1st Edition
Pilgrims and Pilgrimages as Peacemakers in Christianity, Judaism and Islam
Pilgrimages can be analysed as acts of conflict - such as the Crusades - or also as platforms for relationship building and rapprochement between religions. With a set of contributions from leading experts in the field, this book explores the concept of pilgrimage in Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Some specific examples of pilgrimages that helped to strengthen links between different religions or civilisations are explored, ranging from Europe to Asia and from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. Even though every pilgrimage that is investigated here has helped to link different worlds, the case studies show that this relationship rarely led to a better in inter-understanding. Nowadays, peaceful coexistence seems to be its greatest achievement.
Biography
Antón M. Pazos is Vice-director and Senior Research Scientist at the Instituto de Estudios Gallegos 'Padre Sarmiento' (CSIC), President of the Commission Internationale d’Histoire et d’études du Christianisme (CIHEC). He has coordinated research projects on pilgrimages like DICAM (Historical Dictionary about the Way of St James in Galicia) and 'Women Pilgrims', and is the organizer of the International Colloquia Compostela on pilgrimages. He works particularly on the contemporary religious history of Spain. He was Director of the journal 'Hispania Sacra', co-editor of the 'Archivo Gomá' -13 volumes documenting the Spanish Primate during the Spanish Civil War- and has directed more than a dozen doctoral dissertations and research projects.
"...helpfully problematiz[es] the field of pilgrimage study, making it clear that a phenomenon that can easily be privatized and subjected to sentimental reflection demands careful study from a number of different vantage points." -- Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations
"The case studies presented here demonstrate the complexity of pilgrimage in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism across time and geographic regions, and illuminate the changing—sometimes peaceful, sometimes conflict-ridden—religious and geographic encounters that pilgrimage has engendered both within and among these faiths...this collection of essays should be of value to anyone with an interest in pilgrimage journeys, particularly within in the three major religions represented here." -- Jill Dubisch, Northern Arizona University in Journeys: The International Journal of Travel and Travel Writing
