
Tourism in non-Muslim countries.
Chapter-16, Religious Practices
and Performance in Syrian Shi‘ite
Religious Tourism by Yasuda con-
sidering literature along with own field research in Sayyedah Zeinab and other Shi’ite religious places in
Syria from 2007 to 2011, the author describes the religious practices
and performance in Syrian Shi’ite Religious tourism. Chapter-17 namely Constructs of Foot Pilgrim-age in Islam:
The Case of Arbaeen Ziyara by Mujtaba highlights the status of foot pilgrimage in Islam with special reference to Arbaeen Ziyara in Iraq. Chapter-18, Tab-lighi Jamaat: A Multidimensional Movement of Religious Travellers by Abbasi highlights the histori-cal context of Tablighi Jamaatwith respect to the religious travels (Dawah) and six points programme in context of religious tourism.
The work deals exclusively with the managerial aspect of Islamic tourism which indeed confirms a significant aspect of it. It focuses more on management of tourism as an industry and with respect to destinations and less in terms of definition and other necessary nuances of Islamic tourism. The contents of the book are significant to develop Islamic tourism as an industry at the global level. It also motivates relevant scholars and practitioners to delve deep and work for the enhancement and better management of the Islamic tourism industry. Moreover, it acknowledges the significance of further research in this field. Author is a Research Scholar at Shaha-
i-Hamadan Institute of Islamic Studies,
University of Kashmir, Sringar.
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