Over the past ten years Dutch Muslims' faith became increasingly important to them, according to a study by social and cultural planning office SCP. The researchers attribute this partly to increased tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims and the feeling of exclusion that stems from that, NOS reports.
"The repelling attitude from Dutch society makes the faith, the Muslim identity and belonging to a community extra attractive. The negative image can be an incentive to delve into knowledge about Islam", the SCP wrote in its report The religious experience of Muslims in the Netherlands. "The negative judgments about Islam and Muslims from the Dutch social environment stimulate the strengthening of ties within the origin group and underline the Muslim identity." In other words, those who experience Dutch society as hostile, cling to their faith.
The study is based on data from 2015 and focuses mainly on Dutch-Turks and Dutch-Moroccans - the largest Islamic groups in the Netherlands. Of them, 86 percent and 94 percent respectively call themselves Muslim. Respondents who call themselves Muslims prayed more often over the past 10 years. Especially Dutch-Turks visited mosques more often, and more Dutch-Moroccan women wore a hijab. Almost all of them indicate that their faith is a very important part of themselves. [NL Times] Read more
