Sacred Space in the City: Community Practices of Turkish Muslim Women in the Mosques of Berlin

Islam is often considered as opposition to secular public life, and it is largely addressed by fixed definitions, institutional organizations, and observable symbols. Moreover, it is treated as the prevailing manifestation of a single Muslim identity. The literature on Turkish Muslim communities in Europe often analyze the institutional character of Islam (i.e., faith-based organizations). Women’s agency in those practices are often neglected. In this article, based on an ethnographic work in my Ph.D. project, I will particularly focus on the social construction of mosques as places of community practices by Turkish Muslim women in the Berlin neighborhoods. Related with a more general discussion on the cultural-religious repertoire of these women and neighborhood networking, I will analyze the religious practices along with community practices. Thus, I will discuss that the mosques are not only physical spaces of prayers, but also socio-political spaces of community construction.