How an Italian Amorphous Space Became a Twelver Shi’a Mosque

Abstract

This paper aims to explore the sense of “mosque” for Italy’s Twelver Shi’as through the study of a Shi’a organisation based in Turin. Some comparative references to Shi’a centres in Padua and Milan will demonstrate different meanings of these spaces for their attendees. In the case of the Turin’s Shi’a centre two factors are deemed responsible in conferring mosque-ness to an a functional and abandoned place: gender relations and the nature of initiative sheld within its headquarters.