Day of the Open Mosque

An annual occasion for encounters in mosques and Muslim prayer rooms in Austria

Initiators
Since 2013, the Islamic Religious Community in Austria (IGGÖ) has been coordinating the Day of the Open Mosque. Different associations and organizations in Austria, selected mosques and prayer houses are participating in the event – among other, the Islamic Federation in Vienna, the Islamic Center and Atib mosques.

Occasion
The Day of the Open Mosque is regarded as an opportunity to offer, to a broad public, insights into the religious lives of Muslims. Presentation of the mosques as spaces open to a public is meant to enable exchange and encounter with neighbors. The need for opening the places to the whole of society is grounded, among other, in the identity development of the Muslim population from gastarbeiter to permanent citizens of Austria. In addition, the initiative is meant as a reaction to current Islamist-terroristic incidents and relating resentments against Muslims.

Target Groups
The initiative addresses non-Muslim fellow-citizens interested in Islam but also skeptics. The Day of the Open Mosque aims at bringing different demographic groups, nationalities and religions closer together.

Objectives
In general, the event presents an opportunity to render Muslim life in Austria visible and to give those interested an understanding of it. It is meant to raise awareness, to impart knowledge and to enable interreligious and intercultural encounters and understanding.

An authentic picture of lived Islam in Austria is meant to eliminate prejudices and to counteract misuse and resentments. The goal is promotion of social cohesion by building trust and obtaining acceptance.

Topics

  • Mediation of culture and religion
  • Muslim everyday life
  • Integration
  • The mosque
  • Women in Islam

Duration
The first Austria-wide Day of the Open Mosque took place in 2013. Prior to the event, there were similar initiatives organized by the Islamic Center in Vienna, individual mosques of the Islamic Federation Vienna and the Union of Islamic Cultural Centers in Austria. They had been organized independently and irregularly and were pooled to the nationwide event “Tag der offenen Moschee” by the IGGÖ.

Due to the great success of the 2013 event, the Day of the Open Mosque was planned as annual event. No Open Mosque days have been organized since 2017, mainly because of the corona pandemic. However, „Tage der offenen Moschee“ will resume and are expected to place annually, every second Sunday in October, the next one Oct 16, 2022.

Dates of past events: 19.10.2013, 25.10.2014, 13.02.2016, 21.10.2017

Activities

  • Guided tours through participating mosques
  • Direct exchange and Q & A's
  • Offering information material and book tables
  • Cultural program accompanying the event
  • Opportunities to meet with representatives from politics and from other religious communities
  • Participant observation during prayers
  • Lectures and panel discussions
  • Courses for mosque guides in 2017/2018

Form of Organization
Events at the individual locations are organized by the respective mosques. The IGGÖ is responsible for the overall coordination of the Day of the Open Mosque.

The “Lange Nacht der Moscheen“ (Long Night of the Mosques) presents a similar event and is organized by the Islamic Federation in Vienna.

Funding
All costs are being covered by the IGGÖ.

Products

  • Flyer (2016) providing information on mosques, the Five Pillars of Islam and women in Islam.

Website | Social Media | Contact
www.derislam.at
Facebook:www.facebook.com/IGGiOe
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iggioe/

Valerie Mussa (Press Officer of the IGGÖ):
T: +43 676 840524208
E-mail: valerie.mussa@derislam.at

 

editor: ew 2022