Marsh, J. 2024. Performing the Symbiotic Relationship Between the Adapted Mosque and its Congregation. in: Lamb, T. and Wang, C. (ed.) Negotiating Identities, Language and Migration in Global London: Bridging Borders, Creating Spaces London Multilingual Matters. pp. 170-186
| Chapter title | Performing the Symbiotic Relationship Between the Adapted Mosque and its Congregation |
|---|---|
| Authors | Marsh, J. |
| Editors | Lamb, T. and Wang, C. |
| Abstract | The portrayal of mosques in the United Kingdom by mainstream media often involves presenting a single mosque as a representative of the entire Muslim community. When Islamic sites of worship are reduced to representation, a wider unhelpful discourse can develop that likens them all to each other and does not take into account the diversity of the Muslim diaspora in Britain. In addition, previous academic studies on Muslim sites of worship have mostly been theological and sociological and fail to examine the lived experience of the mosque. This chapter argues that a mosque cannot be represented because the acts of worship within it are fundamental to its existence. For this reason, the research conducted as part of this study should not be regarded as a representation of a space, and still less of individual worshippers, but rather as an attempt to ‘perform’ the mosque as it actually exists. This argument can be found in the findings from Assembly, a research project made and performed in three adapted mosques in London: Brick Lane Mosque, originally a Huguenot church, then a synagogue before becoming a mosque for the Bangladeshi diaspora; Old Kent Road Mosque, a conversion of a former pub to serve a predominantly Nigerian community; and Harrow Central Mosque, which used to occupy a pair of semi-detached houses acquired by a group of Pakistani immigrants. These chosen case studies reflect the architectural multiplicity, social diversity, and performativity of the adapted British Mosque. |
| Keywords | Migration |
| Practice-based research | |
| Adapted Mosque | |
| Placemaking | |
| Artistic collaboration | |
| Book title | Negotiating Identities, Language and Migration in Global London: Bridging Borders, Creating Spaces |
| Page range | 170-186 |
| Year | 2024 |
| Publisher | Multilingual Matters |
| Publication dates | |
| Published | 16 Jan 2024 |
| Place of publication | London |
| Series | Encounters |
| ISBN | 9781788927758 |
| 9781788927765 | |
| 9781788927772 | |
| 9781788927789 | |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.21832/WANG7765 |
| Web address (URL) | https://www.multilingual-matters.com/page/detail/Negotiating-Identities-Language-and-Migration-in-Global-London/?k=9781788927758 |