Reporting on the Rituals of Islam: Changing Televisual Narratives on Integration and National Belonging of Muslim Immigrants

This article delves into the history of Dutch television representation of Muslim immigrants and traces the coverage of Islamic rituals over five decades. Since the arrival of Turkish and Moroccan ‘guest workers’ in the 1960s, these rituals have sparked discussions about the place of Islam in Dutch society. Ever since, Dutch television has exhibited a fascination for Islamic rituals, in particular for the two major Islamic celebrations – the Festival of Breaking the Fast and the Festival of the Sacrifice and the (related) rituals of Ramadan and halal slaughter. Studying the coverage of Islamic rituals over time reveals the evolving televisual narratives on national belonging and integration of Muslim immigrants. Finally, the article argues that in this historical process of representation, television has shaped two competing stereotypes: the well-integrated, domesticated Muslim deserving of ‘our’ hospitality and the maladjusted, fearsome Muslim undeserving of it.