Islam in the Netherlands

History

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.

First Mosque

Q.U. Hafiz was the first Islam missionary in the Netherlands encouraged by the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement in 1947. The first purpose-built mosque was opened 1955 by Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan.

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. [ [http://www.volkskrantblog.nl/bericht/117913 De vier mythen van de Marokkaanse onderklasse] ]

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. [cite web
year = 2007
url = http://www.eumap.org/topics/minority/reports/eumuslims/background_reports/download/netherlands/netherlands.pdf
title = Muslims in the EU: Cities Report, The Netherlands. Preliminary research report and literature survey
pages = pp. 11
publisher = Open Society Institute - EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program (EUMAP)
format=PDF]

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". [ [http://www.volkskrant.nl/buitenland/article152295.ece/Belgie_vindt_Nederlands_vreemdelingenbeleid_te_streng België vindt Nederlands vreemdelingenbeleid te streng] ]

Because of increasingly restrictive legislation on family formation and reunification, the number of immigrants from Turkey and Morocco has decreased sharply since 2003. [cite web
date = 16 April 2007
url = http://www.cbs.nl/nl-NL/menu/themas/dossiers/allochtonen/publicaties/artikelen/archief/2007/2007-2177-wm.htm
title = Immigratie in 2006 toegenomen tot ruim 100 duizend
language = Dutch
publisher = Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS)] 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. [cite web
date = 16 April 2007
url = http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/Table.asp?STB=G1&LA=nl&DM=SLNL&PA=03742&D1=0&D2=0-2,8,14,19,24,43,56,90,92-93,98,100,133,148-149,170,190-192,212,214,229,239&D6=a,!0-4&HDR=T,G5&LYR=G2:0,G3:0,G4:0
title = Immi- en emigratie naar geboorteland, geslacht en leeftijd
publisher = StatLine, Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS)
language = Dutch
accessdate = 2007-05-17]

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." [ [http://www.religionnewsblog.com/8727-Netherlands_Islamic_community_to_hit_1_million_in_2006.html Netherlands Islamic community to hit 1 million in 2006] ]

According to the US State Department, in 2005 there were 950,000 Muslims, including approximately 341,000 Turks and 295,000 Moroccans. [ [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71398.htm US State Department] ]

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. [cite web
date = 16 April 2007
url = http://www.cbs.nl/NR/rdonlyres/288C8035-40B6-4A97-98C8-791EC56D9363/0/2005k3b15pub.pdf
title = Bevolking in kaart
periodical = Bevolkingstrends, Statistisch kwartaalblad over de demografie van Nederland
volume = 53
issue = 3
pages = p.7
publisher = Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS)
language = Dutch
accessdate = 2007-05-17
format=PDF]

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. [http://www.cbs.nl/en-GB/menu/themas/bevolking/publicaties/artikelen/archief/2007/2007-2278-wm.htm] . If non-citizens living in Netherlands are included the total number would cross 1,000,000.

Housing, education and employment

The Muslim population tends to be concentrated in low-income neighbourhoods. 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. [Bevolking in kaart, p.10] A quarter of both Moroccan and Turkish Dutch lives in neighbourhoods with a majority of non-Western residents. [cite web
url = http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/Table.asp?PA=71192ned&D1=a&D7=0-4&HDR=T,G5&STB=G3&LYR=G6:0,G4:0,G1:0,G2:0,G7:5&LA=nl&DM=SLNL&D2=0&D3=0&D4=0-9
title = Verdeling herkomstgroepen naar aandeel allochtonen in de woonbuurt
publisher = StatLine, Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS)
language = Dutch
accessdate = 2007-05-18]

Housing quality and high levels of crime are often a problem in these neighbourhoods. Muslims are overrepresented among the prison population; 20% of adult prisoners and 26% of juvenile offenders in the Netherlands are Muslim. [cite web
url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/04/28/ST2008042802857.html
title = In France, Prisons Filled With Muslims
publisher = Washington Post
accessdate = 2008-09-07]

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 42% lower than that of native Dutch men; that of Turkish men is 34% lower. The gap is partly due to differences in average age of the population, household composition and number of years worked. Taking these elements into consideration, the income gap is left at about 25%. Low education levels are another important cause. Between a quarter and a third of Turkish and Moroccan men, and around 45% 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. [cite web
year = 2007
url = http://www.cbs.nl/NR/rdonlyres/3445992D-18FD-4739-B8A5-88F459E25F78/0/2007k2v4p7art.pdf
title = Inkomen allochtonen blijft achter door lagere opleiding
publisher = Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS)
language = Dutch
pages = p.7-8
format=PDF]

Similar contexts pertain to the high unemployment among Dutch Muslims, 27% among Moroccans and 21% among Turks in 2006. [cite web
year = 2007
url = http://www.eumap.org/topics/minority/reports/eumuslims/background_reports/download/netherlands/netherlands.pdf
title = Muslims in the EU: Cities Report, The Netherlands. Preliminary research report and literature survey
pages = pp. 22-23
publisher = Open Society Institute - EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program (EUMAP)
format=PDF] 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. [cite web
year = 2002
url = http://eumc.europa.eu/eumc/material/pub/RAXEN/3/emp/NL.pdf
title = Migrants, Minorities and Employment in the Netherlands
pages = pp. 34
publisher = Dutch Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia
format=PDF]

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.

In the spring of 2007, Leidschendam-Voorburg city councillor Ehsan Jami and other Dutch ex-muslims formed the Central Committee for Ex-Muslims. [ [Euro-Islam.info: Dutch ex-Muslims create new organization] ]

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. [cite web
year = 2007
url = http://www.eumap.org/topics/minority/reports/eumuslims/background_reports/download/netherlands/netherlands.pdf
title = Muslims in the EU: Cities Report, The Netherlands. Preliminary research report and literature survey
pages = p. 33
publisher = Open Society Institute - EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program (EUMAP)
format=PDF]

After the 2003 elections, there were at least ten MPs from Muslim background among the 150 Members of Parliament [Muslims in the EU: Cities Report, The Netherlands. Preliminary research report and literature survey, p. 33] , but as few as three among them may have been active believers, while two explicitly classified themselves as ex-Muslims. [cite web
year = 2003
url = http://tempora.hosting.kun.nl/tempora/default.asp?actie=tekst_detail&tekst_id=200342126188083
title = Tweede Kamer telt 14 katholieken te weinig
publisher = Tempora]

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. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52502-2005Jan31.html Washington Post: In Netherlands, Anti-Islamic Polemic Comes With a Price] ]

Controversies

The murder of Theo van Gogh by Mohammed Bouyeri, a Moroccan-Dutch Islamic extremist, on 2 November 2004, as well as the arrest of the Hofstad Group on charges of terrorism, caused a lot of discussion about Islam and its place in Dutch society. The possibility of banning the burka was discussed in the cabinet.

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. [cite web
year = 2004
url = http://www.annefrank.org/upload/downloads/AnnexMonitor6.doc
title = Ontwikkelingen na de moord op Van Gogh
pages = p. 3
publisher = Anne Frank Stichting; Universiteit Leiden
format=DOC]

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 . [cite web
year = 2006
url = http://fra.europa.eu/fra/material/pub/muslim/Manifestations_EN.pdf
title = Muslims in the European Union: Discrimination and Islamophobia
pages = pp. 78-79
publisher = European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC)
format=PDF] 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. [cite web
year = 2007
url = http://www.eumap.org/topics/minority/reports/eumuslims/background_reports/download/netherlands/netherlands.pdf
title = Muslims in the EU: Cities Report, The Netherlands. Preliminary research report and literature survey
pages = p. 7
publisher = Open Society Institute - EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program (EUMAP)
format=PDF] 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. [Muslims in the European Union: Discrimination and Islamophobia, pp. 79]

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 63% of Dutch citizens felt that Islam is incompatible with modern European life. [ [http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/12143 Islam Incompatible with Europe, Say Dutch] ] 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. [Muslims in the EU: Cities Report, The Netherlands. Preliminary research report and literature survey, p.38]

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. [Muslims in the EU: Cities Report, The Netherlands. Preliminary research report and literature survey, p.24]

haria

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." [ [http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=1&story_id=33017 Sharia could come via democracy: Dutch minister] ] The statements were categorically refused by parties across the political spectrum, as well as by some Muslim leaders. [ [http://www.nisnews.nl/public/130906_1.htm http://www.nisnews.nl/public/130906_1.htm] ]

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.

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. Previous reports had already found that young Muslims don't share the deep ethno-national attachment their parents feel with their country of origin, and instead are coming to identify primarily with their religion. While they participate less in religious activities than their parents, they more strongly link their identity with Islam and with the global Muslim community; radical and orthodox Islamic groups offer some of these young Muslims clear answers and a firm sense of belonging. 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. [Muslims in the EU: Cities Report, The Netherlands. Preliminary research report and literature survey, pp.14-16]

ee also

*Afshin Ellian
*Ayaan Hirsi Ali
*Central Committee for Ex-Muslims
*Ehsan Jami
*Islamic dress controversy in the Netherlands
*Theo van Gogh

External links

* [http://www.euro-islam.info/spip/article.php3?id_article=294 Euro-Islam] Profile of Islam in the Netherlands: legislation, security, opinion polls.
* [http://www.euro-islam.info/spip/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=19 Latest breaking news] Islam in the Netherlands.
* [http://www.nioweb.nl The Dutch Islamic Broadcasting Organisation (Nederlandse Islamitische Omroep - NIO)]
* [http://www.nmo.nl The Dutch Islam Broadcaster (Nederlandse Moslim Omroep - NMO)]
* [http://www.eltawheed.nl Amsterdam based Mosque El Tawheed]
* [http://www.imaan.nl Dutch Islamic site]
* [http://wwwuser.gwdg.de/~mriexin/euroislam.html#NL Links: Islam in Western Europe: Netherlands]
* [http://www.cbs.nl/en/publications/articles/webmagazine/2004/1543k.htm Nearly one million Muslims in the Netherlands]

References