The headscarf and ‘resistance identity-building’: A case study on headscarf-wearing in Amsterdam

Drawn on qualitative research, the aim of this article is to give voice to headscarved Dutch Muslim students of Turkish origin in Amsterdam and to arrive at an understanding of their perceptions and experiences of the headscarf and the headscarf issue in the Netherlands, particularly after 9/11 and the murder of film director Theo van Gogh in 2004. It is believed that restricting the headscarf issue only to the oppression of Muslim women and cultural differences negates understanding of how the headscarf is utilized as a symbol and an instrument of ‘resistance identity-building’ in the Dutch context where an exclusive ethno-cultural notion of Dutch identity has become increasingly pronounced.