Problematising the Official Athens Mosque
Between Mere Place of Worship and 21st Century 'Trojan Horse
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3286377 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Christina Verousi (0000-0002-3261-7633, University of Leicester, corresponding author), C Allen (0000-0002-4897-5777, University of Leicester) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 485 |
| Publication date | 2021-06-29 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Religions (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/rel12070485 |
| OpenAlex | W3176051935 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 27 |
This article investigates the 'problematisation' of the recently inaugurated mosque in the city of Athens, the capital's first 'official' mosque since the country was liberated from the Ottoman Empire almost two centuries ago. Building on and developing the existing scholarly literature on the problematisation of mosques in the contemporary European setting, this article generates new knowledge by focusing on the Greco-specific context of that same problematisation: an amalgam of history, geography, religion and culture, that asymmetrically shape and inform how and why the new Athens mosque is-and indeed continues to be-a site of conflict and opposition. Presenting new empirical data, this article uses an innovative and original approach to bring together two separate pieces of fieldwork undertaken first-hand by the authors in 2001/2 and 2019/20. Analysing the two sets of data, a threefold thematic structure is employed that focuses on Greece's history, Christian Orthodoxy and global terrorism. This article first explores the existing scholarly canon relating to the contemporary problematisation of mosques through a focused overview of Greece's history, religion and culture appropriate to mosques and in part, Muslims and Islam. From there it sets out the findings from the two periods of fieldwork to illustrate and evidence discourses of opposition towards the mosque and how these serve to function both symbolically and tangibly. Using the thematic analysis, theories relating to the ideological processes of Islamophobia are deployed to elucidate a better understanding of the Athens mosque. In doing so, this article makes a timely contribution
Aesthetics · Archaeology · Ideology · Islam · Islamophobia · Media studies · Orthodoxy · Performative utterance · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Worship · Contemporary and Historical Greek Studies · History · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Turkey's Politics and Society
Using Templates in the Thematic Analysis of Text
The New Religious Intolerance
Between Critical and Uncritical Understandings
British Muslims and the discourses of dysfunction
The public visibility of Islam and European politics of resentment
Fear of Islam in Greece
The ‘Dudley Mosque Project’
Using thematic analysis in psychology
The Islamofascists are coming! (or are they?) Assessing the accuracy of a common contemporary analogy
Islamophobia and the Problematization of Mosques
Mosques in the Netherlands
The Perception of Muslims in Bulgaria and Greece
Negotiating Muslim identity and diversity in Greek urban spaces
The Arabs as Nazis? Some Reflections on "Islamofascism" and Arab Anti-Semitism
Why are Mosques a Problem? Local Politics and Fear of Islam in Northern Italy
The Visibility of Mosques in Dutch Towns
Mosques and the Public Space
Constructing Difference
The Mevlana Mosque in Berlin-Kreuzberg
Mosques in French Cities
Anti-Social Networking
Mosques and Minarets
Thematic Analysis
The Status of Method
Islamism and the roots of liberal rage
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2026 (6) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |