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Diversity of Mosque Architecture in U.S. Highlighted

Architekturzentrum Wien
Vienna, September 4, 2009

Architekturzentrum Wien

Azra Aksamija, an architectural historian at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, gave a presentation on American mosque architecture at a symposium at Vienna’s Architekturzentrum on September 4, co-hosted by the U.S. Embassy. The symposium focused on “Contemporary Mosques – Architecture and Sociopolitical Responsibility,” with European experts giving an overview of the situation in Europe. Ms. Aksamija presented the range of different mosque architectural styles in the U.S. and the variety of tasks mosques fulfill within the Muslim community, from prayer houses to religious schools to community gathering centers. In a panel discussion following the lectures, politicians, Muslim representatives, architects, journalists and the audience discussed the visibility of Islam as a religion, a hotly debated issue in Europe.


Azra Aksamija (left) and journalist Gudrun Harrer on the panel.	F.l.t.r.: Omar Al-Rawi (Islamische Glaubensgemeinschaft Österreich), Christoph Prinz, Sabine Kroissenbrunner (Institut für Konfliktforschung), architect Hüsnü Yegenoglu, Azra Aksamija, art historian Christian Welzbacher.