Really Muslim; Really Dutch Muslim omen Constructing a public Dutch Muslim identity

Abstract

Muslim women in the Netherlands are often represented as passive victims of their own culture. This image is often incompatible with how Muslim women perceive their own identity. Identity politics can be used by these women to construct a public identity that moves beyond the stereotypical image of Muslim women as victims. Since identity politics easily falls into essentialist notions of identity, an identity politics based on intersectionality and hybridity is suggested as a useful tool for the creation of a Dutch Muslim identity.