Secularism, Racism and the Politics of Belonging

This collection of papers is a reflection of an ongoing debate about the relationships between religion, the citizen and the state. It is a debate that is far from settled, and indeed one which may be unsettling, but a debate which too often generates more heat than light. It is, however, a crucial discussion since it goes to the heart of our understanding of modern citizenship, the role of the state and the struggle for equality. Runnymede was especially pleased to partner with colleagues at the Centre for Refugees, Migration and Belonging (CRMB) at the University of East London in co-hosting the two conferences from which these papers are drawn. CRMB’s serious and engaged approach to relating political theory to political action enabled academics, commentators and practitioners to share a platform where disagreements were aired and constructive debate and discussion enabled. We hope that the conferences act as a model for the deliberations which are necessary to address the thorny challenges raised by the authors. Many of these disagreements are reflected in the papers presented here. The collected papers discuss faith-based schooling, the veil, honour based violence, religious arbitration, and the delivery of public services by faith communities. All of these issues remain very much alive in contemporary public policy debates in the UK and beyond

Outsiders Within: Framing and Regulation of Headscarves in France, Germany and The Netherlands

While women in Europe who wear the Islamic headscarf are generally seen as outsiders who do not belong to the nation, some countries are more tolerant towards the wearing of headscarves than others. France, Germany and the Netherlands have developed different policies regarding veiling. In this paper we describe how headscarves became regulated in each of these countries and discuss the ways in which French, Dutch and German politicians have deliberated the issue. The paper is based on a content analysis of parliamentary debates on veiling in France (1989–2007), Germany (1997–2007) and the Netherlands (1985–2007). Our aim is to discuss what these national political debates reveal about the way in which the social inclusion of Islamic women in (or rather exclusion from) the nation is perceived in these three countries. Our claim is that veiling arouses opposition because it challenges national self-understandings. Yet, because nations have different histories of nation building, these self-understandings are challenged in various ways and hence, governments have responded to headscarves with diverse regulation. While we did find national differences, we also discovered that the political debates in the three countries are converging over time. The trend is towards increasingly gendered debates and more restrictive headscarf policies. This, we hypothesize, is explained by international polarization around Islam and the strength of the populist anti-immigrant parties across Europ