Islamic tourism as an ideological construction: A Jordan study case

Abstract

In early 2001, the Jordanian Ministry of Awqâf1 and Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities endorsed a new branch of tourism: Islamic tourism. This new policy has economic, cultural and religious dimensions, and targets Muslim as well as Westerner tourists. It focuses on promoting visitation of the newly rebuilt mausoleums of the pre-Islamic prophets and the Companions of Prophet Muhammad all over the territory and specifically along the Jordan Valley. This article argues that Islamic tourism is noteworthy for the way it reveals the politics heritage in Jordan. Patrimony, heritage and religious archaeology are being used politically in the context of the development of Islamic tourism. They are used by the Jordanian government and by the Hashemite regime to give a specific representation of the Jordanian Islamic history. In this case, history is being recast to present Jordan and its Monarchy as central actors in Islamic history and as preferential representatives in terms of diplomacy and international relations especially with the Western countries.