Message, Sociocultural Background, and The Politics of Religion of Islamic Sermons in The Netherlands

Abstract

Da‘wa does not merely concern theology and religion, but it also addresses socio-political aspects. This is highly dependent on the background of the da‘i (preacher) and public space of politics of religion in which the da‘wa message is conveyed. Using the qualitative method, this research focuses on three questions; what are the priority da‘wa message in the contemporary Netherlands? How is the suitable qualification of the da‘i for the context of Netherlands? How does the politics of religion support the life of Muslim migrants? On that question, some mosques and Muslim communities are chosen for data collection. The research shows that the most delivered topic of da‘wa message is about aqīdah (creed) and sharī‘ah (Islamic law), then akhlāq (ethics). The background of the da‘i heavily influences the selection of da‘wa material. There are two major streams on the matter; Salafi and Sunni. The da‘wa activity by Sunni da‘is tends to be more open, compared to Salafi activities. Concerning the politics of religion, the Dutch government launched a program of Pillarization of Islam so that the government maintains the controls over the activities of Muslim migrants, as well as for the benefits of the multi-origin and multi-ethnic Muslim migrants. However, this measure proves to be ineffective and the da‘wa goes on without following this pillarization program. Being a Muslim is because of personal will, not just because of sermon.