Dutch, Gay and Muslim : identity formation and the issue of belonging

C. Azmi

Over the last few years, right wing political parties have been gaining momentum throughout the West. The victory of Donald Trump in the United States and Brexit are notorious examples of this growing popularity. In the face of the growing Islamophobia, Right wing populist parties are targeting Muslims and using gender equality as well as gay rights to further shun out Muslim Communities and brand Muslim culture as backward, intolerant and homophobic. In the Netherlands, this neo-culturalist discourse, which posits Muslim culture and Dutch culture at opposite ends of the spectrum, is also proliferating in the media and the political scene. For Dutch gay Muslims, the position they are put in becomes difficult. The debate that wishes to ?save? them from their alleged repressive culture also silences them by forcing them to choose one of their identities over the other. Moreover, the very existence of 'gay Muslims' is wiped out by this discourse which does not allow any room for the co-existence of their dual identity: gay and Muslim. This research focuses on the lived experiences of Dutch gay Muslims: the way they experience the relationship between religion and homosexuality, and the ways through which they form and negotiate their identities, and manage to fight for visibility in their own Muslim communities and in the Dutch society.