The Representation of the Civilizational Discourse of the Mosque in the Modern Era: An Analysis of the Cyberspace Discourse Surrounding Jam-e Mosque of Shahrak-e Ghods, Tehran, in the Light of the Theory of Space Production
2
Associate Professor, Department of Social Sciences, Baqir al-Olum University, Qom, Iran
Abstract
**Text 2:** Mosques within the urban fabric of Iran have experienced complex functional and semantic transformations during modernity. Tehran's Shahrak-e Ghods Jame' Mosque is one example of this evolution. This forward-looking research uses a case study approach to examine the dominant discourse among cyberspace users regarding its function and to explain the social roots of the resulting representation. For this purpose, a qualitative method and a thematic analysis strategy were employed. The research data consisted of 120 user comments, systematically sampled from 517 comments posted over an 8-year period (2016-2025) on the Google platform. Data analysis was performed based on Braun and Clarke's (2006) six-phase model, utilizing the integrated theoretical framework of Lefebvre's "Production of Space," "Secularization," and "Representation." The analysis led to the extraction of three overarching themes: "Core" functions (spiritual, critical, cultural), "Ancillary" functions (management, ceremonies, welfare), and "Detached" functions (ornamental, display-oriented, funeral services, spatial access, and urban infrastructure). Findings indicate that user representations predominantly portray the mosque as a "luxurious hall for funeral ceremonies of the affluent and famous," which stands in clear contrast to its devotional functions. This gap can be interpreted as indicative of a "spatial production" in which dominant spatial practices (luxurious funeral ceremonies) have overcome the officially represented space (multifunctional design), ultimately leading to the formation of a specific representational space (a symbol of secularization and class disparity). The results suggest that this mosque has become an arena for conflict over meaning and the appropriation of public space by the logic of capital and the display of social status.
alavian, S. H., & Karamollahi, N. (2026). The Representation of the Civilizational Discourse of the Mosque in the Modern Era: An Analysis of the Cyberspace Discourse Surrounding Jam-e Mosque of Shahrak-e Ghods, Tehran, in the Light of the Theory of Space Production. Journal of Interdisciplinary Civilizational Studies of the Islamic Revolution, 5(18), -.
MLA
sayyed hadi alavian; nematollah Karamollahi. "The Representation of the Civilizational Discourse of the Mosque in the Modern Era: An Analysis of the Cyberspace Discourse Surrounding Jam-e Mosque of Shahrak-e Ghods, Tehran, in the Light of the Theory of Space Production", Journal of Interdisciplinary Civilizational Studies of the Islamic Revolution, 5, 18, 2026, -.
HARVARD
alavian, S. H., Karamollahi, N. (2026). 'The Representation of the Civilizational Discourse of the Mosque in the Modern Era: An Analysis of the Cyberspace Discourse Surrounding Jam-e Mosque of Shahrak-e Ghods, Tehran, in the Light of the Theory of Space Production', Journal of Interdisciplinary Civilizational Studies of the Islamic Revolution, 5(18), pp. -.
VANCOUVER
alavian, S. H., Karamollahi, N. The Representation of the Civilizational Discourse of the Mosque in the Modern Era: An Analysis of the Cyberspace Discourse Surrounding Jam-e Mosque of Shahrak-e Ghods, Tehran, in the Light of the Theory of Space Production. Journal of Interdisciplinary Civilizational Studies of the Islamic Revolution, 2026; 5(18): -.
)