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>> 115 4 Adjusting Secular Politics As they talk about us, they try to berate us We’ve done nothing to them—still they hate us As they talk about us, it’s insults they shout It’s time this changes so you better watch out ~the Rapper “Raymtzer,” Kut Marokkanen (Fuckin’ Moroccans) In the Netherlands, the younger generation expresses itself through rap and hip-hop. These musical genres were taken from America and adapted in Dutch to express the rappers’ protest against uniquely European political realities. While the most famous exponents of rap sing in Dutch, they are members of ethnic minorities with Moroccan Dutch men at the forefront. In the troubled multicultural Netherlands, music is one arena in which members of the Arab and Berber minority gain admiration. A whole generation hears in them its own voice, as Bob Dylan observed when rap first emerged: “These guys definitely weren’t standing around bullshitting. There were beating drums, tearing it up, hurling horses over cliffs. They were all poets and knew what was going on. . . . The audiences would go that way, and I couldn’t blame them.”1 The Moroccan Dutch rapper Raymtzer, quoted above, speaks as a member of an embittered minority.2 His verses complain of being excluded, yet in song he speaks back to the powers that be. The refrain 116 > 117 especially the conflict between national law and the Islamic shari‘a with regard to their status. The interviews come from the Netherlands and illustrate how activist politics works in the ideologically secular democracies of Europe. The Netherlands shares a tradition of secularism with France, Germany, and other continental European nations that were deeply affected by the French Revolution and Napoleonic rule. In these nations, secularism means ardent opposition to any religious practice entering the public sphere of government, education, and civic ethics. This environment creates opportunities for gay, lesbian, and transgender Muslim activists to appeal to secular legal norms, but it also creates deep obstacles for members of ethnic and religious minorities to “integrate ” into the secular life of the nation.4 Omar: Balance between Desire and Discernment Omar Nahas immigrated to the Netherlands from Syria when he was twenty-five and pursued his higher education at Dutch universities. He is a scholar, writer, and media activist who founded the Yoesuf Foundation .5 The foundation is an education center about Islam and social issues with a program in the field of “Islam and Sexuality Diversity.”6 In addition to this field, it administers programs in “Islam and the Position of Women” and “Islam and Youth.” To promote public dialogue in these three fields, the foundation leads workshops, organizes conferences , and publishes books and pamphlets throughout the Benelux region (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxemburg). The Yoesuf Foundation intended to spread information about Islam and spark discussion through publishing and consciousness-raising workshops. Omar has published three books (first in Arabic and subsequently in Dutch) based upon the Islamic research of the foundation. The best way to introduce Omar is to document his involvement in the “El-Moumni Affair” of 2003, a political drama that tossed Muslims, secularists, and gay rights activists into a confusing debate. To understand the importance of the “El-Moumni Affair” we can return to the verses of Raymtzer. The Moroccan rapper, as well as the younger generation for whom he speaks, is increasingly aware that he is seen not just as “Moroccan” but as Muslim, especially since the September 11, 2001 assault and the similar attacks across Europe. The markers 118 > 119 treated as a contagious sickness. This statement raised a storm of protest in the Netherlands. Many Dutch heard this as “hate speech” against homosexual citizens who are protected by law and social consensus. They saw it as justifying violent attacks against homosexuals which had been on the rise in recent years and were often blamed on “young Moroccan men” on the street.8 Young Muslims in the Netherlands supported Imam el-Moumni, hearing him defend them against entrenched racism against immigrants and Islamophobia. Many Muslims insist they can integrate into a democratic Netherlands without giving up their religious convictions or customs . However, many Dutch are fearful that Islam itself is homophobic and misogynistic and that it prevents Muslims—even those born in the Netherlands—from integrating into a liberal democracy. In this polarized environment, the voices of gay, lesbian, and transgender Muslims from the minority population were drowned out, but Omar Nahas entered the controversy. In the Netherlands, rightist politicians...

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