How Can Islamic Primary Schools Contribute to Social Integration?

Abstract

The first Islamic primary schools were established in the Netherlands in 1988. Since then, the schools have regularly come under fire. Critics fear that religious segregation hinders the social integration of children. In contrast, this article shows, based on the results of my previous research, how Islamic schools can contribute to the reciprocal process of social integration in the Dutch plural society.

Keywords

• Islam
• social cohesion
• Islamic school
• primary education
• identity
• diversity