From women’s sections: place affordances and women’s sense of place in American mosques

Abstract

Existing studies have shown that a significant portion of women in mosques of the United States are dissatisfied with the way mosques are run. However, despite the rapidly growing number of purpose-built mosques in the US, little empirical research has investigated the impact of current spatial and physical features of these buildings on women. Using data from 422 blogposts and 13 semi-structured interviews with a diverse group of Muslim women, this study examines the psychological impact of common architectural characteristics of contemporary American mosques on women’s sense of place. The study reveals that building affordances of accessibility, functional fit, and aesthetics in mosques enable a breadth of emotions and cognitive meanings that form women’s sense of place. Findings suggest that care must be taken when designing new mosques to promote women’s positive place experiences.

Keywords:

• American Muslims
• gendered spaces
• mosques architecture
• Muslim women
• sense of place
• spatial perception

Acknowledgements

I thank the three anonymous reviewers for their valued feedback which has strengthened the article. I give special thanks to Dr. Jung-hye Shin for her feedback on early versions of this paper. My deep gratitude goes to the women participants in this study who shared their experiences in mosques and to Hind Makki for creating Side Entrance as a platform for women empowerment in mosques.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was partially supported by the School of Human Ecology: Design Studies department, the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Notes on contributors

Hassnaa Mohammed

Hassnaa Mohammed is an Assistant Professor in The Design School at Arizona State University. Her current research is on human-place relationships in socio-religious spaces and community buildings. She is driven by her passion for community work and creating safe spaces that promote emotional and spiritual wellbeing from individuals from all backgrounds. Hassnaa has presented her research at the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) several times, has a published manuscript in the Health Environments Research & Design journal, and is preparing several other manuscripts for publication. She has instructed a wide variety of courses including introductory design courses, advanced design studios, and lectures. Hassnaa worked for several interior design firms in the United States and Portugal. She received Dual Bachelor of Science in Interior Design and Communications Media from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, as well as her Masters of Art in Public Affairs with a focus on international development and Muslim women.