Rethinking ‘Dutchness’: Learning from the intersections between religion, gender and national identity after conversion to Islam

Abstract

This article aims to investigate the relationship between religion and national identity through the experiences of female converts to Islam. Gender is essential in this conjuncture, as many national, religious and secular markers are gendered and, most of the time, specifically focused on women and their bodily practices. Through a literature review and discussion of preliminary interview results, we will investigate how female converts negotiate their multiple belongings, especially regarding the relationship between religion and national identity. The focus is not on self-understanding of converts, but on in/exclusion of Muslims in European nations. The final aim is to explore options for more inclusive interpretations of ‘Dutchness’, in order to counter the idea that Islam and ‘Dutchness’ are not compatible.

Damsels in distress: gender and negative place branding

“…It is also useful to examine how the 'value' of a female body changes, depending on whether a domestic or international discursive lens is used to debate it. Feminist scholars have previously interrogated the intersectional significance of the role gender plays in mediating national identity (Meral 2014;Broch 2016;Midden 2018). National identity, gender and patriarchy are often seen as interconnected, with specific gendered meanings attached to national identity repertoires (Broch 2016).…”

The betweenness of the double stranger: British converts to Islam and patterns of belonging

“…Relatedly, Köse (1996: 140) suggested converts might become stuck in limbo where 'resocialization may never be completed'. This is not to suggest that these in-between positions cannot be adopted as a form of agency (Midden, 2018), but to point to the ethnic gaze in these conceptualisations, which leaves British converts to Islam stuck in-between two sides.…”

“…This article does this by drawing on the case of converts to Islam in Britain, which although analytically neglected in the literature, presents a stark example of the dynamics of a religion-culture division. Converts' identities as Muslim and British are also challenged, a pattern apparent in other Western European countries (Jensen, 2008;Midden, 2018), and converts also draw a distinction between religion and culture and grapple with how (un)belonging is imposed from the 'outside' along with their own senses of belonging that stem from the 'inside'. This article explores the religion-culture divide found in converts' narratives to address the question of how converts are seen and see themselves as belonging or not.…”

The Sri Lankan Refugee Crimes and Crisis: Experience and Lessons Learnt from South India

“…24 While the German and Indian experiences seem to indicate that countries must adopt a more conservative approach towards refugee influx, the German study and studies from Netherland's experience with Moroccan refugees provides some interesting insights about criminal inclinations of refugees. 25,26 Studies show that criminality varies sharply with the country of origin. Genuine refugees from the war zones of Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan commit a smaller proportion of crimes than their counterparts from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.…”