Abstract
This research focuses on Dutch Muslim women who chose to practice Islam, whether they were born Muslim (‘Newly Practicing Muslims’) or they chose to convert (‘New Muslims’). This study takes place in a context, the Netherlands, where Islam is popularly considered by the native Dutch population, as a religion oppressive to women. How do these Dutch Muslim women build their identity in a way that it is both Dutch and Muslim? Do they mix Dutch parameters in their Muslim identity, while at the same time, inter-splicing Islamic principles in their Dutch sense of self? This study is based on an ethnography conducted in the city of Amsterdam from September to October 2009, which combines insights taken from in-depth interviews with Dutch Muslim women, observations from Quranic and Religious classes, observations in a mosque, and one-time events occurring during the month of Ramadan. This paper argues that, in the context of being Dutch and Muslim, women express their agency, which is their ability to choose and act in social action: they push the limits of archetypal Dutch identity while simultaneously stretching the meaning of Islam to craft their own identity, one that is influenced by themes of immigration, belongingness, religious knowledge, higher education and gender.
Highlights
This research focuses on a vital issue in academia and civil society: the growing interest in Muslim populations in Europe, and the lives of Muslims in a non-Muslim world
The Netherlands is unique for many reasons: the country is internationally famous for tolerance, but has recently experienced divisions between different religious groups, manifested in events such as: (1) the murder of an outspoken Dutch politician, Pim Fortuyn, who was anti-immigration and anti-Islam, (2) the murder of movie director Theo van Gogh, who released a film criticizing the oppression of Muslim women, and
Societies 2018, 8, 123 this research focuses on the lives of Dutch Muslim women who chose to practice Islam, whether they were born Muslim (Newly Practicing Muslims), or they chose to convert (New Muslims). How do these Dutch Muslim women build their identity in a way that it is both Dutch and Muslim? Do they mix Dutch parameters in their Muslim identity, while at the same time intersplicing Islamic principles in their Dutch senses of self? Based on an ethnography carried out in Amsterdam, which included interviews with 17 Muslim women and dozens of participant observations in an Amsterdam mosque, Quranic classes, informal women’s gatherings, one-time events and workshops, this paper argues that in the context of being Dutch and Muslim, women express their agency, which is their ability to choose and act in social action
Summary
This research focuses on a vital issue in academia and civil society: the growing interest in Muslim populations in Europe, and the lives of Muslims in a non-Muslim world. This case study is focused on one European country, the Netherlands, and the lives of its Muslim women. The Netherlands is unique for many reasons: the country is internationally famous for tolerance, but has recently experienced divisions between different religious groups, manifested in events such as: (1) the murder of an outspoken Dutch politician, Pim Fortuyn, who was anti-immigration and anti-Islam, (2) the murder of movie director Theo van Gogh, who released a film criticizing the oppression of Muslim women, and (3) questions about immigration, naturalization and the rise of the Dutch’s Right-wing, including the PVV party led by Geert Wilders (see Appendix B). This, combined with negative ideas in the Western hemisphere regarding Islam, has contributed to the development of a dichotomy between Dutch identity and Islam. This dichotomy renders the two identities (in theory) irreconcilable.
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