Muslim Immigration in England & the Netherlands
Course ID: 54951
Elon University

Throughout Europe, Muslim immigration has been a huge topic of discussion. England and the Netherlands are two countries in Europe that have experienced many years of Muslim immigration and its effect on the way of life in both countries. Throughout the history of Muslim immigration, England and the Netherlands have dealt with conflicts differently although faced with the same population influx.

What are the country’s histories of Muslim immigration? Muslims arrived in England nearly a thousand years ago. A large group of the upper class from India came to England in search for better education and business. Immigrants from other South Asian countries, like Bangladesh, sought similar goals, but these immigrants came from less fortunate parts of their countries. In the 1960’s and 70’s, East African Asian countries were greatly affected by the colonization of the English in their lands, which made the middle class of these countries venture out into Europe, particularly England to achieve greater aspirations of a better life. It was hard for many people in these countries because many families were being pushed out of their villages and it was hard for them to find work. At the time, the people of Uganda were being forced out of their own country by the British and were being pushed out and forced to move elsewhere, which is what some did by traveling to England. From the 1980’s till the 90’s there was a lot of conflict going on in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. A lot of refugees were being developed and moving to England because of safety. Most of these refugees came from Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq. (Abbas, 2010) The Netherlands experienced Muslim immigration around the 16th century when they signed a peace treaty with Morocco over free way of transportation for trade with Sultan ships. In the 19th century while the Netherlands were taking over Indonesia, some of the islanders that had escaped the war became the first Muslims to settle in the Netherlands. During the 1960’s and 70’s, the Netherlands was under a labor force crisis and needed more workers for the intense jobs in the lower educated job sector. The low labor force was because the Netherlands maintained a traditional styled economy. The Netherlands found their solution by developing an agreement with both Turkey and Morocco, which allowed their people to come and work in the Netherlands and increased the labor force. Immigrants from Tunisia and Algeria traveled to the Netherlands as well, also making a living by working in lower educated work sectors. Around the early 1970’s, the immigration agreements ended, but more Turkish and Moroccan immigrants were coming to the Netherlands because workers were trying to bring their families with them due to the laws of reunification at the time. Around this time, many Muslim immigrants from Suriname had entered the country looking for work and opportunities of better living. In the 1990’s many refugees that traveled to England, also traveled to the Netherlands and other parts of Western Europe. (Islam, 2013)

What are the cultural conflicts that have resulted?
In England, the key conflicts that have stood out since the beginning of Muslim immigration in Western Europe are the ethnic and religious discrimination. Throughout the early decades of Muslim settlement in England, discrimination formed from ethnic and racial differences. (Ansari, 2002) “Muslims, especially those of South Asian origin, experienced discrimination in housing, education, employment, social and welfare services, the media and public life.” (Ansari, 2002) There were many issues that England was not taking into consideration. In order to receive something, you must give something in return. Unfortunately England did not understand that they made a mistake not to please their working class and future citizens by