Fashion and Faith: Islamic Dress and Identity in The Netherlands

Abstract

This paper focuses on the relationship between clothing and identity—specifically, on Islamic dress as shaping the identity of Dutch Muslim women. How do these Dutch Muslim women shape their identity in a way that it is both Dutch and Muslim? Do they mix Dutch parameters in their Muslim identity, while at the same time intersplicing Islamic principles in their Dutch sense of self? This study is based on two ethnographies conducted in the city of Amsterdam, the first occurring from September to October 2009, and the second took place in August 2018, which combines insights taken from in-depth interviews with Dutch Muslim women and observations in gatherings from Quranic and Religious studies, social gatherings and one-time events, as well as observations in stores for Islamic fashion and museums in Amsterdam. This study takes as its theme clothing and identity, and how Islamic clothing can be mobilized by Dutch Muslim women in service of identity formation. The study takes place in a context, the Netherlands, where Islam is largely considered by the populous as a religion that is oppressive and discriminatory to women. This paper argues that in the context of being Dutch and Muslim, through choice of clothing, these women express their agency: their ability to choose and act in social action, thus pushing the limits of archetypal Dutch identity while simultaneously stretching the meaning of Islam to craft their own identity, one that is influenced by themes of immigration, belongingness, ethnicity, religious knowledge and gender.

The Burka Ban: Islamic Dress, Freedom and Choice in The Netherlands in Light of the 2019 Burka Ban Law

“…Across Europe, a cohort of young Muslim women is popularizing new styles of modest fashion that combines mainstream trends with inventive forms of hijab and Islamic clothing (Lewis 2013;Moors 2009;Moors 2013;Rambo and Bauman 2012;Tarlo 1996;Tarlo and Moors 2013;Van Nieuwkerk 2014). This phenomenon can be seen in the Netherlands (Bartels 2000;Hass and Lutek 2019;Moors 2007;Van Nieuwkerk 2004;Van Nieuwkerk 2014;Vroon 2014), Finland (Almila 2016), Sweden (Roald 2004;Roald 2012), Scotland (Boulanouar 2006), Germany (Ozyurek 2010;Özyürek 2014), France (Bowen 2010;Bowen 2007), and Belgium (Coene and Longman 2008); see also in Rosenberger and Sauer 2013 for more about France, Germany, Austria, Greece, Denmark, UK, Bulgaria and the Netherlands as regards the relationship between veiling and narratives of belonging. One main argument of this book is that the discourse of the veil cuts across and critiques interrelated domains, policies, narratives of national belonging and secularism.…”

“…However, this ban is pushing them even further away from the community and can place them in a situation of greater isolation. This ban can make these Dutch Muslim women feel as though they are no longer part of Dutch society and the Dutch national fold (Hass 2011;Hass and Lutek 2018;Hass and Lutek 2019;Vroon 2014).…”

“…Not only are there no known burqas in the Netherlands, but the typical niqabi is a young woman, often a Dutch convert, deeply inspired by her religious journey even to the point of embracing Islam. For a number of years-sometimes a few, sometimes many-she takes to wearing the niqab-sometimes with great consistency, sometimes intermittently-and experiences religious delight in doing so (Hass and Lutek 2018;Hass and Lutek 2019;Moors 2009;Moors 2013;Valenta 2019;Vroon 2014). All this is well known to politicians; Dutch scholar Moors has written on this topic for many years, including an extensive and publicly available report that she produced for the Dutch government in 2009 based on her study "The Dutch and the face veil, the politics of discomfort" (Moors 2009;Valenta 2019).…”

“…According to Rambo's conversion model, both types are considered religious conversion (Rambo 1999). In various ethnographies, these women are presented together, since these women often befriend each other and study together in women-only Quranic classes, workshops, Arabic language classes and many other gatherings (see also in (Hass 2011;Hass and Lutek 2018;Hass and Lutek 2019;Tiilikainen et al 2019;Vroon 2014).…”

“…Baldi analyzed what she called the current European obsession with the practice of veiling as a necessary act of power needed to maintain the unity and homogeneity of the European people (Baldi 2017). Veiled women, especially converts to Islam, pose a challenge to such a notion and thus attract media attention (Hass and Lutek 2019;Vroon 2014;Vroon-Najem 2007). Nevertheless, for the women interviewed, this clothing helps to build identity and is a rational, active choice that is part of their journey into Islam.…”