Muslims experience severe discrimination and racism in the Netherlands; research shows

Muslim discrimination is persistent, disruptive and increasingly normalized in all levels of Dutch society, research agency Regioplan and the University of Utrecht have reported. The researchers were tasked by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment to conduct a literature study into the subject, which included talks with Dutch muslims, interest groups, experts, and policy makers.

The experiences with discrimination are not isolated incidents. Rather, they form a pattern, researchers said. This often occurs during personal contact and also happens in subtle ways at times, which is hard to pinpoint.

Dutch Muslims also spoke of their experiences with discrimination by institutions, for example, because they are fined or checked disproportionately often.

Particularly, young Dutch Muslims often have the feeling that they are treated unequally, the report stated. The researchers warn that this can result in the people affected losing their connection with Dutch society.

Researchers think that the first step in fixing this problem is to recognize it. In addition, they are pleading for an approach that is not focused on individuals, but on the system. They mentioned concrete measures that are expected to lead to improvements, like developing guidelines in the care sector. The writers of the report recommend involving Muslims in the plan to combat discrimination.

The 44 Islamic people who participated in the study spoke about mistrust from their fellow civilians and an increasingly negative view. The popularity of the now largest government party, the PVV, whose leader Geert Wilders has made discriminatory remarks about Islam in the past, is seen as evidence by the respondents that Muslims are not widely accepted in the Netherlands.

The Minister of Interior Affairs, Judith Uitermark, and State Secretary for Participation and Integration, Jurgen Nobel, have promised to issue a “powerful follow-up” to the research soon.

Nobel was heavily criticized by the Islamic community a few months ago when he pointed to young Muslim people after the violence that was committed against Israeli football supporters in Amsterdam. Nobel described it as an “integration problem.”

The National Coordinator against Discrimination and Racism, Rabin Baldewsingh, responded to the report by calling for urgent action. He thinks that the Cabinet needs to develop concrete measures. “They can no longer avoid it.”

Baldewsingh said that the report shows how significant the issues regarding discrimination and racism are in the country. “The Netherlands sees Muslims as a security risk, and that concerns me.”

The report was released on the same day as the municipality of Veenendaal has been pushed to share who was questioned regarding a study of Islamic radicalization in the region that was conducted in 2018.

Bilal Riani, a board member at the Islamic association Taubah said in court that the research was illegal as employees of the organization that conducted the research, Nuance door Training & Advies, did not tell people that they were researchers.

Taubah’s lawyers see this as a violation of privacy and discrimination. They also feel the government had no legal right to conduct this investigation.

The municipality of Veenendaal has said that they have no information on the sources for the research, as that is the research company's responsibility. They said that the research was conducted as a result of the terrorist attacks in other countries, and mentioned the attacks in Paris in 2015 as an example.