Category: Public Islam

Strijd om de publieke ruimte – Hizb ut Tahrir op de Dam 0

Strijd om de publieke ruimte – Hizb ut Tahrir op de Dam

Vandaag organiseerde de organisatie Hizb ut Tahrir (HuT – Partij van de Bevrijding) een demonstratie ter ondersteuning van de opstanden in het Midden-Oosten in Amsterdam op de Dam waarbij mannen en vrouwen gescheiden waren. Deze actie in combinatie met de reacties erop zijn een prachtig voorbeeld van de politiek van de publieke ruimte.

The Ritual of Provocation II – Creating Spectacle and Presence 0

The Ritual of Provocation II – Creating Spectacle and Presence

The recent Quran burning has caused a lot of upheaval in Afghanistan. According to some a senseless act, according to others prove that Islam is a violent religion. It both isn’t. The same can be said for Wilders’ movie Fitna and its sequal Fitna II, that (as he announced last week) will be released next year and will focus on ‘the barbaous life of the sick spirit of Mohammed’ in order to stimulate a public debate on the prophet Muhammad that will leave Muslims with enough reasons to leave Islam. In a series of three posts I will try to think out loud about the use and meaning of such public performances by political entrepeneurs. This is part II, on creating spectacle and presence.

The Ritual of Provocation I – Burn, burn the Quran 5

The Ritual of Provocation I – Burn, burn the Quran

The recent Quran burning has caused a lot of upheaval in Afghanistan. According to some a senseless act, according to others prove that Islam is a violent religion. It both isn’t. The same can be said for Wilders’ movie Fitna and its sequal Fitna II, that (as he announced last week) will be released next year and will focus on ‘the barbaous life of the sick spirit of Mohammed’ in order to stimulate a public debate on the prophet Muhammad that will leave Muslims with enough reasons to leave Islam. In a series of three posts I will try to think out loud about the use and meaning of such public performances by political entrepeneurs.

De mislukking van het anti-multiculturalisme IV – De seculiere intolerantie 2

De mislukking van het anti-multiculturalisme IV – De seculiere intolerantie

In navolging van Merkel en Cameron hebben nu ook Verhagen en Rutte gesteld dat de multiculturele samenleving mislukt is. Maar wat bedoelt men daar nu eigenlijk mee? In een serie van blogposts geef ik een schets van de maatschappelijke context waarin deze redenering opkomt en het blootleggen van de gevaarlijke cirkelredenering van het falen van de multikul. Dit is het vierde en tevens laatste deel van de serie: secularistische dwingelandij.

De mislukking van het anti-multiculturalisme III – Post-secularisme 2

De mislukking van het anti-multiculturalisme III – Post-secularisme

In navolging van Merkel en Cameron hebben nu ook Verhagen en Rutte gesteld dat de multiculturele samenleving mislukt is. Maar wat bedoelt men daar nu eigenlijk mee? In een serie van blogposts geef ik een schets van de maatschappelijke context waarin deze redenering opkomt en het blootleggen van de gevaarlijke cirkelredenering van het falen van de multikul. Dit is deel 3: over het post-seculiere karakter van de samenleving.

José Casanova – God in a Cold Climate. Religion in the Secular Public Sphere: Challenges and Responses 0

José Casanova – God in a Cold Climate. Religion in the Secular Public Sphere: Challenges and Responses

José Casanova will deliver a lecture at Radboud University Nijmegen on 10 March 2011 on the topic of religion in a secular public sphere. Within Western societies, some of which are secular through-and-through, the activities or religious movements that claim a prominent role in society cause a climate of conflicts and tensions. But the success of these religious movements proves that modernity and religion are far from mutually exclusive phenomena and that modern secularized society must find a way of integrating them in its fabric.

Publication – The Quest for Religious Purity in New Age, Evangelicalism and Islam 0

Publication – The Quest for Religious Purity in New Age, Evangelicalism and Islam

Together with my colleagues of Erasmus University Rotterdam, Johan Roeland, Stef Aupers, Dick Houtman and Ineke Noomen, I have written an article the first edition of the Annual Review of the Sociology of Religion, published by Brill on the quest for religious purity in the Netherlands.

New Book – Muslim Diaspora in the West 0

New Book – Muslim Diaspora in the West

I had the honour of writing a chapter for a new volume Muslim Diaspora in the West edited by Haideh Moghissi and Halleh Ghorashi. In my chapter Understanding Dutch Islam – Exploring the Relationship of Muslims with the State and the Public Sphere in the Netherlands, I explore the culturalization of citizenship with the shifting modes of governance of minorities and the secular and the religious in the Netherlands during the last 30 years. The volume brings together work from experts within Europe and North America to explore the processes that shape the experiences and challenges faced by migrants and refugees who originate in countries of Islamic cultures. It addresses the realities of diasporic life for self-identified Muslims, addressing questions of integration, rights and equality before the law, and challenging stereotypical views of Muslims.