Pilgrimage as connective tissue: what you see is not always what you get

ABSTRACT

This paper is based on a keynote presentation given at the British and Irish Association of Practical Theology (BIAPT) 2022 online conference with the theme ‘Flesh & Blood: Embodiment & Practical Theology.’ It is an Islamic tradition when beginning a talk, or giving a paper, to start by giving praise to God and I would like to do that, and to say that any good in this material is from God and any mistakes are my own. It is a huge honour for me to be delivering this keynote. I am here as the product of my mentors, teachers and friends and I would like to thank them all. In this paper I share my unexpected journey to Rome, Italy. First, to avoid misunderstandings and miscommunication I will explore brief definitions. I will then turn to author reflexivity and methodology. Second, I share four autoethnographic vignettes written to explore the theme of embodiment and Practical Theology from the perspective of a Brown-British-Muslim-Woman. Third, I discuss themes of intersectionality and embodiment, and offer some thoughts on what we may do to get to know one another.

KEYWORDS:

• Embodiment
• autoethnography
• keynote
• Muslim

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 Umrah and Hajj are both spiritual pilgrimages to Makkah and have similar rituals. However, there are key differences: Umrah is a shorter, non-compulsory pilgrimage to receive blessings at any time of the year; and Hajj is an obligatory, extended pilgrimage with more rituals that all Muslims are expected to undertake at least once in their lifetime once they have the means.

2 https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/connective-tissue (accessed 7 July 2022)

3 Peace and blessings upon him

4 Later in the keynote/paper I assert Practical Theology in Britain is a Christian Practical Theology. To describe myself as anything other than a Muslim in Practical Theology would not be congruent with the reality of my identity as a Muslim.

5 Bury based Reverend Keith Trivasse (2004) documented his experience of ‘Walking Towards the Mosque’ when he regularly visited his local mosque as a Christian.

6 A hijab is the head covering worn by Muslim women; the word literally means ‘to cover.’

7 The Kaa’ba (meaning cube in Arabic) is the building at the centre of the main mosque in Makkah. It metaphorically represents the house of God and the oneness of God, and is the direction that Muslims face when performing ritual prayers.

8 A full-length lose outer garment worn by some Muslim women in public to cover their head, body, and limbs.

9 A note on being ‘Black.’ I am of Pakistani heritage and may not be identified as Black based on my skin tone and ethnicity. Setting this out clearly is important to avoid any accusations that I am appropriating by aligning myself with Black colleagues. The political definition of Black from the 1970’s incorporated anyone from the Commonwealth and included Black and Asian people. During the 1980’s Black activism ‘African, Arab, Asian and Caribbean communities were united in the common struggle against racism and under-representation and campaigned under the political term “Black”’ (Unison 2017). Lartey (2003) writing about Black Theology offers ‘By Black I refer to African … as well as all “people of colour,” including Asians in Britain’ (18). Reddie (2005) describes being Black as ‘having one’s experiences, history and ongoing reality ignored, disparaged and ridiculed. It is to be rendered an insignificant presence, amongst the mass of those who are deemed one’s betters and superiors’ (13). Based on these definitions I am ‘Black’ in terms of colour and ethnicity. Furthermore, ‘the early work of James Cone … deploy[s] “black” as a way of talking about all forms of oppression’ (Stoddart 2014, 96).

10 Dr Tahir Abbas raises a fundamental point that Islam practiced by Pakistanis and Bangladeshis is considered to be mainstream Islam as they are the largest ethnic groups of British Muslims. This results in the range of practices and theological understanding present in British Islamic communities to be overlooked by public policy. (Abbas 2010, 21; in Mughal 2017, 103)

11 Code-switching is a term used in linguistics to describe the language alternation which occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation or situation. It is a survival technique that people use with the hope of seamlessly blending into different social and professional situations – particularly where they are a minority. It can be used consciously, or it can happen without even noticing that it is being used.

12 My use of the word safety is deliberate. The Merriam-Weber dictionary states the opposite of jeopardy is safety, and Thesaurus.com states it is ‘security’. ‘Safety’ also subtlety addresses the lived experience of people of colour and/or women and/or Muslims is in some way not safe.

13 Sahar Aziz (2014) describes this as a ‘triple bind’ (36).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Saiyyidah Zaidi

Saiyyidah Zaidi was the first Muslim in Britain to obtain a Doctorate in Practical Theology. She is leadership coach and facilitator with a specialism in belonging, identity, and culture. Saiyyidah is a European Mentoring and Coaching Council Master Coach, Fellow of the Association for Project Management, a Trustee and Committee Member with the British and Irish Association of Practical Theology, and the Founding Convenor and Conversation Architect with the Centre for Belonging and Understanding.