‘I Want Good Children, Also for this Country’: How Dutch Minority Muslim Parents’ Experience and Negotiate Parenting, Parenthood and Citizenship

Abstract

This article investigates how minority Muslim parents experience and negotiate parenting, parenthood and citizenship in a context of increasing socio-political tensions. Drawing upon both parenting and parenthood as well as minority citizenship studies, it conceptualises parenthood as a domain for experiences of in- and exclusion of belonging to society. Based on an ethnographic study with self-organising Moroccan-Dutch parent groups, analyses show that political discourses contesting migrants’ belonging to society as well as disqualifications of minority parenting in parenting discourses and social services enter these families’ domestic lives in pervasive ways. As parents engage in socio-political dynamics in public spheres, they ground themselves in migratory, classed, historical, religious and globalised perspectives to express, counter and co-build parenthood and citizenship notions. As such, this study sheds light on how parents affirm their civic contribution to society as a parent, as well as on the civic nature of parenthood. Translating the findings to practice, this article draws attention to minority Muslim families’ diverse stances as child-rearing citizens.