A A CRITICAL READTHE ING SACRAL
URBANITY PROJECT
THE SACRAL URBANITY PROJECT
Booklet Nr: 4
A CRITICAL READING
Luca Mulé 336628 Master’s Thesis TU Berlin Berlin, June 2015 Professor Jörg Stollmann Chair for Urban Design and Urbanisation Institute of Architecture, TU-Berlin. Cand. Dr. Hermann Koehler Chair for Socio-scientific Urban Studies Institute for Architecture and Urban Design, Bauhaus-Universität Weimer.
EDIT AND DESIGN Luca Mulé PRINTED Tu Berlin PAPER CircleOffset White matt 60 FONTS Georgia Printed in May 2015
I wish to thank Fuat for his patience and infinite love, my sister for giving me the right tips at the wrong time, and my parents for their strictness and for being the best role model one could ever ask for. A big thank goes also to Valentina for the help with the text. My gratitude goes to all my friends back home that never forget about me and which i deeply love. Thank you all
>>From The Muslims’ Yellow Pages, page 53
CONTENTS 11
INTRODUCTION
13
THE NEW MOSQUES FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS
20
THE ADAPTATION OF THE RELIGIOUS PRAXIS
24
THE SOCIAL ROLE OF RELIGION
29
THE MOSQUE AS A MULTI-POURPOSE BUILDING AND ITS SOCIAL COMPLEXITY
34
THE MOSQUE IN THE EUROPEAN URBAN CONTEXT The Connection With The Market
39
THE FLIP OF THE MUSLIM URBAN SCHEME
49
VISIBILITY AND SECLUSION: The connectivity with the urban surroundings
54
SECLUSION: A POLITICAL ACT
61
THE ISLAMICISATION OF EUROPEAN URBAN SPACE
70
CONCLUSION
INTRODUCTION The following text is a critical reading of different documentation materials collected during my research in Venice and Marseille. It includes interviews I carried out, stories I wrote, and pictures I shot during my trip. This document needs to be understood as an interpretation of those findings and facts under the guidelines of specific investigation categories. My research concerns the typological transformation and adaptation of Islam’s sacral buildings in those cities, and compares them with previous observations done in Berlin. A second research topic regards the visibility of these places, and their relationship with the city’s environment. I will analyse my findings to understand 11
the value and meaning of signs of visibility and/or seclusion in European Mosques. From these observations I will try to identify the common characteristics that delineate the typology of the European Mosques, and their social-spatial role. Furthermore, the text explores the possible connections between integration processes and the conspicuousness of mosques in the urban environment. Does visibility of Mosques in Western European cities have an influence on integration processes?
12
THE NEW MOSQUES FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS As already mentioned previously in the first part of the research, the main characteristics of the European Mosque have nothing to do with regional stylistic traditions or local construction systems. Its typological diversification is rather connected to the architectural tradition of the countries of origin of many immigrant communities.(>>see volume I page 58-60). To give an example, mosques connected to a Turkish community follow an architectural tradition closer to the Anatolian style while the Moroccan communities build mosques mainly in a Hypostyle form. The Grand Mosquèe de Paris has as role model the Qarawi13
yyin mosque at Fez, while the Sehitlik mosque in Berlin uses the same language of the Ottoman architectural tradition of Mimar Sinan. In the European context the typological regionalism of mosques loses its relationship with the local environment, and becomes an abstract representation of cultural heritage. This typological transfer is typical of many purpose built mosques spread around Europe. A statement from one of the interviews that I carried out in Marseille supports this thesis. Bakr explains me that, also in non-purpose built mosques, some traditional elements are copied, imported or transferred from the native countries. He says that in Marseille sometimes characteristic elements of mosques such as minarets, arches, carpets and mosaics are missing, so the people adapt the space they have available to recreate a familiar environment (>>Bakr 14
141,148). That is one of the reasons why many of these places are decorated with arches or additional structural elements, like pillars, that do not have any support function. He also tells me that some essential elements of mosques such as wudu fountains and courtyards are adapted to the spaces they use. He gives the example of the Al-Quds Mosque in 26 Rue des Recollettes, where the ablution room is placed in the basement while normally is located in the centre of the sahn or on the outside wall of the main entrance. He affirms that normally the courtyards are also an integrated part of mosque’s natural conditioning system, and points out how this concept and structural organisation is inapplicable in the mosques of Marseille (>>Bakr 120-129). In this interview it slowly becomes clear how the interviewee, Bakr, wants to point out how the characteristic elements of the 15
European mosque remain essentially the same, but are indeed subjected to a transformation process, as consequence of the adaptation to the new context. A very good example of this typological adjustments concerns the mihrab, namely the niche traditionally cut out the qibla wall, toward which the worshippers normally pray. It is considered a central architectural element in the traditional morphology of mosques, but in the European case its stops being integrated in the design and becomes a separated element, a peace of furniture. The prayer room of many makeshift mosques is decorated by wooden structures that dominate a corner of the room, fulfilling their purpose of indicating the direction of the Mecca. This is also the case for the Mosque of Benevolence in Marghera, where the mihrab together with minbar form one big wooden structure placed 16
in the corner of the massive warehouse. It is interesting to notice that in this case the minbar is not oriented toward the qibla wall, as traditionally in the Islamic architecture, but rather parallel to it. (>>See Picture below)
>>From The Muslims’ Yellow Pages, page 78
17
Another good example of these transformations has to do with the ritual of the ablution. As already mentioned before, the purification ritual is commonly performed in the courtyard by the wudu fountain, or outside the main entrance facade by the ablution tabs, as common in Anatolia. However, the ephemeral nature of European mosques imposes an adjustment. In the Mestre Old Mosque, for example, the absence of a room dedicated to the purification ritual led to the installation of a small wudu tap on the top left corner of the prayer room. The tap is hidden behind a white curtain, that divides the prayer room from the ablution area and ensures a bit of privacy during the purification ritual (>>See Picture on the side). Other basic functional elements such as minarets, domes and courtyards, are essentially missing from the formal language of many makeshift mosques. 18
>>From The Muslims’ Yellow Pages, page 81
Sometimes the reasons may be political, sometimes economical. While the first two often don’t represent necessary elements of these places of worship, especially in terms of religious praxis, the courtyard plays a central role in the fulfilment of the mosque’s most valuable task, namely 19
the strengthening of social cohesion. In many cases, in Europe, there is physically no space for the courtyard. Mosques need to find a place to pursuit social interactions beside the prayer rooms, which are mostly to small for it. For this reason the street in front of many mosques becomes the place dedicated to social interaction and cohesion. This phenomenon contributes to their visibility, and constitutes their most significant moment of exposure
THE ADAPTATION OF THE RELIGIOUS PRAXIS What is even more peculiar about Mestre Old Mosque is its carpet orientation or, better said, the orientation toward which the worshipper prays. 20
As illustrated in the short story dedicated to this mosque, the carpet is laid orthogonal to the wall to allow more worshipper to pray inside the mosque (>>Anecdote on Mestre Old Mosque). During my visit, the Imam tells me that, particularly on Fridays, when the mosque is most crowded, the space provided by the hall is not sufficient to host the whole community. Consequently, they all turn their prayers to another direction, so the room can be used more efficiently. The real direction of the Mecca is then marked by white elastic stripes stretched through the room (>>See picture on the next page). This typological adaptation is a consequence of the lack of prayer rooms in Venice and suburbs, that on Fridays become extremely crammed. This phenomenon is not restricted to this mosque. Bakr tells me in his interview that also in Marseille many places dedicated to worship show a similar behaviour. He says that, due to the lack of 21
>>From The Muslims’ Yellow Pages, page 82
22
space, only the imam can pray toward Mecca while the worshippers have to face the most convenient direction (>>Barkr 163-178). These characteristics are specific of European mosques and in my view can be considered as an adjustment or even a transformation of the religious praxis. Another peculiar phenomenon of European mosques that represent an adjustment of the practice of religious rituals has been brought to my attention by Assame Samake in an interview that I conducted in the Mosque of Benevolence, in Marghera. While explaining the reasons why he privileges that specific mosque over the others, he tells me that in smaller prayer rooms as the Mestre Old Mosque, is not seldom to have to wait for one’s turn to pray. He asserts that sometimes the waiting time to be able to exercise his religious duties exceeds thirty minutes (>>Assame 194-203). I could document a similar behaviour also in Mar23
seille, in the Al-Quds mosque. How already depicted in the detailed report of my visit in this prayer room, during the Friday prayer three shifts had to be performed to allow all the worshippers to exercise their religious duties (>>Anecdote on Al-Quds Mosque). This peculiar behaviour of the Muslim community is not only defined by the lack of prayer room or their limited capacity. Fostering such phenomena are national legislation that forbid the exercise of prayers on the street and public sites. To assure the respect of this regulation, on Fridays many of Marseille mosques are subjected to police surveillance (>>See picture on the side)
THE SOCIAL ROLE OF RELIGION To conclude, it seems that European mosques differentiate themselves from the one built in Muslim countries 24
>>From The Muslims’ Yellow Pages, page 52
25
in two ways. First, typologically, they perform an abstraction of their basic functional elements, second, in their usage, they adapt their praxis to the European urban context and legislative form. What is considered to be an essential characteristic of mosques is their spatial social role. They have to be seen not only as a place of worship, but also as a place of social cohesion and understood as a point of reference or a benchmark in the life of the members of the community. (>>See volume I page 34-37) In European mosques this characteristic remains unchanged and is a common denominator of all the mosques I visited. In many interviews that I conducted, both in Marseille and Venice, evidences of the social role of mosques as a place of social interaction and congregation emerged. In the interview with Abderrahim it becomes pretty clear that the whole community of the mosque in Via dei Mille, 26
is responsible for the payment of the bills and the rent, and that everybody is called for the maintenance of the mosque (>>Abderrahim 83-89). In his interview, Assame suggests a connection between the level of religiosity and the amount of social activities. “In our religion, the more you pray the stronger is your relation with the people� (>>Assame 121-122). The number of visits to the mosque is therefore proportional to the social bound with members of the community. Furthermore, the interviewee complains about the lack of social relationships that the people have within their neighbourhoods and compares it to the social structure in his native country, Senegal. He also declares that Muslim have not only religious but also social duties (>> Assame 159). Especially the Friday prayer is seen as a moment of social interaction, an act of taking care of each other. Bark says that, as soon as someone is 27
missing, the rest of the community will notice it and act on it. He also suggests that Islam is more about the regulation of social interactions than it is about faith in itself (>>Bakr 115-201). These social routines sustain the association and the self-identification as part of a group, as Muslim, creating a strong sense of community based on common values and life benchmarks. “People go to the mosque to feel part of the community, and share some values� says Bakr. (>>Bakr 191-192). He also suggests that, particularly the second generation of migrants, don’t identify with their origins anymore, but rather with their religion and their religious community. In some cases these social connections are strongly connected to the religious practice itself, as if the social act was the religion. Youssouf describes his relation to the city of Marseille and expresses his religious sentiment for it. He declares, that as soon he is away for a longer time, he 28
starts to miss the spirit of the city, the mosques where he goes and the people that he normally meets. (>>Youssouf 185-204). It seems that Marseille and its social structure and rituals have also religious values for him.
THE MOSQUE AS A MULTI-POURPOSE BUILDING AND ITS SOCIAL COMPLEXITY Once acknowledged the particular social value of mosques in the European context, it’s important to take in consideration their offer of additional social services. Especially in Berlin, beside fulfilling their religious role and providing social assistance, mosques 29
host a large offer of profane activities. The Merkez Moschee in Berlin Kreuzberg is a vivid example of how mosques can also assume the characteristics of a multi-purpose building complex. In the red bricks construction placed on the side of the small prayer room, the worshippers from the local Turkish community can undertake many side activities. In the cay stove located on the first floor, it is possible to drink tea and watch sports, while on the fifth floor children can participate in folklore dance courses. Women can take sewing lessons on the first upper level or participate in a meeting of the women association placed on the third floor (>>See picture on the side). A similar phenomenon can be observed in the Mevlana and Al-Nur Mosque, also in Berlin. Both the communities have a wide range of side activities that sustain the Muslim community also in their everyday life, from school coaching for children to languages and inte30
Main Cultural Center Men´s Prayer Room
Building Extension
Men´s Ablution Room
Women´s Ablution Room
gration courses. They even offer travel opportunities, for example for religious trips to Mecca (>>See picture on the next page). These activities make mosques an irreplaceable element of central importance for the whole Muslim community. 31
The idea of the mosque as a multipurpose building is not a new concept. As already mention in the first volume, in Istanbul but more generally in Anatolia, during the Ottoman Empire, buildings of the 15th and 16th century such as the Faith Mosque, the Mosque of Bayazid II and obviously Sultanahmet, hosted colleges, public baths, kitchens and mausoleums among others (>>See volume I page 54). On the other hand, in the city of Marseille the concept of mosque as multi functional building is not taken into consideration. Most of the mosques and prayer rooms close after the prayer and do not offer any particular service beside the learning of the Qur’an. In the interview with Bakr I explain him the way that mosques in Berlin organize their activities and asks him if in Marseille the mosques work in a similar way. He firmly responds that Marseille has a high mixtures of nationalities 32
and that the local Muslim communities would not need to have this kind of activities connected to the mosques because they are already spread around the city (>> Bakr 210-221). The interview with Riad krika, the director of the “Islamic Cultural Centre Ettawba� in Vicenza gave a similar 33
response. Despite the massive prayer room and the diverse activities that mosques organize and undertake, they do not exceed the boundary of religiosity (>>Riad190-196). The observations lead me to the hypothesis that the mosque as a multi functional building complex is a typical peculiarity of the Anatolian region that has been imported in Berlin by the Muslim Turkish communities.
THE MOSQUE IN THE EUROPEAN URBAN CONTEXT
The Connection With The Market Of crucial importance in the understanding of the typology of the mosque is its relation with its surroundings, especially its affiliation with 34
the market and local commercial activities. It seems that this relation has not been subjected to any transformation or weakening through the typological import. As shortly described in the first publication, many scholars consider this relationship an essential element in the morphology of the “Arabic city”. These two elements, the market and the mosque, are normally in a state of spatial co-dependence relation, but remain two different entities, independent from each other in terms of functions. In the European mosque this spatial relationship is slightly distorted. In the case of the Al Nur Mosque in Berlin Neukölln, for example, the two elements seems to have merged into one. The mosque occupies an old industrial warehouse, which is mainly composed by two aisles. The wider one is used as prayer room while the smaller has been 35
converted into a small “ethnic supermarket�. The mosque, in this case, is not only providing spiritual assistance to the community but also offers the possibility to purchase products from the native countries (>>See picture on the side). Furthermore, it is important to remark the fact that in Europe the relation between the market and the mosque may be not as direct and evident as in many examples depicted in the first publication (>>See volume I page 37). For the Al Quds mosque in Marseille, its proximity to the market plays a central role in its daily dynamics. Even if the market is placed few hundreds meter away from Noailles’s house of worship, especially on Friday, many of its north African workers leave their stands for a few minutes, and go to pay their religious and social duties, says Bakr during his interview (>>Bakr 108-110) . 36
>>From The Muslims’ Yellow Pages, page 22
37
What is important to remark is also that the market is not the only commercial activity in the area run by and for Marseille’s Arab community. Alongside rue Longue des Capucins, the market’s main axis, many shops sale halal meat, African spices and Mediterranean products and their interior are decorated with “ethnic” furniture and Moorish tiling. Many of these shops also participate in the mosque’s social dynamic. On Sundays, in the neighbourhood of Les Crottes in the North of the city, the market of Les Puces takes place. In the 43.000 square meters market area, all kind of products are sold, from exotic fruits, vegetables, Pizza, pieces of furniture and so on, everything known to man. As illustrated in the short story that I’ve written on my experience in this extraordinary market, the peculiar element of this place is the relation between the commercial activities and the market’s mosque, the El-Islah 38
Moschèe, that provides spiritual assistance not only to the market’s workers, but also to all its customers (>>Anecdote on El_Islah Mosque). In this particular case, many of the stands and shops even close during the prayer time. In other words, religious activities set the schedule for the market. At 19:30 the market closes, the workers start quickly to pack their products and store them in small vans, just in time to participate in the Maghrib, the late afternoon prayer
THE FLIP OF THE MUSLIM URBAN SCHEME Scholars such as Louis Massignon recognized in the duality of market and mosque a fundamental characteristic of 39
the Arabic city, and declared that this, together with their strategic position at the main traffic knots, helped the creation of the concept of public and private city, characterized by wide ( public) and tight ( private) streets. Due to its typical position and great visibility in the city structure, mosques have normally a high level of connectivity and spatial integration with the urban surroundings (>>See volume I page 36). On the contrary, for social and political reasons, mosques in the European urban and suburban context are always placed in the “private city” and have a very low level of visibility. This is one of the reasons why they are normally difficult to spot, even if they are located in the city centre (>>Anecdote on Mestre Old Mosque). In Berlin, for example, this contradiction created a new and unique variety of mosques, the “Hiterhofmoschee”, literally the mosque of the courtyard. This specific example of typology has a very low level 40
of visibility, due to its position in Berlin’s hidden courtyards, but preserves a very high level of connectivity. As well as in Berlin and Marseille, mosques are located in areas easy to reach for the majority of Muslim communities. This may sound as a really obvious observation, but for the reason indicated above, the distribution and concentration of mosques can help us also in the identification of the size and distribution of Muslims community in the city (>> See picture on the next page). In Berlin, for example, the areas most populated by Muslims would be, Kreuzberg, Neukölln and Wedding, while in Marseille the majority of the Muslims lives in the northern part of the city in the so called “quartier du nord”. On the contrary, many mosques in Italy, are located in warehouses in old industrial areas and this makes their level of connectivity usually very low. The “Ettawa Islamic Cultural Centre” in Vicenza, for example, is 41
1:50000 0
>>From The Muslims’ Yellow Pages, page 41
42
0,5
1
1,5
2km
only reachable by car, the side-walk of the only street directed to the mosque stops few hundreds meters before, and flows into a very busy highway (>>See picture below).
When I ask Riad, the director of the mosque, how the worshippers normally reach the Islamic centre, he answers that, most of them use motorbikes, or simply bikes. He then points 43
out that, especially on Friday, the people arrange a self-organize carpooling system, in order to pay their religious duties (>>Riad 135-138). In other cases, such as in the Mosque of Benevolence, part of the Muslim community reaches the prayer room, placed in the middle of Marghera’s industrial area, through a bus shuttle organized by the municipality (>>Anecdote on Mosque of Benevolence). However, a low connectivity is not a characteristic limited to Venetians mosques, but can also extend to the city of Marseille, despite the high density and distribution of its Muslim services. Bakr, for example, declares that he needs more then 20 minutes to reach the closer mosque from his apartment (>>Bakr 232-236). This is probably because of their typical non-uniform collocation in the urban fabric. This heterogeneous distribution of European mosques, contradicts the traditional conception of their uniform disposi44
tion described in the Shari’ah and their hierarchical position in the neighbourhood. However, what is most interesting is that their connectivity and hierarchical position is not related anymore to walking distances or the time the worshipper needs to reach the mosque, but rather to languages and nationalities. Even if the majority of the interviewees declare that for Muslims standards all mosques are equals, most of them also express a preference for one specific place of worship. Some other, for example, deliberately decide to take a longer or more difficult trip in order to visite their favourite mosque. During Youssouf’s interview, he revels that due to his insufficient level of Arabic he prefers to go to mosques in which French is the official language of the sermon, and declares that this is the criteria he uses to choose the mosques to which he goes. 45
He then specifies that, from his point of view, it is crucial to understand the message of the Imam (>>Youssouf 142153). Later on in the interview comes out in favour of a mosque we visited previously in our trip through the quartier du Nord. This is the mosque where he usually goes on Friday, when he needs more than 20 minutes to reach it. (>>Anecdote on Mosque Es Sunna). On the other hand, Assame admits how he endorses mosques based on their size and the nationalities with which they are affiliated. He repeatedly insists on the fact that he considers all mosques indistinguishable equal, but then he expresses his favour for the Mosque of the Benevolence, due to its high capacity. “Here there is place for everybody and I feel pretty comfortable. In some other mosques it’s just too packed!” (>>Assame 190-198, 209217) he says complaining of the Mestre Old Mosque. 46
Another criteria that leads many worshippers express their preferences for some mosque over others is the nationality and/or origin of their community. Assame idicates both the mosque in Via Fogazzaro and the Mestre Old Mosque as Bangladeshi mosques. And even if he admits that from time to times he goes there to pray, he recognizes the hegemony of the Bangladeshi community in those specific mosques (>>Assame178-179). A similar division/segregation based on nationality is to find in Berlin, where many mosques host a specific group of people with a common nationality, acquiring the name of a specific country: The “Albanische Moschee Ikra Bashkimi e.V.”, the “Bosnian Moschee”, The “Bangladeshi Jame”, The “Marokkanische Moschee” among others. On the contrary in Marseille, the variety of ethnicities, and their distribution seem to allow an heterogeneous mix of nationalities in most of the mosques, 47
making the choice only based on language and not proximity. For all of these reasons the urban scheme typical of the Arabic city, shortly depicted in the first publication, based on walking proximity, uniform distribution, accessibility and urban connectivity is completely flipped over, and consequently also its hierarchical structure. (>>See volume I page 37). In the European cities the concept of three types of mosques for three different urban scales is totally mixed up. As it is happening in Berlin, the masjid al-jami (the neighbourhood mosque) is rising in importance and plays the role of a Friday mosques, the masjid aljomah, which normally hosts the community of the whole district, has very limited capacity, while the mussalla seems to have become a small prayer room in the city centres.
48
VISIBILITY AND SECLUSION:
The connectivity with the urban surroundings As already seen in the previous volume, the connectivity of European mosques is a complex topic that is connected to their location and also to the proximity of their users. However, this is not the only characteristic that gives mosques a high or low connectivity level. The connectivity of a mosque is also the quantification of their relation, visual or physical, to the urban surrounding. This is why their visibility or seclusion plays a central role in their spatial-social integration with the city. In Mestre, for example, the mosque in Via Fogazzaro is hardly noticeable from the street level, the only sign that may reveal its use is the sign on the door, 49
that shows the daily schedule of the prayer (>>See picture below). Furthermore, the windows of the prayer room are covered by white curtains that blur the view of the inside, and the shutters of the former shop are half closed (>>Anecdote on the Mosque of Via Fogazzaro).
This is a clear manifestation of the seclusion of this Muslim community, that, as described in the story I written about this mosque, are not use to have 50
strangers in their house of worship. Another vivid example of missing connectivity is represented by the mosque in Via dei Mille in Vicenza. The so called “illegal mosque� has a very low level of urban connectivity. As in the previous example, the curtains are drawn and the shutters are down, but this time no sign of any kind indicates religious activities. Reinforcing the isolation from its surrounding is its status of illegality. The local media reported that the police had already evacuated the prayer room a few times, because of the inappropriateness of the room for hosting a mosque. The argument between the Muslim community, which incidentally owns the space, and the municipality, ended with a compromise: the space could be further used as a place of worship as long as their level of visibility remained low (>>See picture on the next page). 51
>>From The Muslims’ Yellow Pages, page 86
52
Being in this mosque gives quite a strange feeling, the people whisper instead of speaking, and the the lights are off on purpose, in order to avoid that people could glimpse inside, as it normally happens in the Mosque of Via Fogazzaro, in Mestre (>>Anecdote on the Mosque of Via Fogazzaro). Nevertheless, the citizens remain quite aware of the mosque’s presence, as several passers-by and the owner of the bar located in front of the mosque confirmed to me during my visit in Vicenza. Founded after a quarrel with the mosque in Via dei Mille, the “Ettawa Islamic Cultural Centre” is also keeping a low profile. Placed in an former industrial site, it remains far away from the residential areas of the city centre, where the coming and going of the worshippers can’t cause any discomfort to the citizens, affirms the director of the centre Riad Krika. (>>Riad 129-134) 53
He then affirms that, contrary to the mosque in Via dei Mille, they try to gain some visibility, inviting public figures and organizing public events and conferences related to religious matter (>>Riad 235-239).
SECLUSION: A POLITICAL ACT From the interviews and the experiences collected in Venice I came to realize that the seclusion of Muslim communities is also a consequence of the municipality’s political attitude. This region in the north of Italy is the homeland of a political party called Lega Nord. This regionalist party founded in the mid-eighties declared itself defender of regional traditions and values and have been for decades on the front line against immigration, and especial54
ly against the construction of mosques. Thanks to this political party the famous “anti-mosque law” was approved this January in the regional parliament of Milan, which , through bureaucratic tricks, makes the construction of mosques nearly impossible. Italy, is of course, not the only country where the visibility of mosques has becomes a political matter. In Marseille, since September 2011 the ban of Muslim street prayer came into effect. As already illustrated in the short story about the Al-Quds mosque, many houses of worship and their surroundings are monitored by the police, to ensure the respect of the above mentioned regulation. This act has been officially designed to safeguard France’s secular principles, but obviously also to reduce the undesired visibility of Islam, especially in the city centre. In Bakr’s interview he expresses more than once the frustration that he 55
feels about this kind of regulations that hinder the visibility of his faith. He tells me that especially the new generations don’t feel ashamed anymore of their religion, are empowered by the rights they received as French citizens, and feel in need to show it as part of their identity (>>Bakr 32-41,66-71). He explains me how the Muslim community feels attacked by the French institutions and political parties that want to hide or even eliminate Islamic religious symbols from the public eye, then he states: “Islam is a religion that needs to have visibility!� (>>Bakr 71).Later on in the Interview I try to find out what his view is on the concept of visibility, what it really means to him, as Muslim, to be visible or not. He explains me that clothing, for example, is for sure a major element that contributes to the visibility of Islam in the city. But he also clarifies that, beside the hijab, they are not religious symbols at all, but rather traditions. 56
He makes the example of the djellaba, a characteristic Arabic dress, and specifies that it’s not a religious symbol but rather a sign of identity of a specific culture, a culture that is strictly linked to Islam (>>Bakr 89-92). I can feel the frustration in his words, I sense that such regulations made his religious affiliation much stronger, and so also his identification as Muslim. When I ask him the reason why the people wear such clothing, he responds:
“It’s just to reaffirm that...this is my religion, this is my identity...and I can be proud of it, and I can show it with no shame” (>>Bakr 94-96). This is when it becomes clear to me that visibility is a statement of identity. The validity of these restrictive 57
regulations and their consequences is, however, limited to specific areas of the city where Islam visibility is considered problematic, as for example, in the city centre and the southern part of the city. On the contrary, this regulation seems not to be valid in many northern districts. As already mentioned before, the city of Marseilles is characterized by great social differentiation that is mirrored also in the main urban structure. The term quartier du nord, literally the northern districts, is used to indicate a part of the city included between the 13th and the 16th Arrondissement. It is mainly inhabited by the economically weakest part of society, and a great slice of it has a migration background. In this part of the city public transportation is weaker and public services as firefighters and police are only partially present. During my car trip with Youssouf though the many mosques of this part of the city, he 58
shows me his favourite mosque. It’s a flat building next to a small shopping mall, with a black sign on the top of the entrance. We are still sitting in the car on the other side of the street, and I can’t quite read what is written on it. I want to get closer to have a better look but Youssouf discourages me. He then tells me that on Friday it gets quite crowded, beyond the mosque capacities, for this reason most of the worshipper have to pray on the street or under the arcade of the shopping mall. I express my uncertainty because I came to the understanding that pray on the street would be against the law, and that the police would monitor this kind of phenomena. Youssouf answers that in this part of the city there is no police cover, that they are scared to be attacked by the people or local gangs. This affirmation clarifies that the visibility of Muslim religious praxis is therefore possible, but only in remote, 59
isolated and unregulated part of the city, where the majority of the population is Muslim. To consider how this issue plays out in Berlin, even if many of the mosques still remain hidden in the city’s courtyards, a shift on Islam visibility can be registered. Many of the city’s houses of worship, such as the “Islamisches Zentrum Imam Riza” or the Mevlana Mosque are beginning to appear, moving from the backyards to the street level (>>See picture on the side). Typical signs of Islam, such as minarets, pointed arches and small domes, are used as decorative elements and give the building a recognizable look attributable to Islam. This consideration brings me back to the research question. What does exactly Islam’s shift of visibility means for the urban space, and does this phenomenon has a relation with social processes, such as integration? 60
>>Picture of the Mevlana Mosque before the renovation works
THE ISLAMICISATION OF EUROPEAN URBAN SPACE Scholars such as Jocelyne Cesari and Gerdien Jonker try to formulate social frameworks that can describe such phenomenon. They consider this change of visibility as part of a stabilisation process that the migrant popu61
lation is undertaking. Cesari consider this as consequence of the recognition of the “hosting” land as a permanent home and not anymore as a temporary residence. Commenting on the growing number of Muslim religious association in France during the late 80’s, he describes this phenomenon as a sign of acceptance of the geographical surrounding an not, as French authorities first considered, a sign of failure of adaptation to French society. Furthermore he affirm that the construction of mosques is an evident signal of the social construction, hence the actions, of the Muslim community in public space. (J. Cesari, 2005: 1021) This considerations brings the visibility of mosques in the centre of the discussion over integration of Muslims communities. With the expression “islamicisation of the Urban space” he indicates the visibility of the Muslim communities thought the construction 62
of mosques, and the consequent shift of Islam from the private to the public sphere. The islamicisation of the urban space can be also considered as the deconstruction of the notion of a homogeneously composed society and the rise in the perception of Muslim as citizens. This kind of exposure of Islam generally result in agitations. Almost at daily basis, press and general media report stories of neighbourhood commotion consequent the building or even the intention of building a Mosque. There are many example in European cities where these kind of reactions went at the centre of the public attention. In my opinion this conspicuousness of Muslim communities is in reality the trigger that allow integrations processes to start. The conflict that develop from Muslim exposure produce also confrontation and dialogue between the parties. Therefore the construction of 63
mosque is always a long negotiation process between the local authorities, the citizenry and the Muslim communities. One example of this process can be represented by the Khadija Mosque in Berlin Pankow. Particularly interesting in this case is the fact that this house of worship is the first to be built in east Berlin. First in 2005 after the announcement of the plan of the municipality to allow the building of a mosque, many of the district’s citizen organize themselves and gather in many public protests. One year later some of them joined in a citizens’ group under the name of “Interessengemeinschaft Pankow-Heinersdorf Bürger” or “Ipahb”. The group of active citizens in few month collect around 20.000 signatures in the petition for a referendum to stop the construction of the Mosque. (>>See picture on the side). 64
>>Picture of locals protesting against the construction of the Mosque
Nonetheless the official request for a referendum has been rejected by the municipality. The at the time district’s mayor, Burkhard Kleinert, affiliated with the “Linkspartei”, a left wing party, declares that faith and religion freedom are principles that applies in Pankow-Heinersdorf as well. With this statement he reject any protest against the construction of the mosque and confirm the support of the municipality. After the agitations of the citizenry, in January 2007 the 65
construction of the mosque start under police protection. However after the opening of the religious building in October 2008, just very few protest against the presence of the Muslim community was undertaken by the local community. More and more group of citizens decide to take distance from the controversy that have been overtaken by islamophobic slogans. Some of the locals even started an initiative in support of the mosque. Heinersdorf-oeffne-dich is a citizens’ action committee that foster the the peaceful cohabitation of the neighbourhood without racism and xenophobia (>>see picture below).
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The very strong first reaction of the neighbourhood has been weakening, and after few years of intense dialogue, seems that the communities has learn to cohabit. In this particular case the authorities and the municipality played a central role not only in the construction of the mosque, but also in the constitution of the political consciousness in the neighbourhood. On contrary in Italy the construction of mosques still finds quite a large resistance, both in the residency and the authorities. As already mentioned previously, Venetians mosques are mostly located in the desolated industrial area and have a very low visibility and connectivity. Furthermore the establishment of Mosques are, since recently, regulated by restrictive rules that inhibit their construction. A recent event depict clearly how Muslim visibility in Italy is still a issue 67
that can’t quite be engaged by any of the parties, as well the municipality as the citizenry. During the current Biennale exhibition the curator Nina Magnusdòttir commissioned to the artist Christoph Büchel the installation of the Icelandic Pavilion. The work of art called “The Mosque” was an accurate reproduction of a Mosque, with all its characteristic elements, inside a former Church in the district of Canareggio in the north of the city (>>see picture on the side). The work of art slowly became the realisation of its picture. The reproduction of a mosque, though the exercise of the religious practice, transformed itself in a real Mosque. The ambiguity of the project made it a work of art. The citizenry first protested against it and denounce it as a blasphemy, some others refused to take out the shoes and contentiously called for the Islamisation of Europe. 68
Few days later the opening events of the major art exhibition, the municipality decided to close the art installation with the excuse that the usage of the room was not anymore dedicated to an art exhibition but rather the practice of a cult, and consequently declared its usage illegal. Since then on the entrance of the Church of Benevolence dominate the sign: “Islandic pavillion closed by municipality of Venice�. It is clear how the authorities have miserably fallen in to the trap of the artist, that with his work 69
of art wanted to exactly this, to underline the institutionalized marginalisation and prejudice and to bring the attention of Italy’s immigration policies. The municipalities obviously also lost the opportunity to use this place as a platform for discussion and confrontation with Islam, which visibility still remains a taboo.
CONCLUSION Looking back to all the considerations done in this text, it can be said that European mosques generally contradict their traditional characteristics. First of all they are a replica of an ideal architectural tradition lost in the diaspora, second they are high secluded places and possess a very low level of visual connectivity, and sometimes, especially in Italy, also a very low level 70
of physical connectivity with the urban surroundings. Furthermore, European mosques also went through processes of adaptation of their architectural and sociological meaning. To conclude it can be said that many are the variable in the definition of the regional differentiation of European mosques, and that they all stay in a status of negotiation between an other, from the architectural tradition of the country of origin, the local architectural culture, the existing urban fabric, the religious practice and their symbols and obviously the political and legislative restrictions that many European mosques are subjected. On the whole, I also believe that institutionalisation of Islam visibility, or how Cesari would call it, the Islamicisation of the urban space plays a central role in the creation of the Europan typology of the Mosque, because only through its visibility it will acquire an established architecture status. 71
“It’s just to reaffirm that...this is my religion, this is my identity...and I can be proud of it and I can show it with no shame” (>>Bakr 94-96).