Summary_Zoeken naar.qxp

The murder of Theo van Gogh in 2004 shocked Dutch society. Soon after, debates emerged about the nature of Islam and whether Islam is compatible with ‘Dutch’ democracy and freedoms. There were those among Muslims who praised Mohammed Bouyeri’s actions for being, as he claimed, an expression of true faith, while others condemned the attack as being against the true nature of Islam. Such utterances can be seen as examples of debates surrounding the question of how to construct a Muslim identity, what kind of constructions are considered authoritative, on which basis would that be so, and why do these constructions emerge in certain contexts. Many of the discussions focus on Muslim youth and in particular Muslim youth of Moroccan descent. Given the fact that in the age category 10-19 they represent 20% of the MoroccanDutch migrant population and in the category 20-30 again 20%, it is clear that youth constitute an important part of the MoroccanDutch community in the Netherlands. Except for a few minor studies and one large survey very little research has been done on this group in relation to Muslim identity. Though that survey, as well as most of the other research, focuses in particular on norms and values among this group they pay little attention to the way people are religious and to the question as to how they construct their religious identity.