Between 2010 and 2024 in the Netherlands, the percentage of people who do not identify with any religion increased from 45 percent to 56 percent. The largest religious group in 2024 was the Roman Catholic group, with 17 percent of Dutch people identifying as Roman Catholic. In 2024, 14 percent of the Dutch population considered themselves a member of the three main protestant churches, the Dutch Reformed Church, the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, and the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands. The percentage of people who identify as Muslim has remained the same at five percent over the years. Do the people who identify with a religion always participate? The percentage of people in the Netherlands who participate in a religion is not necessarily the same as that of people who identify with a religion. The most prominent religious group, the Roman Catholics, only saw a participation of three percent, the same as those identifying with the Protestant Church, despite only six percent identifying with that denomination. The highest participation rate is in the group 'other' with four percent, despite only 10 percent identifying in those religions. It shows, therefore, that some religions see significantly higher participation rates despite a lower percentage identifying with it. Does the percentage of Muslims in the Netherlands align with the perceived percentage of Muslims? In 2018, the Dutch population believed that 20 percent of the population was Muslim, even though only five percent were Muslim. This overestimation of the Muslim population is in line with the rest of Europe. Germany, for example, predicted a Muslim population of 21 percent while the actual Muslim population was four percent. In Belgium, residents believed that 27 percent of the population was Muslim, while in reality, it was only five percent.

The statistic displays the results of a survey conducted by Ipsos of the perceived and actual Muslim population share in the Netherlands and Belgium in 2018. The survey results show that as of 2018, there was a significant gap between the public perception and actual share of the population who were Muslim in the Netherlands and in Belgium.

Survey respondents in the Netherlands estimated that one fifth of the population were Muslim, whereas this figure increased to over 25 percent among Belgian survey participants. In reality, just five percent of the population in the Netherlands and in Belgium was Muslim in 2018.

This statistic displays the opinions on Muslims in own country supporting violent extremist groups in the Netherlands in 2017. Roughly 20 percent of the respondents participating in this survey answered they believe all/most/many Muslims in the Netherlands support violent extremist groups. On the other hand, over 30 percent also stated they believed very few or none do.

The Netherlands: Shia Muslims as percent of the total population: The latest value from is percent, unavailable from percent in . In comparison, the world average is 0.0 percent, based on data from countries. Historically, the average for the Netherlands from to is percent. The minimum value, percent, was reached in while the maximum of percent was recorded in .

In 2023 roughly half of the Dutch population did not identify with any religious denomination. Of the religious population, the largest number of people at 17 percent identified themselves as Roman Catholics. That is particularly interesting, as the dominating church in the Netherlands since the Reformation had been the Protestant church. According to the source, approximately 13 percent of the Dutch population considered themselves a member of the three main protestant churches, the Dutch Reformed Church, the Protestant Church in the Netherlands and the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands. The category 'other' includes not only the smaller protestant churches, but also religions that are newer to the Netherlands, such as Buddhism and Hinduism. According to this statistic, Muslims made up six percent of the population in the Netherlands.

This statistic displays the estimated and forecasted Muslim population share in the Netherlands and Belgium in 2020. In Belgium, respondents on average guessed that 32 out of every 100 people in Belgium would be Muslims in 2010.

The Muslim Identity survey (MI-ID) aims to map the diversity in individuals, groups and experiences among young 1.5 to 3rd generation migrants in the Netherlands who identify as Muslim. Crucially, there is currently no (Dutch) survey which includes a migrant group big enough to properly investigate these processes among Muslim migrants. It is the aim of this project to collect data among Muslim migrant groups and investigate their integration and disintegration processes within the Netherlands. A crucial novel element is the particular focus and inclusion of an ‘experimental treatment with societal hostility’. Based on the MI-ID data collection, important scientific questions on the role of religion, hostility and cultural and political integration can be answered.
The data file includes adult Muslims between 18 and 45 years of age, roughly Generation Y and Z. In terms of migration history, the data include respondents from generation 1.5 (younger than 13 upon arrival) through generation 3 (at least one grandparent with a migration background). Moreover, only respondents with Moroccan and/or Turkish roots were included. Respondent needed to fulfill each of the three criterions mentioned above to be included in the final MI-ID dataset.

This is the data gathered in the Netherlands for the PhD dissertation of Sanne van Oosten: Minority Voting and Representation, The impact of religion, migration background and gender on voter preferences for in- and out-group politicians in France, Germany and the Netherlands (2024). It includes sections on the survey questions used, the sampling strategy implemented, pre-registration details, and ethical review documentation. The data provides valuable insights into political attitudes, voting intentions, identification with ethnic and religious groups, feelings of national belonging, and perceived discrimination. We invite everyone to use this data for their own research. Harvard Dataverse has a very similar dataset available for Germany and France as well.

The research objective of this survey was to get insight in the origins of Islamophobia.
The survey was held among 581 non-Islamic boys and girls, between 14 and 16 years, from 33 third year secondary school classes of 11 schools in the Netherlands.

The statistic displays the number of registered cases of discrimination against Muslims in the Netherlands from 2015 to 2022. In 2015, there were approximately 440 registered cases of discrimination against Muslims in the Netherlands, whereas by 2022, the number of registered cases of religious discrimination against Muslims had lowered to 230 cases.

The aim of the EURISLAM research project is to provide a systematic analysis of cross-national differences and similarities in countries’ approaches to the cultural integration of immigrants in general and Muslims in particular. The countries studied in the research project are Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The core research question can be formulated as follows: ‘How have different traditions of national identity, citizenship and church-state relations affected European immigration countries’ incorporation of Islam, and what are the consequences of these approaches for patterns of cultural distance and interaction between Muslim immigrants and their descendants, and the receiving society?’ In order to answer this question, policy differences are related to cross-national variation in cultural distance and interaction between Muslims and the receiving society population. Three more specific research questions have been designed which are the focus in 7 different Work packages of the EURISLAM research project. The different methodologies used in the Work packages are later combined in the research project, allowing for a triangulation of research findings and a combination of quantitative and qualitative insights.

In Work package 3 of the EURISLAM project a survey questionnaire has been developed which enabled a study of the individual characteristics of Muslim immigrants. This survey is designed to answer one of the three specific research questions used in this project: ‘To what extent do we find differences across immigration countries in cultural distance and patterns of interaction between various Muslim immigrant groups and the receiving society population?’ On the one hand, we focussed on attitudes, norms, and values, particularly those relating to democratic norms, gender relations and family values, ethnic, religious, and receiving society identification, and attitudes towards relations across ethnic and religious boundaries. On the other hand, the study looked at cultural and religious resources and practices, such as language proficiency, adherence to various religious practices (e.g., attendance of religious services or wearing of a headscarf), interethnic and interreligious partnerships and marriages, the frequency and quality of interethnic and interreligious relationships with neighbours, friends, and colleagues, and memberships in social and political organisations of the own ethnic and religious group as well as of the receiving society. Both types of questions have been asked – of course where relevant in an adapted format – with regard to members of the dominant ethnic group of the receiving society, because, obviously, cultural distance and interactions are determined by the perceptions, attitude, and practices at both ends of the relationship. All these variables were gathered by way of a survey in each of the countries of a number of selected Muslim immigrant groups, as well as a sample of receiving society ethnics. The data of this survey is now published together with a Codebook.

In the revised edition of the codebook new information is added on the religion group variables in Block 3. In retrospect ambiguity appeared in the survey questionnaire specifically in the religion questions which (may) imply missing values for respondents of the ‘Atheist/agnostic/Do not belong to any denomination’ religious faith denomination group. These missing values may lead to distortions when using variables of the religion group. More details on this issue can be found on page 16 (3.2 Information on religion variables) of the revised codebook.

Specific information on the project duration has been added on page 8 (1.3 Project Duration) of the revised codebook.

The EURISLAM Dataset Survey-data published on October 6, 2015 has not been revised.

This statistic displays the results of a survey of opinions regarding the impact of Islam in the Netherlands in 2018. The survey results suggest that as of 2018, a large share of the Dutch population perceived Islam as a threat. Over 60 percent of people surveyed in 2018 indicated that they saw Islam as threatening to the Netherlands, while the share of people who thought that Islam strengthened the Netherlands was just five percent.

This Thematic Collection contains links to the datasets of the Stichting Arab-West Foundation (AWF), in The Netherlands in close cooperation with the Center for Intercultural Dialogue and Translation (CIDT). These datasets cover the period 1994-2016. The data consists of the reporting of Dutch sociologist Cornelis Hulsman, reporting supervised by him, full-transcript interviews, audio recordings and summaries of these audio recordings.

The Arab-West Foundation was established in 2005 to support the work of Cornelis Hulsman and his wife Eng. Sawsan Gabra Ayoub Hulsman-Khalil in Egypt. Cornelis Hulsman left The Netherlands for Egypt in October 1994. Sawsan Hulsman followed suit in 1995. They focused primarily on the study of Muslim-Christian relations and the role of religion in society in Egypt and neighboring countries, while obtaining their income from journalism.

The purpose of this work was to foster greater understanding between Muslims and Christians in Egypt and to show non-Egyptians that relations between the two faiths in Egypt cannot be described in reductive black and white terms, rather they are diverse and complicated. Working towards mutual understanding of different cultures and beliefs helps to reduce tensions and conflicts. Too often, parties present themselves as the victim of the other which results in biased reporting. Sometimes this is done deliberately to gain support. What is lacking in cases like this, is an in-depth understanding of the wider context in which narratives of victimization occur. Hulsman found several patterns that are key to understanding Muslim-Christian relations in Egypt such as
- the impact of a culture of honor and shame and
- aversion in traditional areas for visible changes in public (which includes church buildings and making one’s conversion to another religion public).

The datasets also include material on the place of Islamists in society, as well as wider information about Egyptian society since this is the context in which religious numerical minorities in Egypt live (the term minority is widely rejected in Egypt since all Egyptians, regardless of religion, are one. But in terms of numbers Christians are a minority).

It was Hulsman’s ambition to obtain a PhD but the challenges of making a living in Egypt prevented him from accomplishing this goal. Up until the year 2001, Cornelis only had an income from traditional media reporting. After 2004 he became largely dependent upon working with Kerk in Actie (Netherlands), Missio and Misereor (Germany).

Hulsman was dedicated towards non-partisan Muslim-Christian understanding. This began starting with a large number of recorded interviews, followed by research into why so many Christian girls convert to Islam (1995-1996). This work in turn led to the creation of an electronic newsletter called Religious News Service from the Arab World (RNSAW) and a growing number of investigative reports. In 2003 the RNSAW was renamed Arab-West Report. In 2004 they attempted to establish an Egyptian NGO but since no answer was obtained from authorities, the procedure was taken to the Council of State who ruled in 2006 that the request for NGO status was valid. This in turn resulted in a formal registration of the NGO with the Ministry of Social Solidarity in 2007. Because the outcome of this process was insecure in 2005 the Hulsmans established the Center for Intercultural Dialogue and Translation (CIDT) . CIDT was established as a tawsiya basita (sole proprietorship) on the name of Sawsan Gabra Ayoub Khalil since it was extremely complicated to do this on the name of a non-Egyptian. In the same year friends of the Hulsman family established the Arab-West Foundation (AWF). CIDT tawsiya basita was closed in 2012. A new company was established under the same name but now as limited liability company and again it was not possible for Cornelis Hulsman to become a partner.

As a consequence the Hulsmans have been working since 2005 with an Egyptian company and a Dutch support NGO. Since 2007 they have also been working with an Egyptian NGO. This was important, since Egyptian law prohibits companies from receiving donations and carrying out not-for-profit work. NGOs, on the other hand, need to request permissions from the Ministry of Social Solidarity for each donation they receive. Such permissions are hard to obtain.

CIDT functions as a thinktank with funding from Kerk in Actie (Netherlands), Missio and Misereor (Germany) and at times projects with other organizations. CIDT produces the electronic newsletter Arab-West Report and has built the Arab West Report Database based on these data. Publication of this data is accomplished through the Arab-West Foundation since it turned out to be extremely hard to register Arab-West Report in Egypt. CAWU became the prime organization hosting student interns from Egypt and countries all over the world, which was possible since CAWU does...

This data set is part of the following publication:Jetten, M. (2018). Knowledge of interaction styles and dimensions of interpretation in interreligious adult education. An empirical study of the effects of a hermeneutic-communicative curriculum. Radboud University. Münster: LIT Verlag.This book reports on an evaluation study of a curriculum on interreligious dialogue among Christian and Muslims adults in the Netherlands. It was organized as a PhD-project between 2007 and 2013 at the Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies of Radboud University, financed by Stichting Nieuwegen.The primary aim of this research is to explain the contribution of a curriculum to knowledge of interaction styles and hermeneutic distinctions that are used to express and interpret the views on religious phenomena of adherents from different religious traditions. We consider knowledge of communication and interpretation conditional for mutual understanding between adherents of different religious traditions. We refer to this as hermeneutic-communicative learning. The focus of this dissertation is not solely religious phenomena, but the way that participants express and interpret these phenomena. Hence, the research goal of this study is: explaining the contribution of a hermeneutic-communicative curriculum using the method of mediated learning to the acquisition of knowledge of interaction styles and dimensions for interpreting religious phenomena.This study uses a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test, based on two non-equivalent groups (“untreated non-equivalent control group design with pre-test and post-test”, Cook & Campbell 1979, 103-129). To study the effects of participation in our curriculum, we distinguish two research groups, an experimental group that participates in the intervention, and a control group that does not participate. In both groups a pre-test and a post-test is held, respectively before and after the intervention.Our research population are Christian and Muslim adults in the Netherlands who are interested in interreligious meetings. To be able to reliably estimate the characteristics of the research population, we required a sample of at least 400 respondents in total, with 200 participants in the experimental group and 200 in the control group. Regarding the experimental group, we aimed at 20 curriculum locations, each with about twelve participants, making sure that respondent still feel secure to exchange religious beliefs and practices in a personal and informal way. We sought a group distribution of at least a third Christians or a third Muslims at each location. Regarding religion, the relative number of Christians in the control group appeared to be higher than in the experimental group. Therefore, in the analyses, we randomly reduced the number of Christians in the control group by 40%, by deleting the third and fifth of each five Christian respondents in the control group. This resulted in a total number of 260 respondents in the experimental group and 132 respondents in the control group.Part of this research project of Radboud University is the material for an interreligious course. It has been developed for Christian and Muslim adults with interest in interreligious communication. Participants get acquainted with a practical method that eases interreligious dialogue, focused at both enriching one’s own religious identity as well as getting familiar with the religion of the other. Focus is learning to communicate from the personal perspective, applied to substantive themes from Christianity and Islam.You are welcome to re-use and adjust all available curriculum materials and guidance sheets. Feel free to use part of the material, split up the material in separate units, or adjust to materials to your own needs, as long as you respect the copyright. Please refer to this dataset and the aforementioned publication.The data set contains various types of files, which are further explained in the read me first file.- Read me first file- Data files (SPSS files)- Documentation on the data set (methodology and measuring instruments)- Documentation on the interreligious curriculum (including the full program and guidance sheets for educators)

This statistic displays the Muslim population share in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg (Benelux) in 2016, by country. It was estimated that Muslims in the Netherlands made up just over seven percent of the total population. This was slightly lower than in Belgium, but significantly higher than in Luxembourg.

This research explores the different ways in which Dutch and Flemish youth perceive the ideal relationship between religion and state governance. More specifically, it explains the level of agreement by committed Christian, Muslim, and humanist youth in the Netherlands and Flanders with different models of relationships between religion (and worldview in general) and state, against the backdrop of their religious and humanist beliefs, as well as individual and contextual level determinants.

The research is conducted by way of a questionnaire among committed Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, and humanists, who are 15 to 25 years old and live in either the Netherlands or Flanders. To collect the data, cooperation is sought with organizations, individuals with a broad network in the field, churches and mosques that attract a substantial number of young people, and lecturers of higher education who prepare young people to become paid professionals of religious or humanist organizations. The data collection resulted in 643 usable questionnaires. The results are analysed in SPSS Statistics.

This dataset contains the Arab-West Report special reports that were published in 2006.

This dataset mainly contains the writings of Cornelis Hulsman, Drs., among other authors on topics related to Muslim-Christian relations and interfaith dialogue. The writings in this dataset are mostly reports concerning Coptic Christian culture, Muslim-Christian dialogue, and the state of the Christian faith in Egypt.

Some of the articles address the controversial book "The Da Vinci Code" and the debates that ensued after its publication surrounding its historicity and freedom of expression.

Additionally this dataset contains recommendation for the work of Arab-West Report by other social figures and the development of its affiliated NGO, the Center for Arab West Understanding. Furthermore, this dataset contains commentary and critique on published material from other sources (media critique).

Some of the themes that characterize this dataset:

Development of the Center for Arab West Understanding (CAWU) and recommendations of the work of Arab West Report:

- Recommendation for Arab-West Report and the Center for Arab-West Understanding from Dutch musician and entertainer, Herman van Veen, Pastor Dave Petrescue ( Maadi Community Church in Cairo, Egypt) and Lord Carey of Clifton, former archbishop of Canterbury. Additionally, this dataset contains special recommendations of the work of Corneliss 'Kees' Hulsman and Sawsan Gabra by Dr. Jan Slomp, member of the Advisory Editorial Board of the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs in Jeddah. Dr. Slomp acknowledges that Arab West Report’s use of reliable information is working towards strengthening Muslim-Christian relations by providing source material for cultural, educational and religious dialogue and cooperation.

-Another report mentioned that the Former Dutch Prime Minister Andreas van Agt visited Egypt to support the foundation of the Center for Arab-West Understanding.

-A report about NGO Status of CAWU, “After Three Years of Struggle”. This report came as a result of the February 18 ruling of the Egyptian Council of State that granted the Center recognition as an NGO under Egyptian law.

-Annual report: Arab-West Report presents the annual report for 2005.

-Arab West Report’s American intern writes about 220 years of religious freedom in the U.S., arguing that one standard must be applied to all.

-A discussion of homosexuality and Egyptian law taken from a bachelor’s thesis on Egyptian law.

-Book review of Jamal Al-Banna’s "My Coptic Brethren".

-“Christian Minorities in the Islamic World, an Egyptian Perspective”: A paper presented at the annual interfaith dialogue meeting of the Anglican Communion and the Permanent Committee of the Azhar al-Sharif for Dialogue with the Monotheistic Religions. This paper prompted criticism from Metropolitan Seraphim for the portrayal of Muslim-Christian relations in Egypt.

Media Critique:

-An author criticizes an article by the German magazine Der Spiegel about Christians in the Middle East. She claims that the article distorts the reality of the situation in the declining Christian communities in the region.

- Interview with Egyptian artist Farid Fadil, , including discussion of his views on Muslim-Christian relations in Egypt, ’Christian art’, Leonardo da Vinci and the controversial book, The Da Vinci Code.

-Excerpts from the speeches of Mr. Ahmad Māhir, former foreign minister of Egypt, Sir Derek Plumbly, British ambassador to Egypt , Mr. Tjeerd de Zwaan, Dutch ambassador to Egypt, Mr. Lasse Seim, Norwegian ambassador to Egypt, and Cornelis Hulsman, Drs., director of the Center for Arab-West Understanding, on ’Freedom of expression and respect for the other. How to respond if one is offended.’

- Highlights of the meeting held at El-Sawy Culture Wheel on May 7, 2006, to launch the CAWU website. Highlights include a welcome address by Mr. Muhammad al-Sāwī, comments from former ministers Dr. Mamdouh al-Biltājī, Mr. Ahmed Māhir, Dr. Ahmad Juwaylī, head of the Protestant Community Council, Dr. Safwat al Bayādī, and former prime minister of the Netherlands, Prof. Van Agt.

- Aran West Report asked our former intern Maria Roeder, a student of media science at the University of Jena in Germany, to summarize a study commissioned by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Interior. This study is a comparative study concerning Austrian media reporting on Muslims and media from countries with Muslim majorities reporting about the integration of Muslims in Europe.

-A review of the media coverage following the Alexandria church stabbings concludes that both Muslims and Christians condemned the attacks and spoke of the need for change in the citizenship rights of Christians.

-Apostolic Nuncio to Egypt, Archbishop Fitzgerald, responds to polarization following the Regensburg lecture of H.H. Pope Benedict XVI.

-Cornelis...

The statistic illustrates the distribution of registered cases of Muslim discrimination in the Netherlands in 2017, by region. In 2017, the Hague had the highest concentration of registered cases of Muslim discrimination in the Netherlands. Approximately 40 cases of discrimination against Muslims were registered in the Hague in 2017, while just over ten cases were registered in Limburg in the same year.

This is the online appendix of the dissertation: "I identify, therefore I participate. How social identification relates to the political participation among Muslim immigrant-origin individuals in Western Europe", by Maria Kranendonk. Some of the articles on which the chapters are based are published by peer-reviewed academic journals:Chapter 1: Kranendonk, M., Vermeulen, F., & van Heelsum, A. (2018). “Unpacking” the Identity‐to‐Politics Link: The Effects of Social Identification on Voting Among Muslim Immigrants in Western Europe. Political Psychology, 39(1), 43-67.Chapter 2: Kranendonk, M. (2018). The relationship between social identification and local voting, and its interplay with personal and group discrimination among the descendants of Turkish immigrants in Western Europe. Comparative migration studies, 6(1), 25.Chapter 5: Kranendonk, M., & Vermeulen, F. (2018). Group identity, group networks, and political participation: Moroccan and Turkish immigrants in the Netherlands. Acta Politica, 1-42.The link to the manuscript will also be provided in due time.

This statistic illustrates whether muslims agree or disagree with the following statement: "Muslims are discriminated in Dutch society". During the surveyed period, roughly 35 percent of the respondents indicated they agree Muslims are discriminated in today's Dutch society.