In a journey that was not part of her professional plans, Palestinian journalist Iman found herself among the convoy of pilgrims heading from Hebron to Mecca in the spring of 2026. Iman, who spent years of her life in Israeli prisons and was long prevented from traveling, undertook this journey in response to a spiritual calling after her professional travel plans were disrupted by regional tensions between Israel and Iran.
The story began when her mother, Hajjah Karima, submitted her daughter's name in the Hajj lottery, which was contested by some 30,000 Palestinians from the West Bank and Jerusalem. When the Ministry of Endowments announced the names of 6,600 winners in February, Iman's name appeared, prompting a search for a 'replacement' for her mother. However, new laws and restrictions prevented this, leading the daughter to realize that she was the one called to visit the Sacred House of God.
The journey was not merely a geographical transfer, but was laden with deep social symbolism for the people of Hebron; Iman carried bread, olive oil, and za'atar from the land of Palestine in her bag. This meal, which extended from her home in Hebron to the courtyard of the Grand Mosque, was shared by pilgrims of various nationalities, in a ritual that elderly Palestinian women are keen to observe, linking the land of the Isra' and Mi'raj to the Ancient House.
The title 'Little Pilgrim' has been associated with Iman's family since her grandfather Mohammed performed Hajj in 1958, a title that the granddaughter inherited today as she follows in his footsteps in the holy lands. Iman recalls how bidding farewell to pilgrims in Palestine used to turn into a national and religious celebration, where walls were painted, feasts were held, and women's voices rose in 'tahneen' (a traditional farewell song) longing for the Kaaba.
The hours of departure were not free from the annoyances of the occupation, as the occupation army stormed the city of Dura in Hebron just hours before the convoy set off. This raid forced some pilgrims, including Iman's aunt, to climb over house walls to reach the buses, a scene that encapsulates the challenges Palestinians face even in performing their religious rituals.
At the King Hussein Bridge, Palestinian pilgrims faced the arduous triple inspection system imposed by the political reality, where travelers pass through Palestinian, Israeli, and Jordanian checkpoints. Iman describes the sight of elderly people undergoing thorough and humiliating inspections by occupation soldiers as the height of human oppression, especially as they were on their way to perform a sacred religious duty.
While Iman was experiencing the joy of arrival, the pain of deprivation pursued thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who were prevented from performing Hajj for the third consecutive year. The closure of the Rafah crossing since October 2023 has deprived more than 10,000 Palestinians of their share in Hajj, and dozens have died while waiting for the road to Mecca to open.
The flying experience was the first in Iman's life, who is over thirty, after arrest and security bans prevented her from leaving the country for many years. From the airplane window, she compared civil aviation, which opens up the horizons of the world, with Israeli warplanes, which Palestinians only know as a means of death and destruction in the skies of their besieged cities.
At Jeddah Airport, Iman felt the narratives of isolation that the occupation tries to impose on Palestinians fade away, as she found great hospitality from staff and pilgrims once her identity was known. This ethnic and linguistic diversity in Hajj reshaped the concept of 'globalism' in her mind, affirming that the difference in languages is a strength that supports the Palestinian right and does not weaken it.
During her stroll on 'Ibrahim Al-Khalil' street in Mecca, the Al-Aqsa Mosque was not absent from the Palestinian journalist's imagination, who once lived in Abu Dis and saw it with her naked eye behind the wall. She spoke of the geographical gap created by the occupation, where reaching Jerusalem from the West Bank became more difficult than reaching distant international capitals due to checkpoints and the wall.
Iman contemplated the administrative and operational system of the Grand Mosque, from crowd management to cleanliness and expansions, wishing to transfer this expertise to the Al-Aqsa Mosque after its liberation. She compared the sovereignty enjoyed by the Grand Mosque in Mecca with the restrictions that prevent Palestinians from even renovating basic facilities in the Al-Aqsa Mosque under the weight of the occupation.
The side conversations among Palestinian pilgrims in the circumambulation area often revolved around 'Liberation Day' and how to manage the millions of Muslims who would flock to Jerusalem. This future vision reflects a deep belief that the Hajj experience is an organizational and spiritual school that Palestinians will need to manage their holy sites in the near future.
On the Day of Arafat, Iman recorded her wishes and the wishes of her neighbors in Hebron who entrusted her with their prayers before the Kaaba, carrying the concerns of a people suffering under siege and aggression. The journey that began with a professional setback ended with a spiritual certainty, linking the suffering of the companion Khabbab ibn al-Aratt in ancient Mecca with the contemporary suffering of Palestinians in seeking victory and freedom.
'The Little Pilgrim' will return to her city of Hebron, carrying with her images and memories documenting a journey of loyalty to the land and holy sites, affirming that the distance between Mecca and Jerusalem is not just kilometers. It is a journey of faith and steadfastness that begins from the besieged alleys of the West Bank to circumambulate the Kaaba, and returns laden with hope for a prayer soon in the liberated courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
This place was the core of the Islamic call and the core of all history to which I belong as a Muslim woman and through which I try to build my life.
شارك برأيك
The Little Pilgrim: A Journey of Loyalty from the Alleys of Hebron to the Plains of Mecca