The Pluralism Project at Harvard University
Ahmed Krausen
Mosques in Europe – People and Architecture: Photography Exhibition
Mosques have been very visible in the European landscape for centuries, going back to the times of the Moors in Spain, the Ottomans in the Balkans, the Tatars in the Baltic States, and more recently due to the arrival of migrants and refugees from Muslim countries. European engineers and architects have declared mosques some of the most beautiful architectural wonders in the world. Today, the European cultural heritage can have an added aesthetic value if the construction of mosques is integrated into the local architectural styles.
Specific criteria for the construction of mosques and minarets in Europe could be defined which will help to integrate these in the existing architectural space. Such discussions are certainly needed but the end result should be to support the idea of adding the mosques in the public space, rather than banning them. While minarets are not fundamentally important to the construction of a mosque, they are symbolic of the identity of many migrant and refugee Muslim communities in Europe, and they help to prevent a sense of cultural alienation.
There are approximately 45 million Muslims from different countries in Asia and Africa living in Europe, and therefore the diversity of Islam in Europe with regard to ethnicity, race, cultural background, and practice is extraordinary. Furthermore, this population also includes native Europeans who have converted to Islam. With Europe as a new abode for a growing Muslim population, European Muslims are wont to interpret Islam in different ways and adapt to the non-Muslim environment with a lot of creativity. In this process of negotiating what it is to be Muslim in a European context, critical dialogue between both Muslim and non-Muslim communities in Europe is paramount. This project seeks to contribute to that dialogue.
About Ahmed Krausen
Ahmed Krausen is a freelance photographer based in Copenhagen, Denmark and specialized in the study and photographic documentation of the Islamic architecture in Europe. The main focus of his work is the different interpretations of Islam and his impressions of the Muslim community and the Islamic architecture in Europe. The aim is to establish more understanding and dialogue between Western and Muslim world.
Ahmed Krausen has done numerous exhibitions in Denmark and Germany, His most famous photography exhibition has been “Being a Muslim in Europe” that took place in 2008 at the El-Sawy Culture Wheel in Cairo, Egypt and recently the photo exhibition “Dunya - Glimpses of Muslim Life in Europe” displayed at Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization in the United Arab Emirates during the period June 17th to August 14th 2010. On May 9–13, 2011, his exhibition “Islam’s Trip to Denmark” is being held in the Stock Exchange (Børsen) in downtown Copenhagen. His photos can be also seen in a number of important book publications, newspapers and magazines. At present Ahmed Krausen is cooperating with a German author for an extended new edition of his book about new mosque design in the West.
Reviews, Articles, and Interviews
- http://www.ahmedkrausen.com/dunya_jun_aug2010.php
- Islamic Horizons, Jan/Feb 2011 p. 46
http://www.isnawebpaper.com/web/