Arabs and Muslims as Seen by Polish Clergy Pilgrims to the Holy Land in the 19th Century

Abstract

Nineteenth century was an era of extended pilgrimage movement to the Holy Land. Due to communicational facilities falling out from the Industrial Revolution and political changes (weakening of the Ottoman Empire and increasing penetration of Levant by the European countries) more and more Europeans decided to travel to Palestine basked in an aura of holiness. An equally meaningful factor was also an image of an ancient and mysterious Orient molded by the artists of the Romantic period. Poles also followed this trend and may pilgrims published their memories and reflections. Such pilgrims as Ignacy Hołowiński, Feliks Laassner, Feliks Gondek and Karol Niedziałkowski (worth mentioning all of them were priests) were obviously focused mainly on religious issues. However they were keen observers and left more or less detailed but always interesting testimony of everyday life of Muslim and Arabic dwellers of Levant. They described Middle Eastern customs and rites. This work focuses on those subjective images which equally present the Levantine ways of living, Poles’ level of knowledge on Orient and shaping ethnical stereotypes.