Medieval Christian pilgrims faced suspicion as both Christians and pilgrims in the Middle East

Evidence

But passports and security checks were already there in the Middle Ages, and we have a number of reports, especially by Christian pilgrims, who as Christians and pilgrims were doubly suspect, about the security checks which they had to undergo while they were traveling first to Egypt, then to Jerusalem and other holy places. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 786

Categorization

• QUESTION: Why were Christian pilgrims ‘doubly suspect’ in Mamluk Egypt? Was suspicion driven by crusade memory, tax avoidance, or pilgrimage-as-spying anxiety? Worth chasing.