Abstract
In Europe and Asia there are many holy sites visited by adherents of different religions. These multi-religious spaces are experienced and interpreted differently, for example either as places of reconciliation or as centers for the crystallization of conflict. In this article, the state of research and previously tested analytical approaches are addressed. In light of empirical examples, analytical tools – based on the ideas of Benjamin Kedar – are refined. It is shown that any analysis must take into consideration the regional interests, as well as any particular power imbalance and context of a given multi-religious site. Therefore, this article argues for a differentiated analytical framework based on a broad empirical basis. The sites studied demonstrate, moreover, that the multi-religious veneration of a particular site does not necessarily reflect popular piety, as is often suggested, but rather that powerful rulers also had an interest to donate to such holy sites and thereby legitimate their own authority. In contrast, custodians of a sacred place felt as though they were confirmed by the ruling religion as administrators of spiritual power. Due to the dynamic relationship of power and legitimacy, multi-religious sites were considered neither entirely bizarre nor exactly quotidian. These sacred places nevertheless demonstrate the perpetual cultural importance of a Christian presence in the Muslim ruled Near East.
©2012 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co.
