Abstract
Ibn Rushd-Goethe mosque opened its doors in the German capital of Berlin in June 2017. Since its public opening, the mosque has proven a source of numerous controversies with traditional Muslims regarding its validity as a sacred place of prayer. The controversies and opposition result from the mosque’s adoption and practice of liberal Islam, which challenges the traditional Islamic teachings on gender and sexuality that continue to inform Muslim communities. This thesis examines how the space of the Ibn Rushd-Goethe mosque is used by its members to reconfigure, challenge and resist traditional Muslim views pertaining to the workings of gender and sexuality in the mosque. This study is informed by feminist methodology and employed qualitative tools to generate rich and detailed observations and narratives relevant to the question at hand. The study employs spatial analysis and the concept of sacred space to investigate the space of the mosque and how it is used to reconfigure, challenge and resist traditional Muslim views on gender and sexuality. The findings revealed the dynamism of the space of the mosque as a physical, social, mental, space filled with power relations and its importance as a site of resistance and challenge to traditional Muslim views on gender and sexuality. It also showed the importance of giving more attention to the nascent movement of liberal mosques.