‘Veils and wooden clogs don't go together’

Abstract

The present discourse on Islam can be regarded as a cultural racist discourse. The construction of Muslims as the ‘Other’ necessarily implies constructing a ‘Self’. This article deals with the dialectical process of reification by studying Dutch female converts to Islam. Ruptures in the relationships between converts and their relatives can illuminate Dutch national and cultural identity. Converts change important markers of identity such as name and appearance. They also trespass Dutch values connected to cultural practice such as food, feasting and funerals. The most important construction of Dutch national and cultural identity vis-à-vis converts is related to sex and gender. Veiled Muslimas in particular express that they cannot longer be ‘real Dutch’. Veiling is subordination and oppressed women are the ‘ultimate others’ of Dutch self-perception.

Keywords:

• Converts
• Islam
• the Netherlands
• cultural racism
• national identity

Notes

Muslima is singular feminine, the plural in Arabic is Muslimat. I have added an ‘s’ to form an anglicised plural.

Since there is not a single, uniform ‘Dutch national and cultural identity’, I can only deconstruct the particular constructions of Dutch identity emanating from the interactions between converts and Dutch society.

See for instance the congratulations for converts in Al Nisa magazine. Yet, there are no recent figures for the Netherlands. For comparative research on conversion in other European countries see Köse 1996; Hofmann 1996; Wohlrab-Sahr 1999; Allievi 1998.

Five of them converted before marrying a Muslim partner. Most converted between the age of 20 and 25.

I could sometimes interview close friends or other relatives if the relationship with parents was severed.

Whereas veiled converts experience forms of discrimination non-converted Muslimas are also faced with, the way they are perceived is not identical. ‘Being a foreigner’ or choosing to ‘become a foreigner’ have different repercussions. The latter often evokes greater contempt and hostility by Dutch people.

They are called ‘the E-numbers’ and indicate the use of animal fat in certain products.

Santa Claus, the feast of St Nicholas, is celebrated on the 5th of December and is similar to Father Christmas. Celebration of birthdays is a Christian tradition, generally not practised in the Muslim world. Usually Muslims refer to a saying of the prophet stating that Muslims have their own festivals and should not imitate those of non-Muslims.

This new Muslima was quite restrictive in her interpretation of Islam.