Saint veneration and inter-religious practices in the Muslim world are often viewed through rigid sectarian or doctrinal lenses, often overlooking the lived religious experiences that blur these lines. Inter-religious Practices and Saint Veneration in the Muslim World: Khidr/Khizr from the Middle East to South Asia, edited by Michel Boivin and Manoël Pénicaud, challenges that narrow focus. The book explores how the enigmatic figure of Khidr (the ‘Green One’)—known variously as a prophet, wali, and guide—has long served as a spiritual link between religious communities, appearing in narratives across Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and even Sikhism, from Anatolia to the subcontinent.
The book opens with Hugh Talat Halman’s chapter, “The Sage of Inner Knowledge: Al-Khidr in Qur’an, Hadith, and Tafsir,” which delves into the Qur’anic narrative of Khidr’s encounter with Prophet Moses. This story, found in Surah Al-Kahf (18:60-82), portrays Khidr as a mystical guide imparting esoteric wisdom beyond conventional understanding. Halman examines how this narrative has been interpreted in Islamic exegesis, particularly within Sufi traditions, where the relationship between Khidr and Moses is seen as emblematic of the “master-disciple” dynamic. Khidr is also widely believed to have been a contemporary of Alexander the Great. As Halman summarises: “In the heart of al-Khidr and his story is a message of divine mercy and inner knowledge imparted by God that has moved countless people throughout the ages.”
In Shia narratives, Khidr’s role extends to interactions with other significant figures. For instance, some accounts suggest that Khidr accompanied Imam Al-Mahdi during a meeting with Sheikh Hassan ibn Muthlih Jamkarani in 984 CE, instructing the construction of the Jamkaran Mosque near Qom, Iran. A shrine is also dedicated to Khidr in Sarafand, Lebanon – although “There is no tomb inside… ‘because Al-Khidr is not yet dead.’”
The scope of the book is wide-ranging, covering historical, ethnographic, and textual perspectives. It captures not only the symbolic versatility of Khidr/Khizr but also how his veneration actively shapes shared sacred spaces and inter-communal practices.
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One particularly illuminating chapter is Michel Boivin’s own contribution on Khizr in Sindh, Pakistan. Drawing on fieldwork and local narratives, Boivin details how “Khaja Khizr” is venerated not just in Sufi shrines but also in Hindu communities, including during boat-blessing rituals where his role as the patron of water and guidance at sea is invoked. The inter-religious aspect is not an anomaly here; it is central to the practice. Boivin also notes that following the decline of the Mughal Empire, Khizr’s iconography “was incorporated into the Sikh aesthetic… like the representations of Guru Nanak.”
Another standout chapter is by Manoël Pénicaud, who examines pilgrimages to shared sacred sites in the Mediterranean, where Christian and Muslim communities have historically venerated Khidr Prophet Elijah (alongside Jews) and St. George together. As Pénicaud notes, “Khidr is revealed as a contact point with other religious systems than Islam,” and that of the shared saints and prophets in the region, is “the one who is the most capable of transformation and to absorb Biblical and Christian personages.”
The volume doesn’t romanticise syncretism—it also tackles the tensions and contestations that arise around shared saints. In the Balkans, for instance, the annual ritual of the meeting of Khidr and Ilyas (Hidrellez) is shown to be a site of both unity and negotiation, where different religious groups interpret and reframe the meaning of the practice according to their own worldviews.
A fascinating conceptual thread throughout the book is the role of Khidr in mediating between heaven and earth, life and death, Islam and “the other.” The authors consistently show that saint veneration—often dismissed as marginal—is in fact deeply political and socially meaningful, especially in contexts where formal religious boundaries are porous or contested.
Inter-religious Practices and Saint Veneration in the Muslim World is both timely and necessary. More than a study of Khidr/Khizr as a religious figure, it offers a lens into the lived religious practices that have historically blurred the boundaries between communities. At a time when sectarianism is often foregrounded in discussions of the Muslim world, this volume reminds us of a long-standing, often overlooked, tradition of shared sacred figures and spaces.
Anchored in solid scholarship and informed by fieldwork across regions, it sheds light on the local, often deeply personal, ways in which religion is experienced and negotiated. For researchers and general readers alike, it offers a meaningful engagement with the interconnected histories of belief that continue to shape religious life from the Middle East to South Asia.
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