The role of the Mosque in structuring European cities - The case of Liège (Belgium)

The presence of Islam in the European public space has been increasing markedly in recent decades. Thus, Muslims have contributed to the emergence of a specific urban geography, which challenges the social representation of the relationship between private and public spheres, as well as organization and structure in the public space. Mosques play a major role in social and political organization of Muslims. For Muslim communities, mosques represent a religious and socio-cultural link between the believers while marking the territory in time and space. Perceived as landmarks, refuges and meeting places, most mosques are not only spaces for prayer, but real community centers and socialization spaces where other social and cultural activities take place and accompany the main function.
In this study, we see the mosque as an architectural device that articulates between public and community spaces as a true transition space. As such, the logic of “inside & outside” is attenuated. The preface of our research will be a question concerning the opening of mosques and their anchoring at the micro-local scale towards public space (street, square, green space). The existing relationship between all the spaces - place of prayer/additional spaces up to the public space - will be decoded. This architectural analysis will be coupled with the observation of the practices of the believers in order to highlight the construction of their movements/groupings within these different spaces, including those of waiting and the impact in terms of socialization and the difficulty of use.