Institutionalizing Islam in the Netherlands a historical overview of the 1990s

This paper discusses Dutch integration policies in the 1990s regarding Muslim minorities. Despite the popular belief that such policies and a pillarized system, this paper shows that both influences were minor in shaping the policy response to Muslim claims. Most religious practices in the Netherlands, however, got formalised in a decade when official policy emphasised individual responsibility and socio-economic mobility. Cultural practices by religious organizations were funded insofar as they facilitated this. Islamic schools, on the other hand, received grants within a constitutional framework that supported all denominations.