scholarly journals Fashion and Faith: Islamic Dress and Identity in The Netherlands

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bat Sheva Hass ◽  
Hayden Lutek
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
Muslim Identity ◽  
Dutch Identity ◽  
Dress And Identity ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Islamic Dress

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.

scholarly journals The Dutch inside the ‘Moslima’ and the ‘Moslima’ inside the Dutch: Processing the Religious Experience of Muslim Women in The Netherlands

Societies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bat Hass ◽  
Hayden Lutek
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
Muslim Identity ◽  
Religious Knowledge ◽  
Dutch Identity ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The City ◽  
Depth Interviews

This research focuses on Dutch Muslim women who chose to practice Islam, whether they were born Muslim (‘Newly Practicing Muslims’) or they chose to convert (‘New Muslims’). This study takes place in a context, the Netherlands, where Islam is popularly considered by the native Dutch population, as a religion oppressive to women. How do these Dutch Muslim women build 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, inter-splicing Islamic principles in their Dutch sense of self? This study is based on an ethnography conducted in the city of Amsterdam from September to October 2009, which combines insights taken from in-depth interviews with Dutch Muslim women, observations from Quranic and Religious classes, observations in a mosque, and one-time events occurring during the month of Ramadan. This paper argues that, in the context of being Dutch and Muslim, women express their agency, which is their ability to choose and act in social action: they push 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, religious knowledge, higher education and gender.

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

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bat-sheva Hass
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
Muslim Identity ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Face ◽  
Dutch Identity ◽  
Islamic Dress ◽  
The Relationship

This article, part of an evolving and large project, examines the relationship between clothing, freedom and choice, and specifically Islamic dress in shaping the identity of Dutch Muslim women after the Burka Ban that was voted into law on 1 August 2019 in the Netherlands. It discusses the debates before and after this date, as well as the background to the ban. A veil covering the face is a garment worn by some Muslim women to adhere to an interpretation of hijab (modest dress). It can be referred to as a burqa or niqab. In the aftermath of the Burka Ban that prompted considerable public alarm on the part of Muslim men and women, niqab-wearing women, as well as women who do not wear a veil, but are in solidarity with their niqabi sisters, raised a number of questions that form the basis for the analysis presented here: how do Dutch Muslim women shape their identity in a way that it is both Dutch and Muslim? Do they incorporate Dutch parameters into their Muslim identity, while at the same time weaving Islamic principles into their Dutch sense of self? The findings show how Islamic clothing can be mobilized by Dutch Muslim women to serve identity formation and personal (religious) choice in the Netherlands, where Islam is largely considered by the non-Muslim population to be a religion that is oppressive and discriminatory towards women. It is argued that in the context of being Dutch and Muslim, these women express their freedom of choice through clothing, thus pushing the limits of the archetypal Dutch identity and criticizing Dutch society while simultaneously stretching the meaning of Islam to craft their own identity.

scholarly journals Being a ‘White Muslima’ in the Netherlands Ethnicity, Friendships and Relationships—The Dutch Conversion Narrative

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 345
Author(s):  
Bat Sheva Hass
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
Dutch Society ◽  
Muslim Identity ◽  
Conversion Narrative ◽  
Conversion Narratives ◽  
Conversion Experience ◽  
Muslim Communities

This article, which is part of a larger ongoing project, examines relationships, friendships and levels of belonging in Dutch society, as well as in the Dutch Muslim community in narratives of women converted to Islam. The ethnicity of these women is always visible as ‘native Dutch’ and shapes their conversion narratives. This ethnography raises a number of questions that form the basis for the analysis presented here: How do Dutch Muslim women shape their identity in a way that is both Dutch and Muslim? Do they incorporate Dutch parameters into their Muslim identity, while at the same time weaving Islamic principles into their Dutch sense of self? The findings show how the conversion narrative can be mobilized by Dutch Muslim women to serve identity formation, levels of belonging and personal (religious) choice in the Netherlands, where Islam is largely considered by the non-Muslim population to be a religion that is oppressive and discriminatory towards women and is associated with foreignness and being the Other. It is argued that, in the context of being Dutch and Muslim, these women express their freedom of choice, which is manifested through friendships, relationships and marriages (Islamic vs. civil), while their ethnicity and conversion experience is a visible component in their identity. In so doing, these women push the limits of the archetypal Dutch identity and are able to criticize Dutch society while simultaneously stretching the meaning of Islam and being critical of Dutch Muslim communities to craft their own hybrid identity.

scholarly journals Veiled Muslim women’s responses to experiences of gendered Islamophobia in the UK

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Zempi
Keyword(s):  
Hate Crime ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
Gender Performance ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Muslim Identity ◽  
The West ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Uk

In a post-9/11 climate, Islamophobia has increased significantly in the UK and elsewhere in the West. ISIS-inspired terrorist attacks in the UK as well as in France, Belgium, Germany and, more recently, in Sri Lanka have triggered an increase in verbal and physical attacks on Muslims. Drawing on intersectionality (as a nexus of identities that work together to render certain individuals as ‘ideal’ targets to attack), veiled Muslim women are likely to experience gendered Islamophobia in the cyber world but also in ‘real’ life due to the intersections between their ‘visible’ Muslim identity and gender performance. In the British context, although Islamophobia is recorded as a hate crime nationally, and misogyny as a hate crime locally in some police forces, veiled Muslim women are unlikely to report their experiences to the police. Drawing on qualitative interviews with Muslim women who wear the niqab (face veil), the purpose of this article is to examine the ways in which they respond to experiences of gendered Islamophobia as well as their reasons for not reporting their experiences to the police.

Criss-Cross: Identity and Transformation in Re-reading Billy Elliot

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 536-551
Author(s):  
Jacqui Miller
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
Gender And Sexuality ◽  
Central Character ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Liberal Politics ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Opening Up

Billy Elliot (2000) has been widely recognised as an important British film of the post-Thatcher period. It has been analysed using multiple disciplinary methodologies, but almost always from the theoretical frameworks of class and gender/sexuality. The film has sometimes been used not so much as a focus of analysis itself but as a conduit for exploring issues such as class deprivation or neo-liberal politics and economics. Such studies tend to use the film's perceived shortcomings as a starting point to critique society's wider failings to interrogate constructions of gender and sexuality. This article argues that an examination of the identity formation of some of the film's subsidiary characters shows how fluidity and transformation are key to the film's opening up of a jouissance which is enabled by but goes beyond its central character.

scholarly journals Identifying a space for young Black Muslim women in contemporary Britain

Ethnicities ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 146879682110018
Author(s):  
Sheymaa Ali Nurein ◽  
Humera Iqbal
Keyword(s):  
Black Community ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Black Muslim ◽  
And Coping

Young Black Muslim Women (BMW) have complex, intersectional identities and exist at the margins of various identity groupings. Given this, members of the community can face societal relegation across, not only race and gender lines, but across religious ones, too. This paper explores the lived experiences of intragroup discrimination, identity and belonging in 11 young Black Muslim Women in the United Kingdom. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants and thematically analysed through the lens of intersectionality. The use of an intersectional framework facilitated an understanding of the manner in which the sample was multiply marginalised. Two key themes emerged from the interviews: firstly, around experiences of intragroup and intersectional discrimination and, secondly, around the challenges of responding to and coping with the negative effects of such discrimination. Participants discussed the cross-cutting nature through which they faced discrimination: from within the Black community; from within the Muslim community; and as a result of their gender. The non-exclusivity of these three identities result in constant encounters of discrimination along different dimensions to their personal identity. They also developed diverse means of coping with this marginalisation including drawing from religious beliefs and mobile identifications, i.e. performing different aspects of their identities in different contexts. The present study contributes to existing knowledge in its focus on an under-researched group and emphasises the negative effects of intragroup discrimination. The paper importantly highlights the diversity within the Black community and considers the (in)visibility of Black Muslim Women within society.

scholarly journals Identity (Re)Construction of Female Adolescents with Substance Use Disorders

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (13) ◽  
pp. 7022
Author(s):  
Danielle Treiber ◽  
Lize A. E. Booysen
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
Substance Use Disorders ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Female Adolescents ◽  
Situational Analysis ◽  
Developmental Milestone ◽  
Practical Implications

Identity formation is a developmental milestone for adolescents, and their identities are constructed and re-constructed through their interactions with others and contextual factors in their environment. When considering adolescents with substance use disorders (SUD), often this developmental milestone is misappropriated, misunderstood, and misrepresented. The purpose of this article was to explore how adolescents with substance use disorders form identity and construct a sense of self. Firstly, we explored the identity formation and reconstruction of 20 female adolescents with SUDs based on an in-depth grounded theory methodology (GTM) which included a situational analysis (SA). Secondly, we offered a theoretical model to explain identity construction and reconstruction of adolescents with SUDs that emerged from this research. We conclude this article with practical implications for treatment, and care of adolescents with SUDs.

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