Islam in the Post-Secular City: Digital Negotiations of Visibility in German Public Spaces

Lehrende Person: Dr. Alireza Taherifard

3 Credits

The increasing visibility of Islam in Western societies has shifted the central question from whether Islam is present in public spaces to how this presence is negotiated, contested, and made visible. Within the framework of post-secularism, urban public spaces can be understood as arenas in which secular and religious claims are continuously articulated, challenged, and reconfigured. This seminar examines these processes in German cities, with particular attention to digital environments as extensions of public space. Platforms such as social media and mapping services do not merely reflect urban realities; they actively participate in producing and organizing the visibility of Islam. The seminar adopts three complementary analytical foci. First, a visual focus examines how Muslim presence, such as mosques, bodies, and symbols, is rendered visible through specific image regimes and visual conventions. Second, a spatial focus investigates how digital platforms reorganize urban spaces by locating, ranking, and framing Islamic sites, thereby shaping their accessibility and prominence. Third, a discursive focus analyzes how visibility is interpreted, legitimized, or contested through captions, comments, and broader online debates. By focusing on the mediated appearance of Muslims in urban public spaces, the seminar investigates how these intersecting dimensions contribute to reshaping the conditions and limits of public visibility in a post-secular context.

This seminar offers an open space to critically explore these topics from different perspectives and is suited to students interested in Islam, Muslim life in Europe, religion and politics, and the dynamics of public space across online and offline contexts.