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The pedagogy of the mosquePortrayal, practice, and role in the integration of Turkish-Dutch childrenSözeri, S.Y.

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Citation for published version (APA):Sözeri, S. Y. (2021). The pedagogy of the mosque: Portrayal, practice, and role in theintegration of Turkish-Dutch children.

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APPENDIX

Mosque Classroom Observation Framework

Teaching volunteer/hoca _____________________ Observer___________________________________

Level/Age of the group_________ Date of observation: __________Observation #______

Observation occurred: Before class______ During class ________After class__________

1.Material conditions of the classroom/learning environment Lights, seating, cleanliness, sitting on the floor or on desks, U-shape desks or in a row. Learning materials? Size of the desks? 2.What does the hoca do? Mood of the hoca, activities of the hoca, how much talk? Interaction with students, discipline and motivation strategies, response to questions. In which language? 3.What do the students do? Are they bored? Do they pay attention? Do they engage with the teacher or with one another? In which language? 4.Classroom climate How are power relations structured? Open to debate? Relaxed, calm? Safe to ask questions? What kind of questions are being asked? 5.Formal and informal (hidden) curriculum What themes are covered? How? Are they age-appropriate? What values, norms are transmitted or inspired? Is there a discrepancy between formal and informal curriculum? 6.Links with mosque education and regular schools? Is the taught knowledge transferable? Do the hoca make references about the use of the taught knowledge at school or in daily life? Parallels with school subjects?

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SUMMARY

This PhD thesis presented an exploratory research on mosque education followed by Dutch-

Turkish children in the Netherlands. Previous scientific literature on mosque education in

non-Muslim countries is very limited. This thesis built primarily on the research by Cherti

and Bradley (2011) in Britain, and by Pels and colleagues (Pels et al., 2006; Pels et al.,

2006a; Pels et al., 2006b; Pels et al., 2016) in the Netherlands. Taking their findings into

account, this dissertation aspired to add to the scant knowledge about mosque education, and

its role in the integration of Muslim children with Turkish migrant background, by

investigating five interrelated aspects of mosque education with the following questions:

1. Portrayal: Media portrayal is known to influence the beliefs and attitudes of the public

through its framing of issues. What can the Dutch public learn about mosque

education from the media? Specifically: what are the major discourses on mosque

education in the Dutch press? [Chapter 2]

2. Practice: How is mosque education in the Turkish communities organized with regard

to its curriculum, learning objectives, content of teaching materials and language

policies? [Chapter 3]

3. Pedagogies: How does teaching and learning happen in the Turkish mosque

classrooms in the Netherlands? What kind of pedagogical approaches are practiced by

imams and mosque teachers in their lessons? [Chapter 4]

4. Training of Dutch imams: Imams educated in Muslim countries are often accused of

inability to connect to the life-worlds of Muslim youth growing up in Europe and to

provide adequate support with the challenges the children face as Muslims in a non-

Muslim context. How to explain the lack of imams educated in the Netherlands? What

are the reasons behind the failure of the state-funded Islamic theology programs and

imam-trainings at Dutch universities? [Chapter 5]

5. Role in integration: What is the role of mosque education in the integration of the

Turkish-Dutch youth according to their parents, imams, mosque teachers and major

stakeholders? In what ways could it be aiding or frustrating the integration of the

youth? [Chapter 6]

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The five studies in this dissertation are underpinned by multidisciplinary theoretical

approaches: they employ conceptualizations from media studies, educational sciences,

Islamic philosophy of education, political science, sociology and migration studies. The

research is done through qualitative methodology. The most important methods for data

collection were semi-structured interviews (with imams, mosque teachers, mosque students,

parents, chairs of Islamic and Turkish migrant organizations, lecturers at the imam-training

programs, policymakers in the field of integration and radicalization, academics with

expertise on Muslim youth and Turkish Islamic organizations), classroom observations in one

Diyanet and one Milli Görüş mosque, expert meeting on mosque education with key

stakeholders (among which education coordinators, representatives and chairs of the major

Islamic organizations affiliated with the Dutch Contact Organ Muslims & the Government),

roundtables with imams and mosque teachers, and ethnographic fieldwork notes.

Findings

Portrayal in the Dutch press

The first study in this dissertation addressed the question of representation of mosque classes

in five major Dutch newspapers. This was done in order to situate the studied topic within the

public and political debates about it. The analyses were informed by the media frames

identified by Van Drunen (2014) in her study of the portrayal of Muslims in the Dutch press.

In chapter two, a content analysis of the discourses in the Dutch press between 2010 and

2016 demonstrated that mosque education is portrayed mainly in negative light, with a

frequent focus on problematic associations, and a rhetoric of perceived threat and alleged

incompatibility of civic values and mosque education.

In most cases, the news was told by non-Muslim figures: the voices of the Muslim

children, parents, and providers of mosque education were largely absent. Accusations of

corporal punishment were most prominent among the references to the pedagogical practices

of the mosques. In the same line, some press discourses depicted the pedagogies of the

mosque classes as authoritarian and fear-based, relying on rote learning and indoctrination

done by imams and mosque teachers who do not have pedagogical training. Other major

themes featured in the media portrayals were teaching conservative gender norms and

separation of sexes at the mosque classes, links with religious extremism, and negative

impact on social cohesion. Mosque classes were said to contribute to ethnic segregation by

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limiting Muslim children’s exposure to non-Muslim peers, Dutch language and culture in

their spare time.

There were very few references to a possible positive influence of mosque education.

Some of those referred to possible positive influence on students’ attitudes to learning (e.g.

by teaching them discipline which helped them perform better at school). Others highlighted

the role of mosque education in offering positive recognition to the stigmatized Muslim

identity of the children.

Practice: What are children being taught in the mosque?

Having identified the main themes in the discourses on mosque education in the press, the

third chapter addressed the actual practice of mosque education by examining the

organization of Turkish mosque education in the Netherlands with regard to its curriculum,

learning objectives, content of teaching materials and language policies. The fundamentals of

curriculum developed by Walker (2003) served as a heuristic device in the analyses. The

study used data from the three largest Turkish Islamic organizations in the country (Diyanet,

Milli Görüş and Süleymanlıs): semi-structured interviews with imams and mosque teachers

(N = 9), with experts and stakeholders (N=38), nine classroom observations, and fieldwork

notes from the expert meeting on mosque education and roundtables. The results of the study

presented actual numbers about the number of students attending Turkish mosque classes and

exposed a number of similarities and differences between the educational practices of the

different Turkish communities.

Important similarities in the studied mosques included, for instance, the presence of

good physical conditions copying school classrooms, the shared goals of mosque education,

conveyed in instilling Islamic and Turkish identity in the children, similarity in content of the

lessons (e.g. teaching reading the Qur’an, the pillars of Islam, the foundations of Islamic

values and behavioral conduct, the life of the prophet), and having Turkish simultaneously as

a language of instruction and an informal learning goal in itself. Regardless of these Turkish-

centered language policies, imams and mosque teachers perceived the low proficiency of the

children in Turkish as an obstacle in connecting with them. Differences between the

communities pertained to the extent of standardization of the curriculum and the availability

of own teaching materials and textbooks developed for use in the mosque classes outside of

Turkey. Concerning this, it was identified that Milli Görüş had more systematically prepared

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curriculum and textbooks than Diyanet and Süleymanlıs, the latter being most flexible with

assembling teaching materials from different sources.

It was found that some imams and mosque teachers of each community perceived the

content of the textbooks as insufficiently oriented towards the issues of living an Islamic life

in a non-Muslim country. Furthermore, the presence of curriculum content on Turkish

citizenship (i.e. teaching the Turkish national anthem and textbook chapters identifying

Turkey as a fatherland) was found to significantly distinguish the curriculum and teaching

activities at the Diyanet mosques from the classes at Milli Görüş and Süleymanlıs.

Pedagogies: How does teaching and learning happen in the Turkish mosque classes?

Chapter four then used an ethno-case study approach to delve into the different pedagogies

practiced in the classrooms of one Diyanet and one Milli Görüş mosque in the Netherlands.

The study was based on nine classroom observations in eight different classes attended by 90

students, and 10 semi-structured interviews with imams and mosque teachers at both

communities. The results indicate that the teaching practices in both mosques reflect the

fundamental Islamic educational principles tarbiyah, ta’lim, ta’dib, and tajweed, according to

which care for the spiritual development and moral growth of the student is viewed as

important as the memorization of prayers and teaching religious knowledge.

Yet, this study also established that Islamic primary source pedagogies (Alkouatli,

2018) are implemented in varying degrees, and not prioritized equally. To specify, the

findings showed that the principle of differentiated learning, expressed in paying attention to

the individual learning needs of the students (an aspect of Relational Pedagogies), was

employed in all observed Qur’an classes. That meant that each student was allocated one-to-

one teaching time during which the mosque teacher or imam would correct students’

pronunciation and check their progress. The principle of “doing together” (stipulated by the

Pedagogies of Mutual Engagement) which stimulates the bonding of the community of

learners, was also observed in both mosques. Instances of implementation varied from

inviting the mosque students to participate in the joint prayer namaz after their mosque

lessons, to incorporating educational games in the lessons, and organizing social outings such

as swimming, football matches and theme park trips together with the mosque class.

Differently than these, the Pedagogies of Conscious Awareness focused on critical

questioning by the students were found to be less valued by the imams and mosque teachers

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and were present to a much lesser degree in the observed lessons. One Milli Görüş teacher

even referred to critical questioning of the Islamic knowledge given in the lessons as a

“solved problem” which does not take place anymore.

Nevertheless, the study has also found evidence in both communities for pedagogical

reforms. Examples comprise of borrowing motivation, discipline and class management

strategies from schools, combined with efforts to offer some pedagogical training to all

mosque educators. Interviews with the imams and mosque teachers indicated that all forms of

corporal punishment are extinct and denounced as an inadmissible disciplining method in the

mosque classrooms. While all imams reported to have received pedagogical training during

their Islamic Theology degree, the availability of pedagogical trainings and in-house support

for the mosque teachers was found to be organized better by Milli Görüş. Such provisions

seemed to influence mosque teachers’ own perception of the quality of the mosque education

they provide. Finally, it was found that what distinguishes mosque education in both

communities most is the pedagogy of national identity building which was identified in a

much more pronounced manner in the Diyanet classrooms.

Training of Dutch imams

Chapter five addressed a hidden-in-plain-sight but important and relevant aspect of mosque

education: it examined the reasons behind the lack of locally trained imams who are familiar

with the Dutch socio-political context and the needs of Dutch Muslims. It analyzed

interviews with 38 key stakeholders (among which academics teaching the Dutch imam

trainings, imams, mosque teachers, and chairs of Islamic organizations), to investigate the

reasons behind the failure of the state-funded Islamic theology programs and imam-trainings

at the Dutch universities. Historical accounts on de-pillarization of Dutch society and

different notions of Dutch secularism formed the theoretical backbone of the study.

The results dispute the formal rhetoric on “separation of church and state” maintained

both by Turkey and the Netherlands. Despite the institutional secularism espoused by both

countries, there is evidence that religious matters influence their policymaking in the field of

education and foreign policy. In that respect, the policymaking of both countries regarding

the Dutch imam-trainings shows signs of “post-secular consciousness” (Habermas, 2008). In

the case of Turkey, this is conveyed in the reluctance of the Turkish Presidency for Religious

Affairs Diyanet to work together with the Netherlands for setting up Dutch Islamic

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theologies: apparently due to worries about surrendering control over the messages

disseminated in its Dutch mosques. In the case of the Netherlands, on the other hand, funding

Islamic theology programs is seemingly in accordance with the constitutional principle of

equal treatment of religious groups. Yet, it is actually at odds with the ideology of minimal

state interference in religious affairs: In contrast to Islamic primary and secondary schools,

the Islamic higher education programs were not initiated by the Islamic communities

themselves, and the communities were also not sufficiently engaged in their setup.

Above all, the study established three central claims for the failure of the Dutch initiatives for

professional Islamic higher education: Islamic communities’ lack of trust in the intentions of

the Dutch government, lack of confidence in the expertise of the non-Muslim academics

teaching the programs, and the refusal of Diyanet to cooperate with the universities for the

establishment of the programs.

Mosque education: Aiding or frustrating integration?

Lastly, chapter six addressed one of the central and most contentious questions in this

dissertation: what is the role of mosque education in the integration of children with Turkish

migrant background? In what ways could it be aiding or frustrating the integration of the

mosque students? These questions were asked to all adult participants in this PhD research

including imams, mosque teachers, experts, key stakeholders, and parents of the mosque

students (N= 75). The study started by scrutinizing how different actors define integration

and how those definitions compare to the mainstream understanding of integration in the

Dutch society. It was revealed that imams’, mosque teachers’, and parental perspectives were

dominated by a socio-economic notion of integration. That is to say, this group thought that

integration can be accomplished through Dutch language proficiency, educational success,

participation in the labor market and good relations with the native Dutch. However, a review

of the literature has shown that the current understanding of integration in the Dutch society

has changed from socio-economic participation to expectations for cultural adjustment and

assimilation (Duyvendak, 2011). This was a main point of divergence as Muslim respondents

in this study expressed the importance of being able to participate in society as practicing

Muslims, without sacrificing their Islamic lifestyle and values.

Regarding the role of mosque education in children’s integration: Two thirds of all

participants believed that mosque education has the potential to benefit the integration of the

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mosque students, 16 participants perceived mosque education as irrelevant for integration,

and 10 participants voiced concerns about the potential of mosque education to influence

children’s integration in the Dutch society negatively. Many of those who were positive about

the impact of mosque education often highlighted that the favorable effect would depend on

mosques’ efforts in this domain. In other words, a positive influence would depend on

whether mosques seek to: (1) include a vision on citizenship and integration issues in its

educational policy, and (2) employ imams and mosque teachers who are familiar not only

with the Dutch language and culture, but also with the challenges experienced by Muslim

children growing up in a Western country.

Imams, mosque teachers, and many parents believed that mosque classes already help

children’s integration by educating them to be morally responsible citizens who are tolerant

to cultural differences and abide by the rules and regulations of the society they live in.

Particularly imams also drew attention to the contribution of mosque education to integration

via its attempts to counteract youth radicalization by encouraging a moderate “Anatolian”

teaching of Islam (as opposed to the orthodox teachings of some Salafi mosques, for

example).

In contrast to imams and mosque teachers, almost half of the parents in the sample

and four other stakeholders (two academic experts, a pedagogue and a journalist) thought that

mosque education cannot play a role in the integration of their children, either because they

believed that the children did not have integration problems anymore or because they

perceived the content of the mosque classes as irrelevant.

Lastly, a group of ten respondents (including representatives of different Gülenist and

leftist Turkish migrant organizations, and municipality advisors on integration and

radicalization), were critical about the effect of mosque education on youth integration. Their

concerns were related to fears about undesirable content of the mosque classes which might

be alienating the students from the Dutch society by spreading messages of intolerance

towards the Dutch, and Turkish state propaganda which might be incompatible with the

objectives of Dutch citizenship education at schools. Particularly Diyanet has been singled

out in its attempts to keep the Turkish diaspora under control. Remarkably, some imams,

mosque teachers and parents – who thought that mosque education might aid integration -

nevertheless shared their observations about the difficulties experienced by some mosque

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students in reconciling Islamic values with liberal gender attitudes and sexual norms, and

raised their concerns about the potential of identity crisis and value confusion.

Conclusions

The results of the studies in this thesis point to the necessity to investigate the areas for

possible collaborations between mosques and schools sharing a student population. More

than a decade ago, Miedema, Ruyter and de Koning (2008) pointed out that mosques could

be a potential ally in education. Similarly, Pels, Lahri and El Madkouri (2006) have reported

on the readiness of mosques to collaborate with primary schools for pedagogical exchange

programs which would contribute to building an inclusive “pedagogy of the neighborhood”.

Yet, there are no known official cooperation initiatives at present. Possible areas for setting

up local partnerships lie in the field of pedagogical exchange, civics education, psychological

support for the youth, homework assistance programs and initiatives for parental involvement

at schools.

The results of this dissertation reveal once again the need for locally trained imams.

Setting up attractive imam training and Islamic theology programs in the Dutch universities

can be achieved by connecting better with the Islamic communities themselves. The findings

of this thesis indicate a necessity to investigate the demand and the possibility to start an

imam training at the secondary vocational level which could serve as a preparatory education

for following an Islamic theology program at the university level. The findings in this thesis

indicate that there is a need to re-establish trust with the Islamic communities with regard to

the academic programs in Islamic theology in the Netherlands. Exchange programs with

known theological departments from Muslim countries might contribute to the credibility of

future initiatives while opening up space for creating a theology of Islam with a Dutch

character.

Moreover, the results indicate that there is a need to develop standardized context-

adequate mosque education curriculum and teaching materials. Considering the ethnic and

sectarian diversity among the Islamic communities in the Netherlands, this task could be best

monitored and encouraged by official Islamic umbrella organizations such as the Contact

Organ for Muslims and the Government (CMO). Some directions for future research include

studies investigating the commonalities and differences in pedagogical approaches,

curriculum, learning goals, norms and values taught to the children in non-formal religious

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classes in Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities in the West, comparative research on

mosque education provided by other ethnic and sectarian Islamic groups in the Netherlands

and abroad, and replicating this PhD research in other non-Muslim countries in order to

obtain a better understanding of the role of contextual and sample characteristics.

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155

SAMENVATTING

Inleiding

Dit proefschrift gaat over moskee-onderwijs aan Turks-Nederlandse kinderen in Nederland.

Het is gebaseerd op een verkennend onderzoek dat als een van de eerste de rol van het

moskee-onderwijs in de integratie van moslimjongeren in een westerse context analyseert. De

focus op het onderwijs in Turkse moskeeën in Nederland is om twee redenen interessant. Ten

eerste vormen Turkse Nederlanders niet alleen de grootste islamitische gemeenschap in het

land (CBS, 2018) maar zijn ze ook meer isolationistisch dan andere

migrantengemeenschappen (Huijnk & Dagevos, 2012). Ten tweede is herhaaldelijk

geconstateerd dat Nederland het Europese land is dat de meest uitgesproken verschuivingen

heeft meegemaakt in zijn integratiebeleid: van multiculturele accommodatie van

minderheden voor 2000, naar assimilationistisch integratiebeleid daarna (Vasta, 2007;

Entzinger, 2014).

Er is nog maar weinig onderzoek gedaan naar moskee-onderwijs in niet-moslimlanden.

Dit proefschrift bouwde voornamelijk voort op het onderzoek van Cherti en Bradley (2011)

in Groot-Britannie en op het onderzoek van Pels en collega’s in Nederland (Pels, Dogan, &

El Madkouri, 2006; Pels, Lahri, & El Madkouri, 2006a; Pels, Lahri, & El Madkouri, 2006b;

Pels, Hamdi, Clooster, Day, & Lahri, 2016). Het beoogt bij te dragen aan de schaarse kennis

over moskee-onderwijs en de rol ervan in de integratie van moslimkinderen met een Turkse

migratieachtergrond, door vijf onderling samenhangende thema’s met betrekking tot

moskee-onderwijs te onderzoeken:

1. Representatie: Media-representatie heeft een grote invloed op de publieke opinie

(McCombs & Reynolds, 2002). Welk beeld krijgt het Nederlandse publiek via de

media van moskee-onderwijs? Specifiek: wat zijn de belangrijkste discoursen over

moskee-onderwijs in de Nederlandse pers? [Hoofdstuk 2]

2. Praktijk: Hoe is moskee-onderwijs in Turkse gemeenschappen georganiseerd wat

betreft het curriculum, leerdoelen, inhoud van lesmaterialen en taalbeleid? [Hoofdstuk

3]

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3. Pedagogiek: Hoe vindt lesgeven en leren plaats in Turkse moskeeklassen in

Nederland? Wat is de pedagogische aanpak van imams en moskeeleraren tijdens hun

lessen? [Hoofdstuk 4].

4. Opleiding van Nederlandse imams: In het buitenland opgeleide imams worden vaak

beschuldigd van onvermogen om verbinding te maken met de levenswereld van

moslimjongeren die opgroeien in Europa en om passende ondersteuning te bieden bij

de uitdagingen waarmee deze jongeren als moslim in een niet-moslimmaatschappij in

aanraking komen. Tegelijkertijd is er een gebrek aan in Nederland opgeleide imams.

Hoe is dit gebrek te verklaren? Wat zijn de redenen van het mislukken van de door de

overheid gefinancierde islamitische theologieprogramma’s en imamtrainingen aan

Nederlandse universiteiten? [Hoofstuk 5]

5. Rol in de integratie: Wat is de rol van het moskee-onderwijs in de integratie van de

Turks-Nederlandse jeugd volgens hun ouders, imams, moskeeleraren en belangrijkste

stakeholders? In welke opzichten zou het de integratie van de jeugd kunnen

aanmoedigen of belemmeren? [Hoofdstuk 6].

Methoden

De vijf studies in dit proefschrift zijn gebaseerd op een multidisciplinaire theoretische

benadering; ze maken gebruik van conceptualiseringen uit mediastudies,

onderwijswetenschappen, islamitische onderwijsfilosofie, politicologie, sociologie en

migratieonderzoek. De data zijn verzameld door middel van semigestructureerde interviews,

lesobservaties in moskeeën, rondtafelgesprekken met imams en moskeeleraren, een

expertmeeting over moskee-onderwijs, en etnografisch veldonderzoek. In totaal hebben 104

participanten meegedaan aan dit onderzoek, waarvan 29 moskeeleerlingen (6-14 jaar oud), 28

ouders (32-52 jaar oud), 10 imams (27-53 jaar oud), 9 moskeeleraren (19-49 jaar oud), en 28

stakeholders (25-63 jaar oud) zoals voorzitters van islamitische koepelorganisaties en Turkse

migrantenorganisaties, docenten bij de Nederlandse imamopleidingen, beleidsmedewerkers

op het gebied van integratie, polarisatie en radicalisering, journalisten, academici en

pedagogen met expertise over moslimjeugd en culturele diversiteit in het onderwijs. De

islamitische deelnemers aan de interviews waren geaffilieerd met de vier grootste Turks-

Islamitische organisaties in Nederland: Diyanet, Milli Görüş, Süleymanlıs en de Gülen-

beweging. De casestudies met lesobservaties vonden plaats in één moskee die is geaffilieerd

met Diyanet en één moskee die is geaffilieerd met Milli Görüş.

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Resultaten

Representatie in de Nederlandse pers

In het licht van de schaarste aan bestaand onderzoek naar moskee-onderwijs, begint dit

proefschrift met een onderzoek naar de representatie van moskee-onderwijs in de vijf

belangrijkste Nederlandse kranten (hoofdstuk 2). Het doel daarvan was om het bestudeerde

onderwerp te situeren in de huidige publieke en politieke debatten. In de analyses werd

gebruik gemaakt van de media frames van Van Drunen (2014). Een inhoudsanalyse van de

berichtgeving in de kranten laat zien dat moskee-onderwijs in de Nederlandse pers tussen

2010 en 2016 vooral negatief wordt geportretteerd, met een nadruk op de problematische

kanten ervan en een retoriek van vermeende dreigingen en onverenigbaarheid met moskee-

onderwijs met maatschappelijke waarden.

In de meeste gevallen zijn daarbij niet-moslims aan het woord. De stemmen van

moslimkinderen, -ouders, en verzorgers van moskee-onderwijs zijn nagenoeg afwezig. Als

het gaat over de pedagogische praktijken van de moskeeën overheersen beschuldigingen van

lijfstraffen. In sommige bijdragen wordt de pedagogiek van de moskeeklas voorgesteld als

bestaand uit het hoofd leren, indoctrinatie door imams en moskeeleraren die niet over een

adequate pedagogische opleiding beschikken, en als autoritair en op angst gebaseerd. Andere

kwesties die in de media worden benadrukt zijn het versterken van conservatieve

gendernormen en de scheiding van jongens en meisjes in moskeeklassen, religieus

extremisme en ongewenste effecten op de sociale cohesie. Er wordt gezegd dat moskee-

onderwijs de etnische segregatie vergroot, doordat moslimkinderen hierdoor in hun vrije tijd

beperkt in aanmerking komen met hun niet-moslim leeftijdsgenoten en dus ook met de

Nederlandse taal en cultuur.

Er zijn zeer weinig verwijzingen naar mogelijke positieve invloeden van het moskee-

onderwijs. Sommige daarvan betreffen de mogelijke voordelen voor de houding van

leerlingen ten opzichte van leren (bijvoorbeeld doordat ze discipline wordt bijgebracht,

waardoor ze beter presteren op school). Andere benadrukken de rol van het moskee-

onderwijs in het bieden van positieve bevestiging van de moslimidentiteit van de kinderen,

die elders negatief wordt benaderd.

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Praktijk: Wat wordt kinderen geleerd in de moskee?

Na het identificeren van de hoofdthema’s in discoursen over het moskee-onderwijs in de pers,

verschuift in het derde hoofdstuk de focus van beeldvorming naar de praktijk. Dit hoofdstuk

bevat een verkenning van het Turkse moskee-onderwijs in Nederland, met betrekking tot het

curriculum, de leerdoelen, de inhoud van het lesmateriaal en het taalbeleid. De analyses

maken gebruik van de conceptualisatie van Walker (2003) van de grondslagen van het

curriculum. Het onderzoek dat hier wordt gepresenteerd betreft de drie grootste Turkse

islamitische organisaties in Nederland (Diyanet, Milli Görüş en Süleymanlıs). Het is

gebaseerd op semigestructureerd interviews met imams (N = 10), moskeeleraren (N = 9) uit

de drie gemeenschappen, stakeholders (N = 28), 9 klasobservaties in één moskee van Diyanet

en één moskee van Milli Görüş, een expertmeeting over moskee-onderwijs met deelnemers

uit alle islamitische gemeenschappen, en twee rondetafelgesprekken met imams en

moskeeleraren van Milli Görüş en Süleymanlıs. Dit onderzoek gaf inzicht in de werkelijke

omvang van de studentenpopulatie die Turks moskee-onderwijs bijwoont, en bracht een

aantal overeenkomsten en verschillen aan het licht tussen de onderwijspraktijken van de drie

onderzochte Turkse islamitische organisaties.

Belangrijke overeenkomsten in de onderzochte moskeeën betroffen de goede fysieke

omstandigheden (identiek aan die in schoolklaslokalen), de gedeelde doelen (voornamelijk

gericht op het bijbrengen van een islamitische en Turkse identiteit), de inhoud (het

onderwijzen van het lezen van de koran, de pijlers van de islam, de basisprincipes van de

islamitische ethiek en gedragsregels, het leven van de profeet) en het hanteren van het Turks

als instructietaal en als informeel leerdoel op zichzelf. Imams en moskeeleraren ervoeren de

beperkte Turkse taalvaardigheden van de kinderen als een barrière om met hen in contact te

komen. De verschillen tussen het moskee-onderwijs van de drie islamitische

gemeenschappen bleken verband te houden met de mate van standaardisatie van het

curriculum en de beschikbaarheid van eigen lesmateriaal en handboeken die ontwikkeld zijn

voor gebruik in moskeeklassen buiten Turkije. Geconstateerd werd dat Milli Görüş meer

systematische curricula en handboeken had dan Diyanet en Süleymanlıs, waarbij de laatste

het meest flexibel was in het samenstellen van lesmateriaal door gebruik te maken van

verschillende bronnen.

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De inhoud van de leerboeken werd door sommige imams en moskeeleraren van alle

drie gemeenschappen beoordeeld als onvoldoende gericht op de vraagstukken omtrent

islamitische leven in een niet-moslimcontext. Daarnaast bleken de Diyanet-moskeeën zich

van de andere twee gemeenschappen te onderscheiden door de aanwezigheid van

curriculuminhoud gericht op Turks burgerschap (het leren van het Turkse volkslied en

lesmateriaal waarin Turkije als vaderland wordt geïdentificeerd).

Pedagogiek: Hoe vindt lesgeven en leren plaats in de Turkse moskeeklassen?

De studie die in hoofdstuk vier wordt gepresenteerd gebruikte vervolgens een etnografische

casestudy benadering om de pedagogische methoden te onderzoeken die worden beoefend in

de klaslokalen van één Diyanet- en één Milli Görüş-moskee in Nederland. Het onderzoek was

gebaseerd op negen lesobservaties in acht verschillende klassen met in totaal negentig

leerlingen. Verder vonden tien semigestructureerd interviews plaats met imams en

moskeeleraren van beide gemeenschappen. De bevindingen suggereren dat de

onderwijspraktijken in beide moskeeën zijn gebaseerd op de fundamentele islamitische

onderwijsbeginselen tarbiyah, ta'lim, ta'dib en tajweed, volgens welke zorg voor de spirituele

ontwikkeling en morele groei van het kind even belangrijk zijn als het uit het hoofd leren van

gebeden en de overdracht van religieuze kennis.

In islamitische primaire bronnen zijn ook pedagogische principes te vinden als

Relational Pedagogies, Pedagogies of Mutual Engagement, en Pedagogies of Conscious

Awareness (Alkouatli, 2018). Uit het onderzoek bleek dat deze niet allemaal in dezelfde

mate worden toegepast. Zo was aansluiten bij de individuele leerbehoeften van de leerlingen

(volgend uit het principe van gedifferentieerd leren, een Relational Pedagogy) een integraal

onderdeel van alle waargenomen koranlessen. Dit betekende dat elke leerling één-op-één

onderwijstijd kreeg toegewezen waarin de moskeeleraar of de imam de uitspraak van de

leerlingen corrigeerde en hun voortgang controleerde. In beide gemeenschappen werd ook het

principe van “samen doen” waargenomen (volgend uit de Pedagogies of Mutual

Engagement), die de onderlinge binding in de community of learners stimuleert. Voorbeelden

hiervan varieerden van het aanmoedigen van moskeestudenten om na hun moskeelessen mee

te doen aan het gemeenschappelijk gebed namaz, tot het spelen van educatieve spelletjes in

de klassen en het organiseren van sociale uitjes zoals zwemmen, voetbalwedstrijden en uitjes

naar een attractiepark met de moskeeklas. In tegenstelling tot deze pedagogische principes,

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bleken de Pedagogies of Conscious Awareness waarbij de nadruk ligt op het stellen van

kritische vragen door de leerlingen minder gewaardeerd te worden door de imams en de

moskeeleerkrachten. Deze werden ook in veel mindere mate gebruikt in de geobserveerde

lessen. Een Milli Görüş-leerkracht noemde zelfs het stellen van kritische vragen over de

islamitische kennis die in de lessen wordt aangeboden een “opgelost probleem”, waarmee hij

bedoelde dat het niet meer gebeurt.

Toch vond deze studie in beide gemeenschappen ook bewijs voor pedagogische

vernieuwing. Deze pedagogische vernieuwing was gericht op het stimuleren van

leermotivatie, discipline en het gebruik van klassenmanagementstrategieën uit het reguliere

onderwijs, en ging vergezeld van inspanningen om een vorm van pedagogische training te

bieden aan alle onderwijsvrijwilligers. De gesprekken met imams en moskeeleraren

suggereren dat alle vormen van lijfstraffen in de moskeeklassen zijn afgeschaft en worden

veroordeeld als onaanvaardbare disciplineringsmethode. Hoewel alle imams aangaven dat ze

pedagogische vorming hadden gevolgd als onderdeel van hun islamitische theologie-

opleiding, bleek de beschikbaarheid van pedagogische trainingen en interne ondersteuning

voor de moskeeleraren van Milli Görüş beter geregeld te zijn.

Dergelijke voorzieningen beïnvloedden in de ogen van de moskeeleraren zelf de

kwaliteit van het moskee-onderwijs. Ten slotte bleek ook hier dat de pedagogiek van Turkse

nationale identiteitsvorming in de Diyanet-klassen veel duidelijker aanwezig was dan in de

Milli Görüş-klassen.

Opleiden van Nederlandse imams

Hoofdstuk vijf bracht een belangrijk en relevant aspect van het moskee-onderwijs in beeld,

namelijk het gebrek aan imams die in Nederland zijn opgeleid en die bekend zijn met de

Nederlandse sociaal-politieke context en de behoeften van Nederlandse moslims. Op basis

van interviews met 38 belangrijke stakeholders (waaronder academici die Nederlandse imams

trainen, imams, moskeeleraren en voorzitters van islamitische organisaties) onderzocht deze

studie de redenen achter het mislukken van de door de overheid gefinancierde islamitische

theologieprogramma’s en imam-trainingen bij Nederlandse universiteiten. In de analyse werd

gebruik gemaakt van historische perspectieven op de ontzuiling van de Nederlandse

samenleving en visies op het Nederlandse secularisme.

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De bevindingen stellen de officiële retoriek over “scheiding van kerk en staat”, die

door zowel Turkije als Nederland wordt gehanteerd ter discussie. Hoewel beide landen zich

identificeren als institutioneel seculier, blijken religieuze kwesties een belangrijke impact te

hebben op het regeringsbeleid op het gebied van onderwijs en op het buitenlandse beleid.

Wat dat betreft vertonen ze kenmerken van “postseculier bewustzijn” (Habermas, 2008). In

het geval van Turkije komt dit tot uiting in de weigering van Diyanet (het Turkse

voorzitterschap voor religieuze zaken) om met Nederland samen te werken in lokale imam-

trainingen, omdat men bezorgd is over het verliezen van controle over de boodschappen die

in Nederlandse moskeeën worden overgedragen. In het geval van Nederland lijkt de

financiering van de islamitische theologieprogramma’s overeen te stemmen met het

grondwettelijke principe van gelijke behandeling van religieuze groeperingen. Het is echter in

feite in strijd met de ideologie van minimale inmenging van de overheid in religieuze zaken.

In tegenstelling tot islamitische basisscholen en middelbare scholen, zijn de islamitische

hoger-onderwijsprogramma’s niet alleen niet door de islamitische gemeenschappen zelf

geïnitieerd, maar waren de gemeenschappen ook nauwelijks betrokken bij hun opzet.

De studie identificeerde uiteindelijk drie belangrijke redenen voor het falen van de

Nederlandse initiatieven voor professioneel islamitisch hoger onderwijs: het gebrek aan

vertrouwen van islamitische gemeenschappen in de intenties van de Nederlandse overheid,

het gebrek aan vertrouwen in de expertise van de niet-islamitische academici die het

onderwijs aanboden, en de afwijzing van Diyanet van samenwerking met de universiteiten bij

het opzetten van de programma’s. Op grond deze redenen geef ik in dit hoofdstuk ook

aanbevelingen voor toekomstige islamitische hoger-onderwijsprogramma’s.

Moskee-onderwijs: Stimulerend of belemmerend voor integratie?

Tot slot behandelt de studie in hoofdstuk zes een van de centrale en meest controversiële

vragen in dit proefschrift: wat is de rol van de moskee-onderwijs in de integratie van de

kinderen met een Turkse migratieachtergrond? Op welke manieren kan het de integratie van

moskeeleerlingen helpen of belemmeren? Deze vragen werden in het onderzoek waarop dit

proefschrift is gebaseerd aan alle volwassen participanten gesteld (N=75), onder meer aan

imams, moskeeleraren, experts, belangrijke stakeholders, en aan de ouders van de

moskeeleerlingen. Het begrip van integratie in deze studie is gebaseerd op de

conceptualiseringen van Givens (2007) en Klarenbeek (2019).

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Om de standpunten van de deelnemers over de rol van het moskee-onderwijs beter te

kunnen begrijpen begon deze studie met de vraag wat de verschillende actoren verstaan onder

integratie en hoe die opvattingen zich verhouden tot het gangbare idee over integratie in de

Nederlandse samenleving. In de perspectieven van de imams, de moskeeleraren en ouders

stonden de sociaaleconomische aspecten van integratie centraal. Met andere woorden, deze

groep vond dat integratie bereikt kon worden door taalvaardigheid, schoolsucces, deelnemen

aan de arbeidsmarkt en het hebben van contact met Nederlanders zonder migratieachtergrond.

Het begrip van integratie in de Nederlandse samenleving is de afgelopen jaren echter

verschoven van sociaaleconomische participatie naar culturele aanpassing en assimilatie

(Duyvendak, 2011). Dit vormt een belangrijke verschil, zeker gezien het feit dat de

moslimrespondenten in deze studie het van belang vonden om te kunnen deelnemen aan de

samenleving als praktiserende moslims, zonder hun islamitische levensstijl en waarden op te

geven.

Twee derde van alle 75 deelnemers was van mening dat moskee-onderwijs de potentie

heeft om bij te dragen aan de integratie van moskeeleerlingen. Zestien deelnemers zagen die

potentie niet omdat ze moskee-onderwijs als irrelevant beschouwden voor integratie, en tien

deelnemers uitten hun bezorgdheid over het potentieel van moskee-onderwijs om een

negatieve invloed te hebben op de integratie van kinderen in de Nederlandse samenleving.

Veel van de deelnemers die positief waren over de invloed van moskee-onderwijs op

integratie, onderstreepten dat dit gunstige effect wel afhankelijk is van wat de moskee in dit

verband doet. Een integratie-ondersteunende rol veronderstelt dat de moskee: (1) beschikt

over een visie over burgerschap- en integratievraagstukken in haar onderwijsbeleid, en (2)

imams en moskeeleraren inzet die zowel bekend zijn met de Nederlandse taal en cultuur als

met de uitdagingen waarmee moslimjongeren geconfronteerd worden bij het opgroeien in een

westers land.

Imams, moskeeleraren, en veel ouders waren ervan overtuigd dat moskeeklassen de

integratie van kinderen bevorderen doordat ze hen leren moreel verantwoordelijke burgers te

zijn die culturele verschillen tolereren en de regels en voorschriften van de samenleving

waarin ze leven respecteren. Met name de imams benadrukten ook de bijdrage van moskee-

onderwijs aan integratie door hun inspanningen om radicalisering van jongeren tegen te gaan

door de leer van de gematigde “Anatolische” islam te promoten (in tegenstelling tot

bijvoorbeeld de orthodoxe leerstellingen van salafistische moskeeën).

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In tegenstelling tot de imams en moskeeleraren, was bijna de helft van de ouders in de

steekproef en vier andere stakeholders (twee academici, een pedagoge en een journalist) van

mening dat moskee-onderwijs geen rol kan spelen in de integratie van kinderen, omdat ze

dachten dat kinderen geen integratieproblemen meer hebben of omdat ze de inhoud van de

moskeelessen irrelevant vonden voor integratie.

Tot slot was een groep van tien deelnemers (waaronder vertegenwoordigers van de

verschillende Gülenistische en linkse Turkse migrantenorganisaties, en gemeente-adviseurs

op het gebied van integratie en radicalisering) kritisch over de rol van het moskee-onderwijs

in de integratie van jongeren. De voornaamste zorgen betroffen mogelijk onwenselijk inhoud

van moskeelessen; boodschappen die leerlingen zouden kunnen vervreemden van de

Nederlandse samenleving, door intolerantie jegens Nederlanders aan te moedigen, en Turkse

staatspropaganda te verspreiden die tegenstrijdig zou kunnen zijn met de doelen van het

burgerschapsonderwijs op scholen. Vooral Diyanet is vaak bekritiseerd vanwege zijn

pogingen om de Turkse diaspora onder controle te houden. Het is opmerkelijk dat sommige

imams, moskeeleraren en ouders die vonden dat moskee-onderwijs integratie zou kunnen

bevorderen, toch signaleerden dat sommige moskeeleerlingen uitdagingen ondervinden bij

het verzoenen van islamitische waarden met een liberale houding ten opzichte van gender en

seksuele normen. Ook uitten ze bezorgdheid over een mogelijke identiteitscrisis en

verwarring over deze waarden bij jongeren.

Conclusies

De bevindingen van de studies in dit proefschrift onderstrepen de noodzaak om de

mogelijkheden te onderzoeken voor samenwerking tussen moskeeën en de scholen die een

zelfde leerlingenpopulatie delen. Miede, Ruyter en de Koning (2008) wezen langer dan tien

jaar geleden op het onbenutte potentieel van de moskee als partner bij onderwijsinitiatieven.

Ook Pels, Lahri en El Madkouri (2006) hebben bereidheid van moskeeën gerapporteerd om

samen te werken met basisscholen in pedagogische uitwisselingsprogramma’s die een opstap

kunnen vormen voor een inclusieve “pedagogiek in de wijk”. Er zijn momenteel echter geen

samenwerkingspogingen bekend. Mogelijke gebieden voor het aangaan van lokale

partnerschappen liggen op het vlak van pedagogische uitwisseling, burgerschapsvorming,

psychologische ondersteuning van de jeugd, huiswerkbegeleidingsprogramma’s en

initiatieven voor ouderbetrokkenheid op scholen.

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Verder benadrukken de bevindingen van dit proefschrift de behoefte aan lokaal

opgeleide imams. Het opzetten van aantrekkelijke imamopleidingen en islamitische

theologieprogramma’s aan de Nederlandse universiteiten kan worden bereikt door een betere

band te creëren met de islamitische gemeenschappen en door de mogelijkheid te verkennen

om een opleiding tot islamitisch pastoraal werker in het mbo te starten die voorbereidend kan

zijn voor een vervolgstudie tot imam/islamitisch geestelijk verzorger op hbo-niveau, of

islamitisch theoloog op universitair niveau. De bevindingen in dit proefschrift geven aan dat

er behoefte is aan herstel van vertrouwen van islamitische gemeenschappen met betrekking

tot de academische opleidingen op het gebied van islamitische theologie in Nederland.

Hierbij kunnen uitwisselingsprogramma’s met bekende theologische afdelingen uit

moslimlanden bijdragen aan de geloofwaardigheid van de toekomstige initiatieven, en

tegelijkertijd kunnen ze ruimte creëren voor het ontwikkelen van een theologie van de islam

met een uitgesproken Nederlandse basis.

Tot slot wijzen de bevindingen van dit proefschrift op de noodzaak om een

gestandaardiseerd, context-adequaat curriculum en lesmateriaal te ontwikkelen voor

moskeeën. Met inachtneming van de etnische en sektarische diversiteit onder de islamitische

gemeenschappen in Nederland, zou deze taak het beste gemonitord en gestimuleerd kunnen

worden door de officiële islamitische koepelorganisaties, zoals het Contactorgaan Moslims

en Overheid (CMO).

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LIST OF PUBLICATIONS

Publications included in the manuscript

Chapter 2 is based on:

Sözeri, S., Hülya Kosar-Altinyelken, H. & Volman, M. (2019). Mapping discourses

on mosque education in the Netherlands: a content analysis of the

Dutch press, 2010–2016. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 40

(3), 358-371.

Semiha Sözeri reviewed the literature, collected and analyzed data, and wrote the different

versions of the manuscript. The research team further comprised of Hülya Kosar Altinyelken

and Monique Volman who were the PhD supervisors of Semiha Sözeri. The research team

collaboratively conceptualized and designed the study. The supervisors monitored the

analyses and interpretation of the data, and contributed to reviews and revisions of the

manuscript.

Chapter 3 is based on:

Sözeri, S. & Altinyelken, H. K. (2019). What are children being taught in the

mosque? Turkish mosque education in the Netherlands. Learning, Culture and Social

Interaction 22, 1-13.

Semiha Sözeri reviewed the literature, collected and analyzed data, and wrote the different

versions of the manuscript. The research team further comprised of Hülya Kosar Altinyelken

who was one of the PhD supervisors of Semiha Sözeri. The research team collaboratively

conceptualized and designed the study. The supervisor monitored the analyses and

interpretation of the data, and contributed to reviews and revisions of the manuscript.

Chapter 4 is based on:

Sözeri, S., Altinyelken, H. K., & Volman, M. (Submitted). Pedagogies of Turkish

mosque education in the Netherlands: An ethno-case study of mosque classes at Milli

Görüş and Diyanet. Journal of Muslims in Europe.

Semiha Sözeri reviewed the literature, collected and analyzed data, and wrote the different

versions of the manuscript. The research team further comprised of Hülya Kosar Altinyelken

and Monique Volman who were the PhD supervisors of Semiha Sözeri. The research team

166

collaboratively conceptualized and designed the study. The supervisors monitored the

analyses and interpretation of the data, and contributed to reviews and revisions of the

manuscript.

Chapter 5 is based on:

Sözeri, S., Altinyelken, H. K., & Volman, M. (2019). Training imams in the

Netherlands: the failure of a post-secular endeavor. British Journal of Religious

Education, 41(4), 435-445.

Semiha Sözeri reviewed the literature, collected and analyzed data, and wrote the different

versions of the manuscript. The research team further comprised of Hülya Kosar Altinyelken

and Monique Volman who were the PhD supervisors of Semiha Sözeri. The research team

collaboratively conceptualized and designed the study. The supervisors monitored the

analyses and interpretation of the data, and contributed to reviews and revisions of the

manuscript.

Chapter 6 is based on:

Sözeri, S., Altinyelken, H. K., & Volman, M. (Submitted). Turkish mosque education

in the Netherlands: Aiding or frustrating integration? Ethnic and Racial Studies.

Semiha Sözeri reviewed the literature, collected and analyzed data, and wrote the different

versions of the manuscript. The research team further comprised of Hülya Kosar Altinyelken

and Monique Volman who were the PhD supervisors of Semiha Sözeri. The research team

collaboratively conceptualized and designed the study. The supervisors monitored the

analyses and interpretation of the data, and contributed to reviews and revisions of the

manuscript.

Additional publications not included in the manuscript

Altinyelken, H. K., & Sözeri, S. (2019). Importing mosque pedagogy from Turkey: an

analysis of contextual factors shaping re-contextualisation processes in the

Netherlands. Comparative Education, 55(1), 47-65.

Semiha Sözeri reviewed literature, collected and analyzed data, and contributed to the writing

of the methods and conclusion sections. Hülya Kosar Altinyelken conceptualized and

167

designed the study, reviewed literature, analyzed data, and wrote different versions of the

manuscript.

Öztürk, A. E., & Sözeri, S. (2018). Diyanet as a Turkish foreign policy tool: Evidence

from the Netherlands and Bulgaria. Politics and Religion, 11(3), 624-648.

Semiha Sözeri reviewed literature, collected and analyzed data, and wrote the methods

section, findings from the Netherlands, and conclusion sections. Ahmet Erdi Öztürk reviewed

literature, collected and analyzed data, and wrote the introduction, the theory section, and the

section on findings from Bulgaria. The authors collaboratively designed and conceptualized

the study, and collaboratively drafted revised versions of the manuscript.

Altinyelken, H. K. & Sözeri, S.Y. (2018). Assumptions and implications of adopting

educational ideas from the West: - The case of student-centered pedagogy in Turkey.

In Gerald K. LeTendre & Motoko Akiba (Eds.), International Handbook of Teacher

Quality and Policy (pp. 255-270) (16 p.). New York: Routledge.

Semiha Sözeri contributed to the literature review and conclusion section of the study. Hülya

Kosar Altinyelken conceptualized and designed the study, reviewed literature, collected and

analyzed data, and wrote different versions of the manuscript.

Sözeri, S., Altinyelken, H. K., & Volman, M. (2021). “Of course, I am Dutch!”:

Turkish mosque students negotiating identities and belonging in the Netherlands.

Manuscript in preparation.

Semiha Sözeri reviewed the literature, collected and analyzed data, and wrote the different

versions of the manuscript. The research team further comprised of Hülya Kosar Altinyelken

and Monique Volman who were the PhD supervisors of Semiha Sözeri. The research team

collaboratively conceptualized and designed the study. The supervisors monitored the

analyses and interpretation of the data, and contributed to reviews and revisions of the

manuscript.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Semiha Sözeri (1984) was born in Momchilgrad, Bulgaria, in a Bulgarian-Turkish family of

teachers, and grew up in cities with high concentration of ethnic Turkish minority. The first

years of her childhood (1984-1990) coincided with the forced assimilation campaign of the

Bulgarian communist regime against the Turkish minority in the country, which included ban

on using Turkish language in public, forced change of Turkish names with Bulgarian ones,

and forced migration of Bulgarian Turks to Turkey. After graduating from high-school in

Asenovgrad, Bulgaria, Semiha moved to Turkey, where she completed a bachelor’s degree in

Political Science and International Relations (with High Honors) at the English-teaching

Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. During her bachelor’s degree, she developed an interest in

the study of migration, immigrant integration and cultural identity. In her last year, she was a

student assistant for the course Politics of Nationalism and Identity, independently organizing

the discussion sessions accompanying the lectures. Along her bachelor studies, Semiha

worked as a volunteer at the Refugee Support program of Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly in

Istanbul, assisting asylum seekers with practical and legal matters.

Her personal experiences with migration and identity negotiation, combined with her

research interests brought her to the Netherlands where she received a Research Master’s

degree in Migration, Ethnic Relations and Multiculturalism at Utrecht University. Her master

thesis examined the link between media exposure, exclusionary reactions to immigrants and

far-right voting in the Netherlands. After finishing her master’s degree, Semiha worked as a

research assistant at Vrije University Amsterdam and Erasmus University Rotterdam in

various projects focusing on the integration of Turkish immigrants in the Netherlands. In

2016, she started her PhD degree at the Research Institute for Child Development and

Education under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Monique Volman and Dr. Hülya Kosar

Altinyelken. After finishing her dissertation in 2020, Semiha started working as an assistant

professor in the research group Development and Education of Youth in Diverse Societies, at

the department of Education & Pedagogy at Utrecht University. She continues studying

issues of cultural diversity and learning, with particular focus on interventions countering

polarization in education, and educational cooperation initiatives between mosques, schools

and youth care institutions sharing a student population in multiethnic neighborhoods.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This dissertation would not have been possible without the support and guidance of many

people. I would like to begin with expressing my gratitude to my supervisors, Prof. Dr.

Monique Volman and Dr. Hülya Kosar Altinyelken. Both of them have been a great source of

inspiration, motivation and intellectual stimulation. From the very start of my project, I felt

very lucky to have not only strong and successful but also kind and compassionate academic

women as my role-models. Thank you for challenging me to do my best, and for lifting me

up whenever I needed encouragement. I have spent many hours working and talking with

Hülya: we travelled together to conferences, organized seminars and lectures, and shared

field trips. I am deeply grateful for the professional lessons I learnt from her. Hülya has been

more than a mentor: I cannot thank her enough for her friendship in the best and worst of

times.

I would like to acknowledge that this dissertation would not have been possible

without the trust of the imams, mosque teachers, key stakeholders, parents and mosque

students who agreed to participate in the research. I am particularly grateful for the guidance

of a number of people whose assistance in accessing the field has been of crucial importance:

Raşit Bal, Marianne Voorthoren, Adeviye Temel, and Doğukan Ergin. I am also grateful to a

number of academics who in the initial stages of my research offered advice and shared their

experience in doing research with the Islamic communities and Turkish organizations in the

Netherlands: Prof. Dr. Thijl Sunier (Vrije University Amsterdam), Dr. Martijn de Koning

(Radboud University Nijmegen), Dr. Anja van Heelsum (University of Amsterdam), and Dr.

Floris Vermeulen (University of Amsterdam). I also would like to thank my dear friend and

colleague Dr. Ahmet Erdi Öztürk (London Metropolitan University) with whom we

collaborated on an internationally comparative study of Diyanet which became the most

downloaded paper in the journal it was published that year (Politics and Religion, 2018). The

academic exchanges with Erdi have been very stimulating and insightful.

I also want to thank my colleagues at the Department of Child Development and

Education, at University of Amsterdam, for sharing knowledge, experiences, encouragement,

articles, books, lunches and coffee in the years we worked together: Monique Verhoeven,

Çisem Gürel, Lucija Andre, Mark Schep, Marloes Schrijvers, Jan Baan, Malin Grundel,

Janneke de Ruiter, Sevinç Gökşen-Zayim, Rianne Bosman, Loes Bazen, Alexander Krepel,

Anke Muniksma, and Joost Jansen in de Wal. I am particularly grateful to my roommate and

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friend Ceren Abacıoğlu: without her colorful and energetic personality my time at the campus

would not have been the same. Besides, I would like to thank Dr. Els Kuiper with whom I

shared a room: her work ethic and dedication have been inspiring, and I learnt a lot about the

Dutch education system from her. Els was the colleague with whom I felt most at ease in

practicing my Dutch without being afraid to make mistakes.

Then I want to acknowledge that I am grateful for the academic exchanges and

friendships which I had with my colleagues in two peer-feedback groups in the department.

The comments by colleagues from Hülya’s PhD peer-review group: Marielle le Mat, Natalie

Browes, Lina Jiang, and Hester van de Kuilen, have contributed to improvements in the

manuscript of Chapter 3. Likewise, comments by colleagues from Prof. Dr. Anne Bert

Dijkstra’s citizenship study group: Frank Wanders, Remmert Daas, Işıl Sincer, Willemijn

Rinnooy Kan, Ellen Geboers, and Anne van Goethem, contributed to improvements in the

manuscript of Chapter 5. In addition, I would like to thank a number of research assistants

who helped me with transcribing the voice records of the interviews I conducted for this

project: Özenç Demirkan, Demet Varlı, Fatima Güveli and Sinem Gülveren.

I would like to express my gratitude to my doctoral committee members, Prof.

Dr.Trees Pels, Prof. Dr. Mariëtte de Haan, Prof. Dr. Thijl Sunier, Prof. Dr. Jan Willem

Duyvendak, Prof. Dr. Anne Bert Dijkstra, and Dr. Jaap Schuitema, for their valuable time in

evaluating my dissertation.

Last but not least, I am deeply grateful to my friends and family for their unceasing

support throughout the years. My friends Zeyda, Evşen, Özden, Duygu, Sevil, Figen,

Bedriye, Michel and Özgür have provided words of cheer, comfort and encouragement

whenever I needed them most. I am indebted to my parents Sevdie and Yılmaz, for their life

lessons and confidence in me since my early childhood. Likewise, I always felt the support of

my brother Ahmed and my sister-in-law Ceren. I also would like to thank my parents-in-law,

Elif and Mustafa, who supported me with childcare when I needed to go back to work after

maternity leave, and whenever I attended a conference abroad. Doing a PhD as a mother of

two young children has been a challenge and a joy: I am grateful to Emir Minas and Leyla

who have taught me to manage my time well so that I still have time to play with them and

explore the world together. All this would not have been possible without my husband, best

friend, and co-pilot in life: Efe, who took a lion’s share of childcare on his arms from the start

of my PhD study. Thank you for supporting my ambitions, providing reassurance, feedback

and intellectual stimulation. Your love, care and faith in me are priceless.

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This dissertation presents research on mosque education followed by school-aged Dutch-Turkish children in the Netherlands. It investigates the press portrayal and actual practice (organization, curriculum, learning goals, and pedagogies) of education in the Turkish mosque classrooms. Special attention is paid to the reasons behind the failure of Dutch imam trainings. The relevance of mosque education to the lives of Muslim children growing up in the Netherlands is one of the central questions addressed by this research. It compares and contrasts the definitions of integration of the relevant actors: parents, imams, mosque teachers and key stakeholders, and their differing perspectives on the role played by mosque education in the integration of the Turkish-Dutch youth. Implications of the findings and recommendations for policy and practice are discussed.

About the author: Semiha Sözeri completed her doctorate research at the Department of Child Development & Education at the University of Amsterdam. She continues studying issues of cultural diversity and learning with a focus on prevention of polarization in education, as Assistant Professor of Development & Education in Diverse Societies at Utrecht University.