The Drama of Pilgrimage
Growing up in Cairo, I saw a lot of people praying all the time in different places. I lived in Zamalek and Maadi, and the experiences and talk of pilgrimage were very different than what we discussed...
View ArticleMy Own Hillula: Ethnic-Religious Festivals and the Immigrant Experience
The hillula is a complex, rich phenomenon–just the simple fact that Alex Weingrod can devote an entire book to it evidences its complicated nature. Against the backdrop of the religious ritual of...
View ArticleReconfiguring the Past
“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...
View ArticlePilgrimages,Colonialism and Nationalism
In reading Kosansky’s text, what I found extremely interesting was the role in which Judeo-Muslim pilgrimages played during colonialism. The sacredness, sanctity and tradition surrounding these ancient...
View ArticleThe Saint of Beersheba
When reading The Saint of Beersheba by Alex Weingrod, I thought it was fascinating to learn about a place of new holiness. Each year people gather around to take part in a pilgrimage to the city of...
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