Nomadic Mosque e Dirndlmoschee // Azra Aksamîja

The Nomadic Mosque project explores various ways of negotiating spatial relationships between Islamic traditions and modernity in the US and Western Europe. Through the design of wearable mosques, clothes that can be transformed into prayer-rugs, the project examines the notion of the mosque space and investigates its formal limits. Whereas it respects religious restrictions, the Nomadic Mosque aims to redefine traditional forms and functions of mosques in the contemporary context. These thoughts thus contribute to an architectural interpretation of the religion of Islam, understanding it not as a static concept, which it often claims to be, but rather as a dynamic process that allows change in time and place.

The project reinterprets the concept of the World as a Mosque, as defined by the Prophet Mohammed, as wearable architecture. The Nomadic Mosque can thus be seen as a minimal-volume mosque, whose design is based on individual needs and experiences of the worshipper. It is a device to transform any secular space into a prayer space. Not only does the wearable mosque accommodate the liturgical necessities, but also acts as a prosthetic device of the worshipper communicating his/her prayers: problems, needs and desires. The project entails a prototype design for a wearable mosque and a 10 min. video that shows ritual prayer in various public spaces with Muslim students at MIT. Allowing for the new young Islamic community to speak out, the Nomadic Mosque becomes both, a pro-vocative statement for religious revival and against prejudice. However, this statement is dependent on the process of wearing, which can only happen if Muslims themselves recognize the basic ideological elasticity of Islam, which not only allows, but also calls for its own change and progress. [1]

The premise the Dirndlmoschee is the nomadic principle of assimilating certain characteristics of a place into one’s own context, whereas a mutual enrichment is achieved. The Dirndl, a traditional Austrian dress, is still worn in the every day life in some places in Austria (...). The Dirndlmoschee can be transformed into an Islamic prayer environment that provides a prayer space for three people. The dirndl’s apron is made out of a water-resistant material that can be unfolded into three connected prayer rugs. In the mosque configuration, the traditional shoulder scarf opens up into a veil. The silk decoration at the scarf edge playfully references a person’s hair, which is actually hidden by the veil. The belt carries a compass with a carabineer attached, from which prayer beets on ropes are hanging. The prayer beets are decorated with Swiss knifes, locally found souvenirs from which the crosses were not removed, but re-symbolized as a decoration. The project involved a prayer performance in various public spaces, as well as a communication with local Turkish immigrants. Although not willing to participate in the prayer, the Turkish women showed interest in the Dirndlmoschee as a product. [2]

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[1]  http://www.azraaksamija.net/nomadic-mosque/?show=gallery
[2] http://www.azraaksamija.net/project-5/?show=gallery