The Psychology of Pilgrimage - II: A Qualitative Case Study on Pilgrims of British Turkish Diaspora

Abstract

As the continuation of the first article, this second article of the research proceeds with the findings of '[a]-Personal Dimension-(Psychological)=Personal perceptions of the practice of pilgrimage with psycho-theological content'. Then, other qualitative findings based on '[b]-Social Dimension-(Sociological)=Personal perceptions of the practice of pilgrimage with socio-psychological content' are taken into account. As a result of the qualitative analysis of the research, some of the findings are as follows: at first sight to Kaaba, the pilgrims have responded with psychological reactions such as 'crying' and 'excitability', and have mostly prayed for 'forgiveness'; they have particularly been affected by spiritual/religious atmosphere of the holy lands; they have given meaning to 'the experience of Mount Arafat to stand in vigil' as 'rehearsal of the last judgment/resurrection'; they have felt a sense of the psycho-physiological intimacy at the first visit of Islamic prophet Muhammad's grave; they have pilgrimage friendship, perceived as the kind of venerable friendship, want to carry on due to interpretation as sharing of feelings towards the same goal after the pilgrimage period.