To some it resembles a budding flower; others see a spaceport. The building that draws stares in the German city of Cologne is a new mosque, under construction since 2008, and one of a growing crop in countries where a large Muslim presence is new. America’s mosque count rose from 1,209 to 2,106 between 2000 and 2010. In both France and Germany 200 new ones are under way—a 10% increase.
The growth spurt has stoked xenophobia and sparked protests. But the innovative architecture of some new mosques also challenges stereotypes about a faith hidebound by history.
Germany’s new mosques have the liveliest designs in Europe, according to Azra Aksamija, an architectural historian at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The mosque in Moers, on the banks of the Rhine, looks like a dazzling jewellery box. The Bavarian city of Penzberg boasts an award-winning cubic design. Those elsewhere are striking, too: a blue dome encased in a latticed cube will soon lick the sky of the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana. Australia’s first modern mosque, in Melbourne, is eco-friendly. Cool blue light shines through the glass roof; ventilation shafts substitute for air-conditioning.
Muslim scriptures are laconic on mosque design. The holy building must only face Mecca and be “guarded from enemies”. That gives a free hand to experimental architects and adventurous clergy. In Albania’s capital, Tirana, BIG, a Danish architectural firm, is erecting a mosque with walls like breaking waves. Their clever geometry helps it face Mecca—inconveniently askew from the city’s north-south grid layout.
Modern architecture goes alongside other innovations, including those—such as boxing rings—that help lure young people away from drugs and mischief. Cologne’s mosque will have a youth club, sports centre and shops. Plans for the Gungahlin mosque in Canberra, Australia’s capital, include a computer lab.
Avant-garde architecture does not mitigate the chief cause of controversy among non-Muslim residents: size. A group called MegaMosqueNoThanks helped block a snazzy new mosque near the Olympic site in east London. Warning of “ghettoisation”, campaigners criticised the dimensions (it could hold 10,000) and the alleged theological intolerance of its backers.
Some integration-minded Muslims worry about mega-projects too. If you can pray, shop, preen and socialise at the mosque, then why spend time anywhere else? Cologne’s mosque will include a “secular” bazaar and restaurants to draw in non-Muslims. Tirana’s will have a museum of religious harmony. Plans for Cordoba House, a Muslim-led community centre in New York, include multi-faith cooking classes and art, plus prayer space.
But Muslim worship in the West is mostly in dingy makeshift premises. Local authorities are stingy with building permits, especially in central locations. A 2010 study by the Network of European Foundations, a do-gooding alliance, says some 90% of mosques are “backyard facilities”.
One option is to take over disused places of Christian worship. But that can rile nervous locals. So too can new features on a traditional skyline. Cologne’s 55-metre-high minarets aroused ire: they supposedly rivalled the cathedral spire (which is three times higher). In 2009 the Swiss banned the building of all new minarets.
Architects have tried to accommodate both their clients and the critics. The minarets of a Hamburg mosque sport green and white hexagons in the pattern of a football. A planned minaret in Florence will resemble a medieval bell tower. The one in Marseille will glow purple during the call to prayer (not green, which would clash with the port’s lighting).