A Study of the Christian Pilgr

A Study of the Christian Pilgrimage to the Holy Land And the Muslim Pilgrimage to Mecca Submitted by: Prepared for: SSC 231 Cultural Conflict and Human Solidarity University College Utrecht May 2001 Introduction A French folklorist and ethnographer, Arnold Van Gennep (1908-1960) gave us the first clues about how ancient and tribal societies conceptualized and symbolized the transitions men have to make between states a statuses . He demonstrated that all rites of passage are marked by three …

…regions of the world, despite the fact that conflict may even arise between Muslims and Christians (strictly because of their differences in beliefs), this essay has proven that they are incredibly similar. The Christian and the Muslim pilgrim are searching for the same thing, they go through similar processes, transitions and rites all to attain an incredible sense of solidarity and a feeling of euphoria, which is believed to have brought them closer to God.