Seasonal thought: immigration and the spread of religion

We live in a polarised world despite all the talk about globalization. It seems that we are much more open to trade and technology but not to values, thoughts and religion – all the fields that matter most to human life. There is always talk about East and West, Islam and Christianity and other topics. But we need a reminder that human beings are the same everywhere and values are shared across boundaries and cultures.

The coming together of the celebrations of the Christmas, the New Year and Eid Al-Adha (the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca) this year is a welcome antidote to the apparent tension and sadness in the Muslim and Christian worlds. The celebrating of these events all over the world, hopefully, will create a true season of good will.

One thought that comes to my mind during this time is the link to travel. Hajj requires travel and some Muslims have to travel long distances. But the very idea of travel is at the heart of both Christianity and Islam. Both religions relied on travel to flourish albeit it was a forced exile rather than leisurely travel. Christianity would have been a Middle Eastern phenomenon if it wasn’t for the Roman Empire which dispersed the early Christians across the known world  and took some to Rome itself where the Christian religion took roots and dominated the world.

Similarly, Islam originated in Mecca but the persecution of the early Muslims forced them to flee to Medina (and Ethiopia). It was in Medina that Islam built a base and expanded to conquer Mecca itself and most of the old known world. The Muslim calendar is dated from this momentous journey (Hijra) of the Prophet and his companions from Mecca to Medina. Thus one could see the role of immigration and travel in spreading two of the most wide spread religions of the world.

Back to the business of the day; we have made China the cover story of the present issue. China has an old civilization and special mystique. We recognise the importance of China as a tourist destination and as an exporter of tourism to the whole world. This is one of the reasons for making it the cover story of this issue. We already wrote several articles on China but we feel more and more committed to China. We are now constructing a Chinese website which will include a translation of ITM in Chinese. This is part of our current drive to publish the magazine in other languages. Several other languages are under consideration. Please always visit our website (www.islamictourism.com) to see the new developments and send us your comments.