Essalam Moskee, Rotterdam - Hollanda (Molenaar & Van Winden Architecten)

The history of the reception and appreciation of Islam in Western Europe seems to consist of a series of misunderstandings. It is unclear whether the major misunderstanding has reached its climax or whether new misunderstandings are still in store. At the same time, Europe has found a way of dealing with Islamic culture, namely not dealing with it, but completely ignoring and excluding this culture, which has such a long (architectural) history in Europe. That is no longer possible, and it no longer works either.

Euro Islam
Islamic culture will have to be given a place in Europe and in the Netherlands, and that goes for Islamic architecture too. Ignorance and lack of comprehension have led to disastrous and difficult situations. What do we know, what don’t we know? What preconceptions do Islamic principals have, what preconceptions do architects have? How do they find one another, or where do things go wrong? And, more important, what will arise in the future - a Euro-Islamic architecture?

Speakers
The German architectural historian Christian Welzbacher, who has published widely on this topic, the Turkish / Dutch architect (and lecturer at Eindhoven Technical University) Hüsnü Yeğenoğlu, Wilfried van Winden (Molenaar & Van Winden), the architect and designer of the Esalam Mosque, and the architect Paul Böhm (designer of the mosque in Cologne) will debate with one another and with the floor. The debate will be chaired by Martien de Vletter, former head of presentation at the NAI and now working for SUN Architectuur in Amsterdam, are architects, parties directly involved, and the public.