Young Dutch Moroccans are increasingly turning to their religion. Anthropologist Martijn de Koning says this is a direct result of the current polarisation of the debate on Islam.
"Even before 9/11 there was already an increase in interest for religion among young Moroccans," says Martijn de Koning. "But once the debate on Islam flared up, their interest increased enormously."
Islam debate
During his research from 1999 until 2005, Islam suddenly found itself at the centre of attention due to the terrorist attacks by Muslim extremists in New York, Madrid and London. In the Netherlands, a Muslim radical assassinated filmmaker Theo van Gogh. These events triggered a major change in attitude towards religion among the group of around forty boys and girls that Mr De Koning observed.
While the Dutch fell over each other in a national row over the integration of Muslims, young Muslims started finding out more about their religion.
"They were continually asked about their Muslim identity; not just by the media, but also by school mates and teachers and by people at their sports club. They started looking into Islam so that they could answer these questions."
Salafi Islam
However, the Islam they found was not the traditional type from Morocco. They found their answers on the Internet in the conservative, Saudi-Arabian version called Salafism. The search by this young group of Muslims, says Mr de Koning, was a search for an identity with which they could distinguish themselves from Dutch society as well as from their parents.
"They wanted a pure Islam, without compromise. Not an Islam that had been watered down because they happened to live in the Netherlands. Nor did they want an Islam peppered with Moroccan traditions."
Martijn de Koning works for the Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World (ISIM) in Leiden.Today/Thursday 17 April, he'll present his dissertation on the formation of religious identity and beliefs among young Dutch Moroccans at the Free University in Amsterdam. |
Salafism met their need. It is a form of Islam with clear rules, which makes a clear distinction between good and evil. An Islam which is stricter and more orthodox than that of the older generation, but nevertheless seemed to provide better answers to their complicated lives in modern Dutch society. "Only a few actually converted to Salafism," says Mr De Koning.
"Most of them only sporadically dabbled in religion. But it was an important source of inspiration for almost all of them."
Generation gap
The young Moroccans' religious preference sparked a generation conflict that was fought out in the mosque. To attract young Muslims to the Gouda house of prayer a Salafi imam was employed at the end of 2001. Mr De Koning says:
Avoiding conflict
Mr De Koning stresses that the type of Islam that young ethnic Moroccans have embraced has not taken on a solid character. Whether it will, depends mainly on the development of the Islam debate in the public arena. The researcher expects young ethnic Moroccans to get involved in the debate, which they have avoided so far. Now that appears to have changed.
"A group of more politically committed young people have gradually come to feel strong enough verbally and well educated enough to engage in a direct confrontation."
*RNW translation (nc/tt)
Tags: Gouda, Islam, Moroccans, Morocco, Salafism, Theo van Gogh