The racialization of danger: patterns and ambiguities in the relation between Islam, security and secularism in the Netherlands

Abstract

The question of European foreign fighters in Syria has transformed security and counter-radicalization into important pillars of the liberal secular governance of Muslims in Europe. By exploring how Dutch integration and counter-radicalization policies connect the idea of danger to Muslims and Islam, de Koning analyses how admission to the Dutch nation-state is regulated according to what kind of deficiencies outsiders are thought to have, locating them in ideas about ‘race’, culture and religion. By focusing on the idea of a racialization of danger, de Koning argues, first, that, already prior to 9/11, a securitization logic existed in Dutch policies in which a form of Islam that was perceived to be ‘unacceptable’ was regarded as a potential danger to social cohesion and the rule of law. And, second, in analysing the process of racialization, that we should take into account its ambiguities in order to understand how the racialization of Muslims works.