Formulation of the claim
The rites place all pilgrims on the same footing of equality, and at the same time grant them a spiritual connection within the sacred space.
Explanation
At this point in Arkoun’s thought, rites are not understood merely as formal rituals, but as a practice that brings believers together on a single basis. What is emphasized here is that the rite lessens the effect of social differences, because it places all participants before the same religious situation.
Alongside this, a distinct spiritual dimension appears, as the rites become a field for believers’ communication with sacred meaning rather than with worldly privileges. Equality here is therefore linked to spiritual experience, not to legal or political equality in its general sense.
Its place in the book’s argument
This atom belongs to Arkoun’s conception of the transformation that Islam brought about in the organization of the community and the believers, where the spiritual and ethical structure takes precedence over class and tribal privileges. It is close to his theses that connect the reconfiguration of the religious sphere with the formation of a believing community that transcends older distinctions.
Limits of the claim
This atom should not be taken to mean that rites abolish all forms of social or historical inequality, nor that they provide a general theory of equality. The intended meaning is narrower than that: to highlight the function of the rite in unifying pilgrims and giving them a shared religious experience.