Religious identity consolidation and mobilization among Turkish Dutch Muslims

Abstract

This paper investigates religious identity consolidation in terms of the endorsement of the rights of Dutch Muslims to publicly express their identity, and identity mobilization in terms of the attitude towards normative forms of political organization. Identity consolidation and mobilization were examined as a function of the content of Muslim identity. A distinction was made between an individualized and a communal interpretation of what it means to be a Muslim, in addition to orthodox belief. Personal meaning and personal certainty as two aspects of an individualized interpretation were found to be positively associated to the endorsement of Muslim expressive rights, but not to the attitude towards political organization. Behavioural involvement and Muslim group interdependence were positively associated with identity organization. Orthodoxy was related to both identity consolidation and mobilization. Theoretical implications of these results are discussed. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.