pilgrimage
More than 13 million gather in Karbala for Arbaeen
By Jerome Socolovsky — November 10, 2017
BAGHDAD (AP) — The Shiite holiday marks the end of the mourning period for the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson and a central figure in Shiite Islam.
Archaeologists say rebuilding Jonah’s mosque should wait
By Gilgamesh Nabeel — November 3, 2017
(RNS) — Now that ISIS has been driven from Mosul in Iraq, Muslim traditionalists say it is imperative to start reconstructing the Mosque of the Prophet Jonah, which had marked the site since the 12th century, along with the ruins of a seventh-century Christian church.
‘I’ll Push You’: Friends, one in a wheelchair, document their Spanish pilgrimage
By Emily McFarlan Miller — November 1, 2017
(RNS) — When Justin Skeesuck felt called to travel the 500-mile Camino de Santiago, a popular Christian pilgrimage through mountains, forests and fields in northern Spain, his lifelong friend Patrick Gray's response was immediate: 'I'll push you.' That's because Skeesuck uses a wheelchair.
New film on Mark Twain highlights his religious doubts
By Kimberly Winston — October 16, 2017
(RNS) — A trip to the Holy Land in 1867 launched Twain from local journalist to international satirist and cemented his skepticism of organized religion.
Here he stood: Lutheran pilgrims travel to Germany on Reformation anniversary
By Emily McFarlan Miller — October 5, 2017
EISENACH, Germany (RNS) — 'For all of Luther’s vehemence against the veneration of relics, that’s exactly what we’re doing,' said the Rev. Patrick Shebeck, leading a group organized by his Minnesota church on a pilgrimage through Germany's Luther Country.
More than 1.7 million Muslims gather for start of hajj
By Yonat Shimron — August 30, 2017
MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — The hajj is required of all Muslims once in a lifetime. The physically demanding journey tests pilgrims' patience as they withstand long waits and thick crowds on their path to achieving spiritual purification and repentance.
Trump arrives in Israel in search of ‘the ultimate deal’
By Gregory Korte — May 22, 2017
JERUSALEM (USA Today) He became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the Western Wall, continuing his Mideast tour of holy sites. But his real goal is an elusive Israeli-Palestinian peace pact.
Egyptian Copts finally fulfilling ‘dream’ of traveling to Jerusalem
By Mina Nader — March 26, 2017
AL-KOSHEH, Egypt (RNS) For decades, Copts couldn't make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem because of a church ban on travel to Israel. But many are now fulfilling a central tenet of their faith after Tawadros II, who became pope in 2012, went there himself two years ago.
How Standing Rock became a site of pilgrimage
By The Conversation — December 7, 2016
People were drawn to go there as a spiritual quest, reflecting on how the experience changed their sense of identity, gave meaning to their lives, provided a sense of community and transformed them forever.
Vows and body piercings abound as Hindus celebrate Thaipusam in Malaysia
By Alexandra Radu — January 25, 2016
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (RNS) The festival is thought to bring peace, good health and blessings to devotees. For tourists, Thaipusam offers a window on the concept of “mind over matter.”
Saudi Arabia stifled true death count in hajj stampede: 2,411
By RNS staff — December 10, 2015
(RNS) The Associated Press counted the deaths in Mina, Saudi Arabia, and found a total that's three times more than Saudi officials have stated.
PHOTOS: The Shiite pilgrimage Arbaeen
By Jerome Socolovsky — December 3, 2015
(RNS) Drawing an estimated 17 million pilgrims, the Shiite ritual known as Arbaeen dwarfs even the hajj. Arbaeen marks the end of the 40-day mourning period after the anniversary of the seventh-century slaying of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, which engendered the Sunni-Shiite schism.
Gay Muslim films secret pilgrimage in ‘A Sinner in Mecca’
By Rachel Lowry — September 10, 2015
NEW YORK (RNS) Authorities in Mecca prohibit camera use at holy sites. Openly gay men are subject to the death penalty. But none of that deterred Parvez Sharma.
Christian pilgrimage site in Israel, the Church of Loaves and Fishes, gutted by fire
By Reuters — June 19, 2015
The church in Galilee stands where Christians believe is where Jesus performed the Miracle of the Multiplication of the Loaves and the Fishes,
‘Sacred Journeys’ weds new pilgrims to old paths
By Kimberly Winston — December 12, 2014
(RNS) Popular pilgrimage features protagonists who go on long, transformational journeys of both feet and faith. It is that transformational nature that separates pilgrimage from travel -- pilgrimage is a vocation, not a vacation.
