My Account of the Hajj: The Pilgrimage of a White Anglo-Saxon Australian to Mecca and Medina

Rare are works that combine personal revelations with explanations of Islam in a manner to which Westerners can easily relate. The beauty of Nicholas Account of the Hajj (italicise) is that an Australian farm boy with an education imbued in Christian principles and a lifetime of exposure to religions and cultures in the Arab world and South and South-East Asia can relate to and convey in a straightforward manner Islamic beliefs and practices that many may consider foreign. Nicholas has done a great service to those interested in religions and spirituality in his descriptions of the rites of the Hajj and explanations of their origins and meaning. As a diary the work animates the daily life of the pilgrim in an engaging style reminiscent of writings from an earlier period of exploration. Nick expresses a personal revelation the Hajj inspires a deep sense of serenity humility and affinity with the Almighty. The Hajj is both a voyage to Mecca as well as a recommitment to a lifelong spiritual journey. He writes If my Account of the Hajj can contribute to inter-cultural and religious understanding I am happy to have shared it with others.