The social production of sacred space in urban Oslo

Abstract

Th is article examines two recent expressions of religion in the multi-religious setting of the Norwegian capital Oslo. Th e Muslim group Ansar al-Sunnah's claim of the district Grønland is scrutinized in relation to the public and cultural image of Islam in Norway, and a Christian response to the contemporary multi-religious context is examined via an analysis of the priest Gyrid Gunnes' performance at Th e National Exhibition of the Visual Arts in Oslo. Th ese cases are further discussed in relation to spatial theories and theologically embedded questions about ecclesiology and eschatology. Th is article shows that Ansar al-Sunnah stages an image of Islam that is produced in a cultural Islamophobic discourse, while Gunnes' performance problematizes taken-for-granted notions about God, the church and what it means to be a Christian. Th e prevailing, dominant and culturally embedded ideas of what it means to be a Christian or a Muslim are being challenged in Gunnes' performance through the use of queer theory and apophatic theology.

Images of Place, Secularity and Gentrification: On Urban Religious Belonging in an Inner City Neighbourhood in Oslo

“…The areas we investigated-Tøyen and Grønland-are located in the eastern inner city of Oslo, Norway, and are home to a diverse population, a wide spectrum of private and public services, a rich cultural scene and a mix of housing types and buildings (Figure 1). The area functions as a nexus for diasporas in Norway and as the country's prime representation of a multi-cultural community (Enstedt 2015). Our research and earlier studies found that the districts are a vital part of Oslo, fulfilling a range of purposes and functions for many different groups (Brattbakk et al 2015, Huse 2014, Brattbakk et al 2017).…”

“…Understanding this co-existence demands cooperation between different disciplines. Our approach is distinctively different from valuable contributions as that of Enstedt (2015) whose focus is on conflicting uses of place. The relevance to policy processes could be that the ties between the youth, their religion and their religious buildings have a material foundation that is at risk if or when the material surroundings change through e.g.…”

“…This kind of social control is part of the paradox between religion's presence at street level and its absence in the public discourse of these groups. Several similar reports have also come from gay and lesbian residents or visitors who have been given reprimands in public space, and in a few cases also been exposed to violence, due to their sexual orientation (Enstedt 2015). Strong social control based on religious beliefs of this kind may be seen as a form of territoriality (Knox and Pinch 2010), where some people try to enforce social and moral norms in an area because they see the whole area as a sacred place (Hubbard 2006).…”

“…Not to be confused with vigilante where local groups entitle private law enforcement. 2 As discussed by Enstedt (2015), an Islamist group, Ansar al-Sunnah, demanded that Grønland be given to them and subject to Sharia law in 2012.…”

Transforming Personal Death into Public Martyrdom

“…Furthermore, the events in downtown Cairo can be seen as an expression of a "contested place, " and as a claim for the "right to the city, " where different norms, values and practices are expressed side by side in a symbolically laden place (Enstedt 2015, Magnussen 2013, Lefebvre 1996. As geographer Lily Kong puts…”