Development of purpose-built mosques in the Netherlands 1960-2016

Development of purpose-built mosques in the Netherlands 1960 – 2016 offers a rich and nuanced account of how mosque architecture emerges not simply from religious need or public controversy, but from decades of quiet negotiation, administrative routines, and spatial compromise. Drawing on detailed case studies of the El Fath Mosque in Woerden and the El Oumma Mosque in Amsterdam Slotervaart, this dissertation reveals mosque development as a deeply embedded social and political process.
Rather than focusing solely on conflict, the study traces the everyday interactions between mosque boards, civil servants, architects, and local administrators that shape where mosques are built, what they look like, and how they function. It shows how Dutch ideals of “inclusive neutrality” have guided planning practices, often privileging professional and administrative visions over the lived experiences of mosque communities and their neighbours.
By analysing the roles of political opportunity structures, culture brokers, and institutional path dependency, this dissertation demonstrates how mosques function as boundary objects – sites where governance, identity, and space intersect. It concludes with a call for more inclusive and participatory approaches to mosque development, reimagining architecture as a collective process of place-making in a culturally diverse society.