Professor Baz Lecocq is Senior Lecturer in African History in Department of History at Ghent University in Belgium and Faculty Member at Humboldt-University of Berlin Institute of Asian and African Studies (IAAW). The history of Berlin IAAW goes well back into the 19^th century: initially founded as a translators’ academy when Germany was expanding its colonial empire, after WWII it was reshaped as an academic hub for the study and development of Asian and African cultures. Today it stands as a cultural hub in the heart of Europe, and it’s one of the main institution in Germany for the development and promotion of foreign cultures.

Although the focus of the lecture will be on the past two centuries, the subject of Hajj and its relation with modern countries is extremely important in present times as well. For example, Gambia has just started subsidizing part of the expenses for the pilgrimage to Mecca, whereas other Muslim countries are loosening border controls for pilgrims, making easier to travel across Africa and Asia.

Despite the traditional view that tends to consider religion like a considerable, if not the most important, disaggregating factor between countries and people, Hajj is a vivid example of how religion, and Islam in this particular case, can be a cohesive element to bridge cultures and ethnicities of two different continents.

• - https://www.iaaw.hu-berlin.de/de/querschnitt/medialitaet/querschnitt/aktuell/16-juni-the-hajj-from-west-africa-as-a-focus-for-the-study-of-transcultural-relations-and-migration-vortrag-von-baz-lecocq
• - https://grakov-berlin.academia.edu/BazLecocq
• - http://allafrica.com/stories/201606201308.html

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Giorgio Malvermi, Berlin Global