Islam in the Netherlands

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[edit] History

[edit] Treaty with Morocco

In the early 1600s a delegation from the Dutch Republic visited Morocco to discuss a common alliance against Spain and the Barbary pirates. Sultan Zidan Abu Maali appointed Samuel Pallache as his envoy, and in 1608 Pallache met with stadholder Maurice of Nassau and the States-General in The Hague.

On December 24th, 1610, the two nations signed a treaty recognising free commerce between the Netherlands and Morocco, and allowing the sultan to purchase ships, arms and munitions from the Dutch. This was the first-ever official treaty between a European country and a non-Christian nation.

[edit] Immigration

The Dutch Islamic population is very diverse. During the 1960s and 1970s the Netherlands needed a larger work force. It concluded recruitment agreements with countries like Turkey and Morocco, and people from those countries were allowed to stay temporarily in the Netherlands (smaller numbers of Muslim immigrants in this time came from Tunisia and Algeria). In 1973 there were about 22,000 Moroccans in the Netherlands.[1]

Official work immigration ended in 1973, but the number of Moroccans and Turks remained on the increase as immigrants brought their family to the country using family reunification laws. A number of Surinamese Muslims came to the Netherlands before and after the independence of Suriname in 1975.

In the 1980s and especially since the 1990s, Muslims have also come to the Netherlands as refugees and asylum seekers, mainly from Bosnia, Somalia, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan.[2]

Currently most Muslim immigration takes place through marriage migration and family reunification laws. Most Moroccan and Turkish 1st and 2nd generation immigrants marry people from their home countries. In the past year the Netherlands passed immigration laws which force future immigrants and their prospective Dutch partners to abide by very strict requirements. Immigrants must pass tests showing knowledge of Dutch in their home countries. The Dutch partner must be at least 21 years old and prove income of at least 120% minimum wage. These strict laws have caused many Dutch interested in marrying people from other countries to move to Belgium for a temporary period, in what has been called "The Belgian Route".[3]

Because of increasingly restrictive legislation on family formation and reunification, the number of immigrants from Turkey and Morocco has decreased sharply since 2003.[4] The number of immigrants from Turkey decreased from 6,703 in 2003 to 3,175 in 2006, and the number from Morocco was more than halved from 4,894 to 2,085. [5]

[edit] Demographic situation

According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), a Dutch governmental institution, 5.8% of the total Dutch population are Muslims (1 January 2004):

"There were 945,000 Muslims living in the Netherlands on 1 January this year (2004), double the amount in 1990, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) said on Monday. The number is expected to reach 1 million in 2006."
(....)
"The Islamic community made up 5.8 percent of the Dutch population on 1 January 2004 and its numbers will swell in coming years. The CBS expects there will be more than a million Muslims living in the Netherlands in 2006." [6]

According to the US State Department, in 2005 there were 950,000 Muslims, including approximately 341,000 Turks and 295,000 Moroccans. [7]

Like most non-Western immigrants, most Muslims live in the four major cities of the country, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. There are also relatively many Turks in Enschede, Arnhem and Zaanstad.[8]

There were 850,000 Dutch citizens who professed Islam in 2006. Of this 38% were ethnic Turkish, 31% were Moroccan, 26% were other Asian/African, 4% were European (Non-Dutch) and 1% (12,000 people) were native Dutch. 34,000 of the Muslims were Surinamese, 31,000 were Afghan and 27,000 were Iraqi. [1]. If non-citizens living in Netherlands are included the total number would cross 1,000,000.

[edit] Housing, education and employment

The Muslim population tends to be concentrated in high-income neighbourhoods as well as very high income group. [9] For example, while Moroccans made up 2% of the Dutch population in 2004, they made up some 8.5% of the population in Amsterdam and Utrecht, and 30-46% in disadvantaged neighbourhoods like Kanaleneiland in Utrecht and De Kolenkit and Osdorp-Midden in Amsterdam.[10] A quarter of both Moroccan and Turkish Dutch lives in neighbourhoods with a majority of non-Western residents.[11]

Data from Statistics Netherlands confirms that people from the main Muslim populations (Turks and Moroccans) have a significantly lower average income than native Dutch. Moroccan men have an average income that is 22% lower than that of native Dutch men; that of Turkish men is 14% lower. The gap is partly due to differences in average age of the population, household composition and number of years worked. Between a quarter and a third of Turkish and Moroccan men, and around 15% of women, have had only primary education. Even taking educational differences into account, though, both Turkish and Moroccan men earn over 10% less than their native Dutch counterparts.[12]

Similar contexts pertain to the high employment among Dutch Muslims, 77% among Moroccans and 81% among Turks in 2006.[13] One of the backgrounds that play a role in these numbers is direct or indirect discrimination. International Labour Organisation (ILO) research in 2000 concluded that discrimination against non-Western immigrants in the labour market occurred more often in the Netherlands than in neighbouring countries. The relatively high crime rate amongst Muslims is partly to blame for that.[14]

[edit] Organizations

There are about 400 mosques in the Netherlands, with about 200 Turkish mosques, 140 Moroccan mosques and 50 Surinamese.

There are about 45 Islamic elementary schools, and two high schools.

There are two main Muslim umbrella organizations:

  • The Contact Body for Muslims and Government (CMO), represents approximately 80 percent of the Muslim community
  • Contact Group Islam (CGI)

Broken down by ethnic group, Turks have more organisations than Moroccans and networks between these organisations are closer.

[edit] Politics

Whereas all foreign nationals who have legally resided in the country for five years have the right to vote in local elections, Moroccans traditionally turn out in low numbers, while turnout among Turks is comparable to that among native Dutch.[15]

After the 2003 elections, there were at least ten MPs from Muslim background among the 150 Members of Parliament[16], but as few as three among them may have been active believers, while two explicitly classified themselves as ex-Muslims.[17]

Nebahat Albayrak (State Secretary of Justice) and Ahmed Aboutaleb (State Secretary of Social Affairs and Employment) are both the first Muslims in the Dutch cabinet.

Geert Wilders of the Dutch Party for Freedom has received many death threats in response to his outspoken remarks against Islam. [18]

[edit] Controversies

Following the murder of Theo van Gogh, a number of websites appeared praising the murder and making death threats against other people. At the same time, starting with four arson attacks on mosques in the weekend after the murder, a significant number of apparently retaliatory incidents took place. By November 8, Christian churches were in turn targeted. A report for the Anne Frank Foundation and the University of Leiden counted a total of 174 violent incidents in November, specifying that mosques were the target of violence 47 times, and churches 13 times.[19]

Between 23 November 2004 and 13 March 2005, the National Dutch Police Services Agency (KLPD) recorded 31 occasions of violence against mosques and Islamic schools .[20] The case that drew most attention was an arson attack that led to the destruction of a Muslim primary school in Uden in December 2004.[21] The period of heightened tensions between Dutch and Muslim communities was also evidenced by several confrontations between what are known as the "Lonsdale Youth" (Dutch youth groups characterised by their preference for Lonsdale clothing) and Turkish and Moroccan youths in provincial towns like Venray.[22]

These incidents took place against the backdrop of increasingly suspicious and fearful perceptions of Muslims, which have developed over a longer time. In May 2006, a poll by Motivaction / GPD (1,200 Dutch adults +/- 3%) found that 43% of Dutch citizens felt that Islam is incompatible with modern European life.[23] A poll of June 2004 found that 68% felt threatened by "immigrant or Muslim young people", 53% feared a terrorist attack by Muslims in the Netherlands, and 47% feared that at some point, they would have to live according to Islamic rules in the Netherlands.[24]

Feelings of fear or distrust coincide with a high degree of social segregation. About two-thirds of Turks and Moroccans "associate predominantly with members of their own ethnic group," while a similar proportion of native Dutch "have little or no contact at all with immigrants." Moreover, contacts between the groups are decreasing, notably those between second generation Turks and Moroccans and native Dutch.[25]

[edit] Sharia

In 2006 Minister of Justice Piet Hein Donner provoked an outcry when he suggested the Netherlands might accept Sharia law in a constitutional manner. "It is a sure certainty for me: if two thirds of all Netherlanders tomorrow would want to introduce Sharia, then this possibility must exist. Could you block this legally? It would also be a scandal to say 'this isn't allowed! The majority counts. That is the essence of democracy." [26] The statements were categorically refused by parties across the political spectrum, as well as by some Muslim leaders.[27]

[edit] Dual Citizenship

Following the appointment of two Muslim ministers as state secretaries, both of which hold foreign passports, discussion started about double citizenship and the possibility of foreign citizens to hold office. The debate intensified when it was discovered parliament member Khadija Arib serves on an advisory council to King Mohammed VI of Morocco.

[edit] Radicalization

After the murder of Theo van Gogh in November 2004, Minister of Integration and Immigration Rita Verdonk commissioned an inquiry into the radicalisation of young Muslims. The conclusion was that many of them experience alienation, feeling disconnected with both their first-generation immigrant parents and from Dutch society. While they participate less in religious activities than their parents, they more strongly link their identity with Islam and with the global Muslim community; While prior research found that the degree of religiosity in general decreases among Muslims with higher education and stable employment, the new report noted that highly educated young Muslims can also experience "relative deprivation" all the more strongly - the sense that despite their efforts they receive fewer opportunities than native Dutch of the same generation - and turn to radicalism in anger and frustration.[28]

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ De vier mythen van de Marokkaanse onderklasse
  2. ^ Muslims in the EU: Cities Report, The Netherlands. Preliminary research report and literature survey pp. 11. Open Society Institute - EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program (EUMAP) (2007).
  3. ^ België vindt Nederlands vreemdelingenbeleid te streng
  4. ^ Immigratie in 2006 toegenomen tot ruim 100 duizend (Dutch). Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) (16 April 2007).
  5. ^ Immi- en emigratie naar geboorteland, geslacht en leeftijd (Dutch). StatLine, Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) (16 April 2007). Retrieved on 2007-05-17.
  6. ^ Netherlands Islamic community to hit 1 million in 2006
  7. ^ US State Department
  8. ^ Bevolking in kaart (Dutch) p.7. Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) (16 April 2007). Retrieved on 2007-05-17.
  9. ^ In France, Prisons Filled With Muslims (English). Washington Post. Retrieved on 2008-05-02.
  10. ^ Bevolking in kaart, p.10
  11. ^ Verdeling herkomstgroepen naar aandeel allochtonen in de woonbuurt (Dutch). StatLine, Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS). Retrieved on 2007-05-18.
  12. ^ Inkomen allochtonen blijft achter door lagere opleiding (Dutch) p.7-8. Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) (2007).
  13. ^ Muslims in the EU: Cities Report, The Netherlands. Preliminary research report and literature survey pp. 22-23. Open Society Institute - EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program (EUMAP) (2007).
  14. ^ Migrants, Minorities and Employment in the Netherlands pp. 34. Dutch Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (2002).
  15. ^ Muslims in the EU: Cities Report, The Netherlands. Preliminary research report and literature survey p. 33. Open Society Institute - EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program (EUMAP) (2007).
  16. ^ Muslims in the EU: Cities Report, The Netherlands. Preliminary research report and literature survey, p. 33
  17. ^ Tweede Kamer telt 14 katholieken te weinig. Tempora (2003).
  18. ^ Washington Post: In Netherlands, Anti-Islamic Polemic Comes With a Price
  19. ^ Ontwikkelingen na de moord op Van Gogh p. 3. Anne Frank Stichting; Universiteit Leiden (2004).
  20. ^ Muslims in the European Union: Discrimination and Islamophobia pp. 78-79. European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) (2006).
  21. ^ Muslims in the EU: Cities Report, The Netherlands. Preliminary research report and literature survey p. 7. Open Society Institute - EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program (EUMAP) (2007).
  22. ^ Muslims in the European Union: Discrimination and Islamophobia, pp. 79
  23. ^ Islam Incompatible with Europe, Say Dutch
  24. ^ Muslims in the EU: Cities Report, The Netherlands. Preliminary research report and literature survey, p.38
  25. ^ Muslims in the EU: Cities Report, The Netherlands. Preliminary research report and literature survey, p.24
  26. ^ Sharia could come via democracy: Dutch minister
  27. ^ http://www.nisnews.nl/public/130906_1.htm
  28. ^ Muslims in the EU: Cities Report, The Netherlands. Preliminary research report and literature survey, pp.14-16
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