Mosque Communities on the Way to Postmigration: Negotiations of Tradition, Transformation and Identity (GER)

Mosques in Germany are, through their migrant emergence, specific spaces of (post-)migrant identity negotiations. Here, identity discourses intensify in a multi-layered and complex field, which is constituted by ambivalent expectations of inner (community) and outer (society) spheres. Within these dynamics, mosque communities develop into multifunctional centres of religious, cultural, and social life. They unfold their relevance both through physical and transnational spatiality – they are simultaneously spaces of the sacred and profane, spaces of negotiation between generations and genders, as well as spaces of sphere differentiations.

The establishment of the first mosques began with the first generation of migrant workers. Through genealogical transmission, the congregations are attended by their children, grandchildren, and sometimes even the fourth generation. Thus, four different types of socialization collide within these four generations. The relationships between these generations are reflected upon and lived out, actively referencing a cultural heritage present in a conjunctive experiential space. Retrospective reflections and prospective visions of belonging and identity alternate in an ambivalent oscillation. In the context of post-migrant and post-modern society, this leads to an increase in contingency.

Through the construction of physical spaces, positions and expressions of identity and belonging are formed. Architectural aspects are inevitably linked to positionings towards cultural heritage and future interaction with it. While mosque buildings with domes and minarets are often discussed in the public perception as expressions of rejection of the majority society, they can, on the contrary, proclaim a definitive integration into German society. Spatial-material self-realisation is constitutive for the community, as it supports its cultural heritage and community through physical spaces. The discussion will focus on how the negotiation of identity and alterity is shaped within mosque spaces and which dimensions of space become effective.