Flexible topographies

Muslim spaces in a German cityscape

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3977360
AutoresPetra Kuppinger (0000-0002-5777-8126, Monmouth College, autor de correspondencia)
Año2014
Volumen15
Número6
Páginas627-644
Fecha de publicación2014-08-18
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSocial & Cultural Geography (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1464-9365 • E-ISSN: 1470-1197
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14649365.2014.882396
OpenAlexW2128171965
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas19
Referencias citadas30

This paper examines transient and semi-permanent Muslim spaces, their social construction, use, and relevance for diverse pious Muslims in Stuttgart, Germany. I describe the location, creation, negotiation, and maintenance of such spaces and analyze their position and contribution to a larger urban Muslim social geography. Based on several years of ethnographic fieldwork in Stuttgart, Germany, I illustrate how individuals mark or inhabit spaces momentarily or more permanently as Muslim spaces. I illustrate how at least for the length of a particular encounter, spaces are used in manners that reflect Islamic sensitivities and normativities. These spaces are ever more inseparably and irreversibly woven into the urban fabric. Over time they become and indeed some already have become integral parts of the cityscape. Some spaces in the process of recurrent islamically inspired uses become semi-permanent or even permanent Muslim spatialities, especially in contexts with considerable Muslim interaction or movement. The density of transient encounters and spaces over time contributes to the consolidation of an increasingly well-known and shared urban Muslim social geography. Within this spatiality, pious Muslims know that planned or unplanned encounters will be framed by Muslim beliefs and practices. Paying attention to the ‘elusive evidence of the ordinary’ [Chauncey, G. (1994). Gay New York. New York: Basic Books, p. 10], I demonstrate how increasingly visible Muslim spaces and practices slowly become part of the urban fabric and every day culture

Aesthetics · Art · Cityscape · Ethnography · Islam · Negotiation · Social science · Sociology · Visual arts · Anthropology · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Gender Studies · Halal products and consumer behavior · History · Religious Tourism and Spaces