SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The first installment of The Khiḍr Dialogues symposium and the inauguration of the online Shared Sacred Landscapes photographic exhibition come together to explore themes of interfaith encounters, shared rituals, and the dynamic interplay of humans with the more-than-human world. Taking inspiration from the springtime celebrations of St. George’s Day and Hidrellez, the event highlights how shared sacred spaces and practices foster connections across religious, cultural, and species boundaries, while also revealing the tensions and complexities of such entanglements. This gathering of scholars and contributors traverses diverse geographies—from Punjab to the Andes—investigating how sacred landscapes evolve through cooperation, friction, and transformation. Through 11 presentations, two short films, and 128 photographic contributions documenting 35 shared sacred sites across five continents, the symposium and exhibition illuminate the multivocality of religious practices. These include rituals like Roma St. George’s Day feasts, Sufi-Christian interfaith engagements, and the syncretism visible in sites like St. Anthony’s Church in Istanbul and Ladakh’s gompas and mosques. The symposium takes as its central figure Khiḍr-George, a syncretic symbol of springtime renewal and interconnection, emphasizing the fragility of human knowledge and the resilience of shared practices amidst historical and contemporary violence. It interrogates how shared rituals influence interfaith and interspecies relationships while acknowledging the histories of conflict and appropriation that underlie many syncretic practices. By exploring the politics, histories, and possibilities of shared sacred landscapes, the symposium invites us to embrace difference and hybridity without erasure, challenging simplistic, exclusionary narratives. Through panels such as Sharing and Separation and Encounters and Metamorphoses, the event seeks to reframe our understanding of sacred spaces as dynamic, contested, and continuously evolving, underscoring their role in both conflict and reconciliation. Together, the Khiḍr Dialogues and Shared Sacred Landscapes exhibition serve as a testament to the power of shared rituals to foster connection and understanding in a fragmented world.