Religious architecture and Muslim agency: a case study of the correo viejo mosque in Granada
Authors
- Elena ARIGITA (ES) Universidad de Granada
Abstract
Through the reconstruction of the history of the At-Taqwa Mosque and its transformation into the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, this article examines the new visibility of Islam in the city of Granada. Two distinct phases have been identified in the history of this space: an initial one from the early 1980s, characterized by the revitalization of the building and its surroundings drawing upon the Andalusi reference, and a second one from 2017, when an architectural intervention modified its appearance, seeking to evoke the aesthetic of the eponymous Mosque in Abu Dhabi. In reconstructing this history, oral testimonies and participant observation in community dynamics have allowed for an investigation into the emotional connection with the materiality of the architectural space and the interaction of the al-Andalus past with the present. Furthermore, studying a local context from a diachronic perspective allows for nuancing and complicating categories that identify Muslims based on ethnicity and that produce a binary opposition between convert Islam and immigrant and/or post-migratory Islam. Finally, efforts have been made to transcend conceptions of the temporality of al-Andalus as a finalized past or as a utilitarian rhetoric, with the aim of overcoming the bias that such an idea implies for the understanding of Muslim identity.
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