“The past is always reconfigured, effaced, and memorialized in new and diverse forms,” writes Meri, in reference to saint worship in Judaism and Islam (Meri, 2). This quote stood out to me because I think it encompasses much of the Jewish and Islamic history that we have been covering in class. Both Judaism and Islam superseded the religions that came before them and “reconfigured” these practices to meet their own beliefs. For example, while both religions vehemently denounced Paganism, they adapted and regulated Pagan mourning practices to fit into a different religious framework (Astren, 186). They “effaced” these non-monotheistic beliefs, but at the same time normalized the practices with traditions such as (in Judaism) Shiva and Shloshim. Similarly, as Islam tried to become a more defined, unique religion, it had to juxtapose itself with other religions. Even if they adopted beliefs from other religions, they always modified these beliefs.
As Meri points out, the idea of reconfiguring the past played a large role in the revision of pilgrimage beliefs in Judaism and Islam. The highly political dispute over holy places between Judaism and Islam is a recent concept—the two religions used to be much more harmonious in their pilgrimages. For example, both Jews and Muslims made pilgrimages to the shrines of the same prophets, such as Ezekiel (Meri, 229). These shrines “promoted interaction and mutual understanding,” whereas “neighborhoods effectively segregated Muslims and Jews” (Meri, 234). Over time, however, the two religions viewed this past in different ways and, as Meri points out, Muslims and Jews began viewing these holy places in a much more political way.
Although Muslims and Jews were united in their worship of certain saints, they eventually began reworking their history to further differentiate the religions from one another. As we discussed in class, religions gain a distinct identity by being distinguished from other religions. Thus, although early Muslims and Jews were similar in their worship of saints, they began juxtaposing themselves with one another to consolidate their own identities.