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. examine the different forms of Islam emerging in European cities and the conflicts
and regulations they engender;
. analyse the consequences of the visibility of Islam within urban space in terms of
public policy, as well as the redefinition of public space to incorporate Islamic
elements.
Through a number of case-studies in which European Muslim groups have attempted
to construct a mosque within their local neighbourhoods, the authors of this special
issue were able to implement an investigation that analysed the visibility of Islam in
urban space. The cities in which these studies were initially conducted include
Toulouse, Marseilles, Berlin, Bradford, Deventer, Driebergen and Lodi. Based on the
same methodology and theoretical assumptions enunciated above, this research was
conducted simultaneously in all the aforementioned cities. The research was actioned
through the existence of NOCRIME (Network of Comparative Research on Muslims
and Islam in Europe) and funded by a grant from the French Minister of Urban
Planning in 2001 (NOCRIME 2001). To this initial research were added the
contributions of Claire de Galembert on Mantes-la-Jolie, Ural Manc¸o and Meryem
Kenmaz on Schaerbeek, and Richard Gale on Birmingham.
The Islamicisation of European Urban Space
The mosque is central to Islam’s urban visibility and is the centre of Muslim
communal life. It is not only a space for prayer but also a ‘community centre’, where
pre-existing networks of solidarity come together and where various rituals that mark
Islamic family life*/marriage, circumcision, death*/take place. Thanks to zakat, or
religiously-mandated alms-giving, the mosque is also a place where those who are in
need of financial aid can seek help. The cost of a burial (or repatriation to a country
of origin) and money for rent and travel can all be financed through the mosque or
by a special collection undertaken by the members of the congregation. Closely tied
to their countries of origin, many congregations help to finance and aid communities
they have left behind. However, although the mosque is an integral part of Muslim
community life, it is interesting to note that, except for Friday prayers, special
holidays and the month of Ramadan, daily mosque attendance in Europe is generally
low.
The mosque not only expresses the presence of a local Muslim community, it also
represents the evolution of Islam from the private to the public sphere. Whereas, in
the past, Muslims in Europe were isolated within invisible and private prayer rooms,
the mosque openly, publicly and visibly marks an Islamic presence. The distinction
between the prayer room and the mosque has more to do with the way Islamicrelated
activities are organised in the city and less to do with the amount of floor
space or the size of the building or prayer room. Many activities simply cannot take
place in the private space of a prayer room, which is often only an apartment or the
back room of a shop. If prayer rooms have the ability to go unnoticed in the non-
Muslim environment, a mosque certainly cannot. Every project that concerns the
construction of a mosque entails time-consuming processes in which leaders of the
Muslim community must discuss and negotiate with local, city and regional
authorities. From being invisible, Islam goes to being unwanted.
Wherever the islamicisation of urban space is an issue, it confronts the resistance of
the community at large. Regardless of the nature of the Muslim community’s request,
a refusal*/implicit or explicit*/from the local municipality or the surrounding
community (neighbourhood associations) often constitutes the first step towards a
dialogue. Certainly, this resistance is directly tied to the degree of acceptance Islam
enjoys in national and local contexts. In countries where immigration has a long
history, such as France, Great Britain or Belgium, immediate resistance to the
existence of a mosque is gradually losing its force. As Wendy Wessels and Nico