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P116


How do places make people? Examining the relationship between urban imaginary and Muslim life in European cities 
Convenors:
Beate Binder (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)
Alexa Färber (University of Vienna)
Discussant:
Riem Spielhaus (University of Copenhagen)
Location:
Block 1, Piso 1, Room 74
Start time:
18 April, 2011 at
Time zone: Europe/Lisbon
Session slots:
2

Short Abstract:

In this panel we want to address the question of shaping lives with respect to expressions and representations of Islam in European cities: In which ways are urban Muslim lives shaped by local urban imaginaries on the one hand and translocal Muslim networks on the other?

Long Abstract:

With this double perspective we want to bring together two contradictory research agendas:

1. The anthropology of the city, with its programme to work on the specific character of cities, argues that the city forms an entity that is accumulated in its imaginary representation(s).

2. Focusing on the translocal relatedness of those living in cities, the perspective on networks (material or virtual) makes it impossible to define the city as an entity, whereas 'urbanity' is expressed in practices.

While the panel aims to discuss these approaches to urban phenomena together and with respect to the specific realm of the lives of Muslims in European cities and their material expressions, it may address several related questions:

In which way do Muslims and their representations within cities shape/influence the imaginary of cities? Do translocal Muslim networks connect locally to the specific character of a city and if so, in which way?

Is it possible to identify different urban styles of Islam in European cities? How do they relate to the imaginary of the cities as their memories? In which way are these memories and representations structured by social, gender, sex and other categorizations of those citizens who identify as Muslims? And how do these configurations shape the realm of participation and exclusion in cities?

We invite researchers to this panel who work in the field of urban studies and are interested in discussing the interrelatedness of place, translocality and the lives of a religious minority in Europe and their material expressions.

Accepted papers:

Session 1