Re-Placing Stigma? the Reception of Purpose-Built Mosques in Contemporary Germany

What happens when religious institutions migrated to European countries of settlement alongside of the populations they serve institutionalize? How are institutions from stigmatized religions in particular embraced or rejected by societies of settlement? How do they relate to national and European values, in particular during challenging times? The following analysis identifies mechanisms that result in positive reception or rejection of mosques, showing how religion travels under stigmatized conditions in today’s Europe. It examines the staging and performance through the architectural form of the mosque in two varying environments of reception, Penzberg and Cologne, Germany (leading to alternative labeling of the mosque as ‘good or ‘bad’). Utilizing interview data and newspaper analysis, I argue that the site of the mosque allows us unique sight into how European societies embrace or oppose stigmatized religious institutions. I pinpoint mechanisms that determine this outcome, namely the varying ability of mosque projects to stage and perform the key German civic values of loyalty, transparency, and participation. I argue, however, that not only national values but also local contexts determine the reception of specific mosque projects. In other words, the strategic presentation of both form and function by Muslim communities interacts with constraining environmental factors in delineating possibilities of belonging to Europe today.