Joyce van de Bildt, a research assistant at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University presents her research on the Moroccan emigre community in the Netherlands
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The Moroccan community in the Netherlands - Religion, integration, and loyalty by Joyce Van De Bildt
1. The Moroccan community in the
Netherlands:
Religion, integration and loyalty
by Joyce van de Bildt
2. Outline:
• History of Moroccan migration to the Netherlands
• Dutch immigration policy and integration strategies
• Relations with the home government
• Dual nationality and loyalty
• Islam in the Netherlands
Amount of Moroccans in the Netherlands on January 1, 2011:
355,883 (second largest immigrant group)
3. Brief history
• Labour migration to Europe
• After WWII: a need for
unschooled employees to work
in textile and mining industries
• Morocco stimulated emigration
for economic and political
reasons
• Recruitment was directed at the
inhabitants of the less-
developed Rif mountains and
Souss region
• Majority of emigrants was of
Berber background
4. Estimated amount of Dutch Moroccans that is of
Berber origin: 80%
• “Map of Morocco with the most important provinces of migrant origin”
Source: Herkomst en vestiging van de eerste generatie Marokkanen in Nederland
Tineke Fokkema, Carel Harmsen en Han Nicolaas, Bevolkingstrends, 3e kwartaal 2009, CBS
5. Dutch immigration policy
• Guest workers were to stay temporarily
• 1960s: Labour migration and chain migration
• 1973: Economic crisis and immigration stop
• 1970s: Migrants start to obtain permanent residence
• 1979: Ethnic Minorities Policy -- outline for integration
• 1980s: Family reunification
• 1990s and onwards: marriage migration and steady birthrate
among Moroccans
Year Number of Moroccans in the Netherlands
1982 93,000
1989 139,000
2011 355,883
6. Family reunification in the 70s and
80s
• “Share of women in Moroccan migration to the Netherlands”:
Uit: Herkomst en vestiging van de eerste generatie Marokkanen in Nederland
Tineke Fokkema, Carel Harmsen en Han Nicolaas, Bevolkingstrends, 3e kwartaal 2009, CBS
8. Moroccan government rhetoric
• Mr. Mohammed Ameur, Minister in charge of the Moroccan
Community Abroad:
Moroccans abroad are to considered a 17th province of
Morocco, and ties with them should be strengthened.
Moroccan culture should be preserved and promoted among
them, as well as the Arabic language
• Former Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Fassi Fihri:
“The law does not allow nationality to be renounced except
following a ruling by a committee presided over by the prime
minister,” and
“according to specific criteria based on respect for ancestral
religious legitimacy and political and judicial legality”
9. • Non-Dutch nationality of Dutch nationals with dual
nationality, 1 January 2007 (CBS Statistics)
10. Dual passport = dual loyalty?
“It is possible to be loyal to several people or countries. Dual
nationality should not be a problem these days.
A passport, for that matter, is just a document”
11. Two sides of the Dutch-Moroccan community
• Relatively high criminality rates
• Socio-economic achievements lag behind
• Isolation from Dutch society:
• Neighbourhoods
• Schools
• Social networks
• The Islam debate
12. Moroccans and religion
• Almost 100% identify with Islam
• Relatively traditional
• Provides a positive identification
• Media from the Muslim world
• Moroccan government efforts
• Dutch system of verzuiling (pillarization) in the 20th century
• 1. Catholic
• 2. Protestant
• 3. Socialist
• 4. Liberal
• Depillarisation and secularization trends
13. Islam in the Netherlands
Opening first Islamic funeral in
Eid al-Adha in Rotterdam (1979) Amsterdam (1978)
14. Islam in the Netherlands
• The Essalam Mosque in Rotterdam, 2011
15. 1. Freedom of speech
10. Dutch norms and values
18. Secularization of Dutch society
16. The Moroccan community in the
Netherlands:
Religion, integration and loyalty
by Joyce van de Bildt