Anti-Islam discrimination: through the experiences of Muslim women in the Netherlands

This paper seeks to answer or document experiences on the question: how are multiple forms of gendered anti-Islam discrimination experienced by Muslim women with a refugee / migrant background in the Netherlands? For this study 14 Muslim women in the Netherlands were interviewed with a life / oral histories method, and it showed that Muslim women experience intersectional discrimination, which is a combination of religion, gender and ethnicity, but the main factor of influence being religion, as the Islam is inherently linked with specific ethnicities. The participants reported experiencing multiple forms of discrimination, such as exclusion, rejection, sexual harassment, intrusive questions and more. The described experiences seemed to be rooted in the stereotyping and stigmas of Muslim women by the media and right wing politicians. The experienced anti-Islam discrimination violates Muslim women in their freedom to dress, express their identity, and autonomy.