De islamitische gezichtssluier en de neutraliteit van religievrijheid in Nederland. Markeert gezichtsbedekking een privilege voor de meerderheidscultuur?

Abstract

Over the past ten years an exceptionally small religious phenomenon has dominated the political debate in the Netherlands: the burqa and the niqab. Even though the Raad van State repeatedly disapproved of the legislative proposals for a ban on the Islamic face veil, politicians keep trying to implement a ban. This raises questions about the neutrality of the Dutch administration in this matter. Does this course of events reveal a non-neutral distribution of the right to freedom of religion and conviction by the administration? And what issues are underlying this position? This study will show that the popularization of the culturalized notion of Dutch citizenship results in a very small space for divergent practices to exist. Withal, this context even leads to the possibility to misuse the right to religious freedom in order to protect a desired version of the Dutch identity; a procedure which is reflected in the proposals.