This study aims to demonstrate the importance of language in shaping the sense of belonging of mosques in Scandinavia. To do so, we draw upon Raffestin’s work on territoriality (1986, 2012) and combine it with linguistic theories of language politics, semiotic landscape and onomastics. By conceptualising mosques as institutions, in which language status, language choice and critical toponymy assume a pivotal role, the study seeks to highlight how mosques in non-Muslim countries are territorialised in their local context versus transnational Islamic networks and Muslim majority countries. To test the proposed theoretical framework, empirical data from two purpose-built mosques in Copenhagen and Oslo are analysed. Finally, in the discussion section, we address the applicability of the proposed model for decoding the characteristics of the mosques’ belonging to ‘here or there’.
Nielsen et al. (Sat,) studied this question.