
Book Presentation and Discussion on Islam, Architecture, and Democracy in Greece
Book Presentation and Discussion on Islam, Architecture, and Democracy in Greece
On the occasion of the publication of his book Why Not Build the Mosque?: Islam, Political Cost, and the Practice of Democracy in Greece Dimitris Antoniou (Lecturer in Hellenic Studies and Associate Director of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Public Humanities Initiative at Columbia University) discusses with Kostis Kourelis (Professor of Art History at the Franklin & Marshall College) the history of Muslim presence in Greece and what failed architectural projects can tell us about government operation and contemporary democracy.
📅 When: Wednesday, April 23rd, 6:00 PM
📍 Where: Penn Bookstore | 3601 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
About the Book:
Why Not Build the Mosque? explores the Greek state’s two-century-long attempt to build a central mosque, culminating in the project’s realization during the recent economic crisis. Focusing on an effort in the early 2000s to build a mosque in a suburb of Athens, Dimitris Antoniou inquires into widespread beliefs concerning local reactions, the Orthodox Church’s stance, and politicians’ concern with “political cost.” As his ethnographic research moves from underground mosques and Muslim associations to polling companies, politicians’ offices, and media corporations, he reveals how building a mosque is more than a matter of religion or nationalism alone. The story of the central mosque in Athens demonstrates the productivity of unrealized plans by laying bare the logic and interests at work behind what might first appear as an obvious case of failure. Ultimately, Why Not Build the Mosque? sheds light on what it takes for things to happen in contemporary democracies when governments and multinational corporations try to respond to the will of the people.
✨ Event Highlights:
Discussion on the book's themes and insights
Q&A session with Dimitris Antoniou and Kostis Kourelis
Book signing