10 July 2009 - 9 September 2009

The exhibition shows German mosques in their urban context, their interiors, the atmosphere at Friday prayers, imams, children, women and men. For his photographs, taken in March and April 2008, Wilfried Dechau visited a mosque a week for eight weeks. These were as different as possible, as representative as possible, as well spread out as possible within Germany.
Dechau was shown no grief, scepticism or mistrust; instead he was greeted everywhere with disarming openness. He rigorously pursued his goal of capturing the mosques and their settings in purely documentary form, his aim always underscored by the inclusion of cars, streetlamps and the urban context. In this way he positions the mosque in relation to its surroundings.
Mosques in Germany continues a series of photography exhibitions highlighting Islam in the modern world. Western Europe’s most populous nation is home to more than three million Muslims and an equally impressive variety of mosques. Dechau shows the changing face of eight German cities: Pforzheim, Penzberg, Mannheim, Wolfsburg, Aachen, Karlsruhe, Hamburg and Stuttgart. Exhibition presented as a collaboration with the Goethe-Institut Malaysia.