Muslims in Belgium: a case study of emerging identities

ISSN： 1469-9591

Source： Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol.24, Iss.1, 2004-04, pp. : 9-30

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Abstract

This paper examines how Belgium, a federal country divided into three politically separate regions, has integrated its Muslim immigrants differently according to its regions. First, it shows how after Belgium's independence, its national unity slowly crumbled and regions were created based on linguistic and cultural differences which have had an impact on the immigrants. Then, the arrival of Muslim immigrants is examined along with the legal and political contexts that encouraged or dissuaded this immigration. It then explains how the national policies of integration have been interpreted differently in the two main linguistic regions, and how those different ways of organizing integration have considered less the characteristics of the immigrant and more the links that the immigrant establishes with the two main linguistic communities. This has led to a paradoxical situation: whereas the autochthon population tends to identify with its regional identity, many foreigners, of whom a large number are Muslim, identify with their new (formerly host) Belgian identity. Finally, the two largest Muslim communities (Moroccan and Turkish) are discussed, focusing on the issue of education.