Purpose:
The event “Open Mosques” allows people to meet and to get to know each other. The project’s primary objective is to open up the unknown – the space of the mosque – and thereby reduce fears. It is based, in other words, on contact theory and uses a narrative of reciprocity.
Stimulus/Rationale:
The Open Mosque Project was inspired by one mosque in Turin, Italy, that started inviting non-Muslim Italians in to join a meal during Ramadan. The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Human Rights then took the lead to expand the idea in order to include all the city’s mosques and to reframe it so that it became about inviting neighbours in each area, not just an event in the city centre, and about offering guided tours beside the Iftar (meal).
Process:
In the month of Ramadan, the "Open Mosques, Space for All", promoted by the City of Turin and the Coordinamento dei Centri Islamici di Torino invites citizens to visit places of prayer and community, to learn about the most varied aspects of Islamic faith and culture and build a shared citizenship.
The organisers heightened the profile of the event by getting not just the Mayor and Mayoral Deputies but also other religious leaders (Archbishop, Chief Rabbi, etc) to tour the different mosques. This guaranteed the interest of local news media.
However, according to one of its organisers, media coverage is less important than the event itself, which directly reaches at least 10,000 mosque visitors, and is widely shared as a positive experience by private individuals, both through word of mouth and personal social media.
Guided tours, exhibition stands on various themes, henna tattoos, tastings of typical Ramadan specialities are organized during the event.
Impact:
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