Final Spring Assignment (The Last Push)
Introduction:
Integration of Muslim immigrants into Dutch society has been a key issue for the Dutch government ever since the 1960’s and 1970’s, when a need for labor in the Netherlands caused an influx of about 22,000 Moroccan immigrants.[1] (Turkish immigrants were in small numbers at this time, but now constitute about 38% of the Muslim population)[2] However in the past ten years there has been an increase in tension among the Native Dutch and Muslim immigrants due in large part to attacks carried out by Islamic extremists. The attacks of September 11th in 2001, and the murder of a Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh in 2004 being some of the more notable incidents.
A poll taken by Motivaction / GPD in 2006 revealed that 756 out of the 1200 Dutch adults surveyed (63%) believed Islam to be incompatible with modern European life. [3] This view is further supported by the leftist Labor Party, which is calling for an end to the “failed model of Dutch tolerance.” They contend that past tensions between immigrants and the native Dutch have arisen from the unwillingness of immigrants to shed the customs of their native country and adopt a more Dutch lifestyle. Lilianne Ploumen, the Labor’s chairperson, says, “Integration calls on the greatest effort from the new Dutch. Let go of where you come from; choose the Netherlands unconditionally.” The position of the Labor Party is stern; a callous tone justified by necessity. The party, as a reflection of popular demand, outwardly professes a strong message to its newest countrymen: Immigrants must “take responsibility for this country” and “the grip of the homeland has to disappear” in order for tensions to be resolved.[4]
Our group is interested in the lifestyles, social connections and barriers between Dutch nationals (defined as those citizens who have Dutch heritage or, in the case of 2nd or 3rd generation immigrants, have assimilated into the Dutch culture, economy, customs and traditions, and national fabric) and recent Muslim immigrants. Though our overarching research question intends to investigate the borders between the Dutch and Muslim immigrants, the connections that do exist should not be overlooked. We will need to examine cultural areas which do not have borders (e.g. the national soccer team at this summer’s World Cup) to get a more holistic view of the issue. The crux of our inquiry, it must be stressed, will be the disparities and barriers between groups. As per example, the anti-parallel trends of the Netherlands becoming less Christian and more Muslim will be an extremely important notion to observe and analyze. Religion is one of the few things that touches every aspect of society, and so the associations between Muslims and the Dutch (historically Christian) will factor heavily in the scope of our analysis.
In summation, we are excited to have the opportunity to propose and carry out a social science investigation into the condition of Muslim immigrants’ relations to the more conventional, accustomed Dutch population. Our research will depend on finding patterns and paradigms amongst the individuals and groups that we observe. Like other major international cities, Amsterdam has a large immigrant population–as it has for centuries–so it is incorrect to assume that blonde and pasty designates a Dutch person, and brown and bearded means an immigrant. The Netherlands’ exploratory and global trading history has made Amsterdam a melting pot–this being so, we must explore and scrutinize with a carefully honed cultural acumen. Our research will require challenging questions, open-mindedness, and movement through the city, from mosques to YMCAs to schools to bars. If all goes as expected, we might even have to walk some miles in immigrants’ shoes. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
Research Questions:
Group Research Question:
What are the covert and overt borders that currently exist between Muslim immigrants and the native Dutch people, and how do these borders affect their integration into Dutch society?
Derek’s Research Question:
“Unemployment among Moroccan and Turkish communities in the Netherlands is higher than the national average: Compared to a 9% unemployment rate of native Dutch, 27% of Moroccans and 21% of Turks are unemployed (SCP, 2006)” [6]
Why are unemployment rates significantly higher for Muslim immigrants than for native Dutch peoples? How does this affect their ability to integrate into Dutch society?
John’s Research Question:
Why are the living conditions for Muslim immigrants substantially different (meaning: worse) than other minority groups in Amsterdam, especially considering the country’s history of assimilating immigrants and the city’s notoriety for tolerance? And what are political and cultural leaders doing to affect prejudices and theological stigmas on both sides of the cultural wall?
Sabra’s Research Question:
According to an annual integration report taken in 2005 The education level among Turkish and Moroccan immigrants (making up the highest percentage of Muslims in the Netherlands) were lower than those among the Native Dutch students.In the final years of primary education for the level of linguistic capabilities the Turkish students were 2.5 years behind and Moroccan students were 2 years behind. In Mathematics both groups were ½ year behind. [5]
Why are the education rates of Muslim immigrants lower than that of the native Dutch? How does this affect their ability to integrate into Dutch society?
Methods Strategy:
In constructing an accurate social representation that answers our research question, we plan to use the strategies described by Ragin, and conduct a dialogue between our ideas and collected evidence. We hope to collect much of our evidence through qualitative field research in Amsterdam, and in the upcoming weeks we will work to clarify our ideas through internet research in order to provide our field research with further context and direction. Once we have collected our evidence, we will work to analyze and synthesize this evidence in order to construct a coherent image that is representative of our observations. Finally, we hope to use our ideas and synthesized evidence to construct an accurate representation of Muslim immigrant life within Dutch society in regards to our research question.
In collecting evidence, we plan to use a combination of interviews and social observation.
We plan to interview both Muslim immigrants and native Dutch people, in order to capture an in-depth look at their relevant thoughts and opinions. As this could be a sensitive issue for our interviewees, we will make sure that we approach them with openness and academic professionalism. We will also interview persons who work at establishments that provide services for Muslim immigrants and establishments that concern relations between Muslim immigrants and the native Dutch population. Through an analysis of our interviewee evidence, we hope to attain a greater understanding of the borders that exist between these two groups. Beyond interviews, we will make general social observations of these two peoples, so that we can obtain evidence that is not tainted by our own interactions with the subjects (we are foreigners after all).
Field Research Schedule:
Our current plan is to spend the first two weeks interviewing and observing and the remaining time constructing our answers to our research questions.
We’ll spend most of our time in Overtoomse Veld when in Amsterdam, as it is the neighborhood with the highest Moroccan and Turk population, with a few of the days spent observing surrounding neighborhoods. This is to get a good feel of how the immigrant neighborhood varies, if at all, form Amsterdam’s other neighborhoods. For the first few days, we want to make surface observations about living conditions, the state of public or private housing, neighborhood interactions, what communal spaces are available and how are they used, ect. Once we’ve completed this first step we’ll start to engage some of the people living in both the Overtoomse Veld, and again surrounding neighborhoods in discussion about the current state of immigrants in the Netherlands.
In the second week we would like to start discussion with some local officials that deal directly with the separate areas of our interests. We’ll be working over the next few weeks to try and set up appointments to possibly talk to someone on the education council about immigrant education, and members of the the Dutch Equal Treatment Commission about possible discrimination against immigrant workers, and students. We will also attempt to set up an appointment with the Contact Body for Muslims and Government (CMO), an organization that represents 80% of the Muslims in the Netherlands.
The final weeks as stated above will be dedicated to pulling our research together, working on our final presentations, and answering our research questions.
[1] Jurgens, Fleur (2007-03-28) (in Dutch), De vier mythen van de Marokkaanse onderklasse, de Volkskrant
[2] van Herten, Marieke (2007-10-25), More than 850 thousand Muslims in the Netherlands, Statistics Netherlands
[3] “Islam Incompatible with Europe, Say Dutch” Angus Ried Global Monitor, http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/12143 (accessed Jun 5, 2010).
[4] Vinocur, John “From the left, a call to end the current Dutch notion of tolerance” New York Times,http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/29/world/europe/29iht-politicus.3.18978881.html (accessed Jun 5, 2010).
[5] SCP (2005) Jaarrapport Integratie (Integration Annual Report). The Hague: Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau.
[6] Staff Writer, . “Islam in Netherlands.” Euro-Islam: News and Analysis on Islam in Europe and the Uniter States. Euro-Islam.info, 2010. Web. 8 Jun 2010.
