suggested readings
On this page we share a curated list of books and articles relating to shared sacred sites, including essential readings and new releases. The bibliography is a catalog of references to bibliographic and multimedia publications on the subject of shared sacred sites.
Below are also recommendations from what our core team is reading now.
search for resources on the study of shared sacred sites
Shared Sacred Sites Recommends
Since the Arab Spring in 2011 and ISIS’s rise in 2014, Egypt’s Copts have attracted attention worldwide as the collateral damage of revolution and as victims of sectarian strife. Countering persecution rhetoric and Islamophobia, The Political Lives of Saints draws on extensive fieldwork to explore how popular saints function as material media that organize social relations between Christians and Muslims in Egypt toward varying political ends.
region: MENA
open access: no
This special issue offers insight into the formation, adaptation, and negotiation of shared and contested sacred places and devotional practices and provides a more nuanced picture of the multiplicity of interfaith crossings and their historical transformations. The articles combine (art) history/archaeology, Islamic Studies and anthropology; attend to wider cultural interminglings; open up new theoretical considerations; and point to new research directions on multi-faith sacred centres.
region: Mediterranean
open access: Yes
This volume studies the immortal saint Khidr/Khizr, a mysterious prophet and popular multi-religious figure and Sufi master venerated across the Muslim world. Bringing together the different worship practices of Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Sikhs in countries with very different cultural and religious backgrounds, the study includes research from the Balkans to the Punjabs in Pakistan and in India.
region: Europe, South asia
open access: No
choreographies of shared sacred sites
edited by Elazar Barkan & Karen Barkey
(Columbia 2015) This anthology explores the dynamics of shared religious sites in Turkey, the Balkans, Palestine/Israel, Cyprus, and Algeria, indicating where local and national stakeholders maneuver between competition and cooperation, coexistence and conflict. Contributors probe the notion of coexistence and the logic that underlies centuries of "sharing," exploring when and why sharing gets interrupted—or not—by conflict, and the policy consequences.
sharing sacred spaces in the mediterranean
edited by Dionigi Albera and Maria Couroucli
Contributors examine intertwined religious traditions along the shores of the Near East from North Africa to the Balkans, challenging conflictual narratives about the interactions between Christians, Muslims, and Jews.
sharing the sacra
edited by Glenn Bowman
Chapters based on fieldwork from such diverse sites as India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, China, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, and Vietnam demonstrate how sharing and tolerance are both more complex and multifaceted than they are often recognized to be.
The Religious Dimensions of Shared Spaces
by Paul D. Numrich
Space sharing by groups and organizations is widespread in the United States, from commercial partnerships, to government and private sector joint use agreements, to the use of public facilities and commons, and more. Drawing upon a variety of historical examples and contemporary cases, The Religious Dimensions of Shared Spaces offers a focused and systematic analysis of space sharing involving religious groups or organizations.
Muslim Pilgrimage in Europe
edited by Ingvild Flaskerud and Richard J. Natvig
In spite of Islam’s long history in Europe and the growing number of Muslims resident in Europe, little research exists on Muslim pilgrimage in Europe. This collection of eleven chapters is the first systematic attempt to fill this lacuna in an emerging research field. Placing the pilgrims’ practices and experiences centre stage, scholars from history, anthropology, religious studies, sociology, and art history examine historical and contemporary hajj and non-hajj pilgrimage to sites outside and within Europe.
Crossing Confessional Boundaries
by John Renard
Arguably the single most important element in Abrahamic cross-confessional relations has been an ongoing mutual interest in perennial spiritual and ethical exemplars of one another’s communities. Ranging from Late Antiquity through the Middle Ages, Crossing Confessional Boundaries explores the complex roles played by saints, sages, and Friends of God in the communal and intercommunal lives of Christians, Muslims, and Jews across the Mediterranean world, from Spain and North Africa to the Middle East to the Balkans.