Tolerance and Pilgrimage: The Experience of Tolerance at Mevlana Jalal ad-Din Rumi Mausoleum

Each year on 17th December people from different cultures and religions come and participate at Mevlana Jalal ad-DinRumi mausoleum rituals, called Shab-e Arus, to pay their respects to him. During pilgrimage as well as organized and informal rituals that take place in commemoration of Rumi death anniversary as the well-known poet and mystic of 13th century, a form of tolerance emerges. As such, the point of departure for this article is the perception of pilgrimage space as the space of connections, where an arena for social and cultural interactions is created, that resulted in formation of a cultural tolerance. In other words, presence in the pilgrimage space and different rites has led to interactions that result in acceptance and understanding of the other, which thereby reinforces culture of tolerance. The cultural area and case study of this research is 744th ritual of commemoration of Rumi, formally called “time of Brotherhood”, that held on 7-17 December 2017 in Konya, Turkey. The paper discussed the rituals of pilgrimage of his tomb share characteristics with what Victor Turner discussed as modern pilgrimage. Accordingly, this article elucidates the role of pilgrimage sites as the center and source of cultural coexistence involved in transnational identities. It emphasizes that such pilgrimage centers create a peaceful coexistence in an intercultural space instead of conflict between groups of people.