My Ph.D – Searching for a ‘pure' Islam. Religious Beliefs and Identity Construction among Moroccan-Dutch Youth

Ph.D. Defense by Martijn de Koning
Searching for a ‘pure’ Islam. Religious Beliefs and Identity Construction among Moroccan-Dutch Youth
17 April 2008 – 17 April 2008
Venue: Aula Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, Amsterdam
Time 1.45 pm

Most of the debates in the Netherlands about Islam and integration focus on Moroccan-Dutch youth. There is little research done on the ways they are religious and how they construct their Muslim identity in relation to others. In my Ph.D thesis I show how Islam has become the most important frame of reference for Moroccan-Dutch youth to reflect upon who they are and what they want to be. I will defend my Ph.D on 17 April at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

The way young people construct their religious identity is described as a quest for a true or pure Islam wherein the idea of one’s true self is combined with the idea of an authentic core of Islam that is neither ‘Moroccan’ nor ‘Dutch’. This is not a turn away from Dutch society or from their Moroccan parents but a critical reflection and a revision of their relationship towards others. This dissertation shows how young people’s quest for a ‘pure’ Islam with strong moral benchmarks is combined with their searching for a way to manage their loyalties to others through Islam. The fieldwork for this project has been conducted in a mosque and on the streets in Gouda, a small city in the west of the Netherlands. Given the fact that it started in 1999 and lasted until 2005, the thesis not only analyzes the consequences of the public performances of controversial politicians such as Hirsi Ali and Wilders, events such as 9/11, the election campaign and death of Fortuyn, and the murder of Van Gogh with regard to the identity politics of Moroccan-Dutch Muslim youth, but is also an account of one of the most turbulent periods in post-war Dutch history.More information can be found on the website of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Vrije Universiteit: http://www.fsw.vu.nl and at of course on this weblog. The Phd.D thesis is in Dutch but within a few weeks an English summary will be posted on the Publications page.

Before the Ph.D defense there will be a lecture by prof. dr. Eugeen Roosens. See here.