Mosques and the changing urban landscapes of immigrant belonging in German and U.S. cities

Cities have been at the center of debates about the integration of (Muslim) immigrants in contemporary advanced economies. Deemed important sites for the expression of citizenship, cities are also home to intense contestations and conflict over who belongs, and under what conditions. The construction of mosques often crystallizes such debates, and brings into sharper relief the changing face of cities and societies in the context of immigration. This manuscript examines the arguments made for and against mosques (their new construction and/or expansions), drawing on recent cases in Cologne and Duisburg in Germany and the Atlanta area in the U.S. While the national contexts and immigration geopolitics vary, I argue that debates about mosques share important characteristics with regard to the claims that Muslim immigrants lay to specifically urban belonging and neighborliness. Similarly, the rejection of Muslims’ claims to belonging is often based on arguments that seek to portray mosques as being out of place by invoking urban environments, zoning, and planning issues. Together, these cases highlight the importance of cities as the sites and stakes of belonging and exclusion for Muslim immigrants